The Derina Harvey Band is ready

Celtic bands are virtually non-existent in the capital region. However, one band that’s letting it rip is the Derina Harvey Band with a lineup direct from the East Coast.

Vocalist Derina Harvey, drummer Steve Pinsent, guitarist Scott Greene, bassist Ed Smith and fiddler Matthew O’Connor have gelled to create this five-piece Celtic-rock band that makes beautiful music suffused with traditionalism.

Yes, the group’s music is based on traditional Newfoundland Celtic music layered with dizzying fiddle motifs. But they also worship at the altar of rock.

“We’re lively, energetic and heartfelt Celtic infused with rock, blues, bluegrass and country. We even have a few metal inspired riffs. Mostly we try to perform in the spirit the song was written in,” says Harvey.

Music lovers have an opportunity to discover the charms of the Derina Harvey Band on Saturday, Jan. 16 for a cabaret dinner at the Morinville Community Cultural Centre.

Harvey, the band’s major driver, is originally from Wabush, Labrador, the youngest in a musical family of four. Music is in her DNA. Harvey’s father is a singer-songwriter. Her mother is a multi-genre songwriter and accomplished mandolin player.

In 2000, Harvey attended Newfoundland’s College of North Atlantic studying music and performance. There she met Steve Pinsent, a classmate that became her best friend, and later after both moved to Alberta, her husband.

Harvey has high praise for the band’s music and their continuing output. However, gigging is more than just a way to earn a salary.

“It’s the entertainment quality that does it for me. I want to help people in a way that is half decent. I want people to forget the things that life throws at them for an hour. I want to make you laugh. I want to make you cry,” she says.

Together since 2009 in this current lineup, the band released the eight-track DHB in 2013. They are planning to release Rove and Go, a 10-track CD later this year.

All the songs are close to their heart, especially the title track that tells the story of 120 Newfoundland communities that were reduced to graveyards after the provincial government refused to spend money on roads and infrastructure.

And then there’s Sheilagh’s Brush, a tale of an annual winter storm that always hits around St. Patrick’s Day.

The band is branching out so prepare for a night of tongue-in-cheek songs, funny, foolish songs and heart-warming songs. Join them.