Five Minutes With: Vancouver Soul Funk Band Honeybear

Honeybear, a soul, funk, blues, and roots quartet, offers a nostalgic expedition through the heartlands of American music. Founded in 2023, the band’s members share a rich history of collaboration spanning over a decade. Their musical adventures have taken them across Canada and down the West Coast, gracing renowned Folk and Jazz/Blues festivals. During the pandemic, they found solace in outdoor jam sessions, powered by makeshift setups. From these gatherings emerged a vibrant fusion of sound, rooted in resilience and camaraderie. Collaborations with celebrated artists like Dawn Pemberton, Harpdog Brown, and Ndidi O have enriched their musical tapestry, showcasing their enduring passion and creativity.

Fun fact: Keyboard player Mike Kenney has the distinction of playing more sold-out shows at Rogers Arena than any other musician – as the organ player for the Vancouver Canucks!

Honeybear

Name:

My name is Colin Brumelle, the guitar player of Honeybear

Genre:

Soul / Funk / Blues / Roots

Founded:

2023

# of Albums:

1 ep and more coming shortly!

Latest Album:

I was wrong

Latest Single:

Dusty Bottoms

Favourite musician growing up:

Howling Wolf

Favourite musician now:

So many! The New Mastersounds, Charlie Crockett, Khruangbin

Guilty pleasure song:

Shania Twain, Let’s go girls

Live show ritual:

2 hours before a show, I always get the terrible idea of trying to rebuild my pedal board. 10 minutes before we play, I’m always looking for a marker and paper to change out our set list.

Favourite local musician:

The Reviberators

EP or LP?

I like making EP’s but I enjoy listening to albums. Double standard!

Early bird or night owl?

Night owl

Road or studio?

We’re fans of both, but have to say live is more our jam

Where can we follow you?

Instagram | Bandcamp

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Rapid Fire Local Questions:

What is your favourite local restaurant?

Nuba

What is your favourite street in your city and why?

Anywhere with cherry blossoms

What is your favourite park in your city and why?

MacLean Park, because it’s near our house, it’s a great place to hang out and play some music in warm weather, and my dog loves stealing other dogs’ toys there.

What is your favourite music venue in your city?

The Heatley. (Runner up: Green Auto)

What is your favourite music store in your city?

Soul Essentials, on commercial drive.

 

About Emilea Semancik 215 Articles
Emilea Semancik was born in North Vancouver. Emilea has always always wanted to work as a freelance writer and currently writes for the Vancouver Guardian. Taking influence from journalism culture surrounding the great and late Anthony Bourdain, she is a recipe author working towards publishing her own series of books. You can find her food blog on Instagram: