Juno Award-winning alternative rock band Half Moon Run are thrilled to be working on new music and to go on a huge tour this year, which includes a show on Vancouver Island.
Founding members Dylan Phillips and Conner Molander went to middle school and high school in Comox and now live in Montreal with their bandmate Devon Portielje, who is originally from Ottawa.
“I moved from Coquitlam, and my life improved a lot when I got to the Comox Valley,” said Molander. “Dylan and I were brought up in Comox and hugely influenced by the music that we learned how to make while we were living there. I found that it’s a really artistic community. It’s a really musical place. I have trouble imagining what I would have done musically if I wouldn’t have spent those years there. It was also amazing in terms of the natural beauty. I would love to move back there someday.”
Half Moon Run have already played some of the largest festivals in Canada, and are returning to the island to headline a Phillips Backyard festival in Victoria on July 9.
“I’m always really happy when that gets booked, and our agents tell us that we’re going to get to go back to Vancouver Island,” said Molander. “I have a lot of family all around the island and a lot of friends there.”
The band is currently working on their fourth album, which Molander says will be released in 2023.
“It’s a really diverse collection of material,” said Molander. “Describing the music would be a bad idea since it’s so early in the process. We will see how things go this summer and then decide on the release and single strategy. We have a large pool to choose from. I think it’s sounding better than ever. It’s really exciting and I’m really happy to be working on it.”
Half Moon Run won Adult Alternative Album of the Year for their project “Inwards & Onwards” at this month’s Juno Awards.
“I didn’t expect to win,” said Molander. “We were very surprised. I was just grateful. We were there at the ceremony. We were around a lot of people that we respected and just had a wonderful time.”
