Vancouver-based band the Boom Booms are performing at the Osoyoos Community Theatre on Thursday, Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. (Contributed photo)

By Michele Weisz

Osoyoos Times

When a scheduling conflict arose forcing the Osoyoos Concert Series committee to find a last-minute replacement for their concert series, they were thrilled when well-known Vancouver band the Boom Booms were available to step in to perform on Jan. 24.

Long-time committee member Pat Philpott said that the committee was “fortunate” to book the band at the last minute.

The Boom Booms are a highly celebrated indie band from Vancouver made up of childhood friends Tom Van Deursen (guitar), Geordie Hart (bass), Theo Vincent (drums) and brothers Aaron Ross (lead vocals) and Sean Ross (keys).

Their eclectic and distinct sound mixes soul, funk, jazz and motown with a Latin and Caribbean flavour that Beatroute Magazine, Western Canada’s indie arts and entertainment magazine, described as “feel-good music.”

In a recent interview with the magazine, songwriter Aaron Ross said, “I love music that loosens you up, makes you move, makes you happy.”

The music is unlike what concert series regulars are used to hearing but Philpott said that she and her fellow committee members are enthusiastic about presenting something a little different to the audience.

“The committee are quite excited to welcome such an unusual group to perform,” she said.

For much of the past decade the Boom Booms have been touring across North America, Latin America and Europe. They circled the United States twice in a yellow school bus and travelled 12,000 km roundtrip from Vancouver to Panama in an RV during which they wrote their debut album Hot Rum!

In 2011 the band placed second in B.C.’s esteemed Peak Performance Project – a contest for emerging Canadian musicians, winning $75,000.

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In 2014 they spent three months in Brazil creating Boom Boom Brazil, a documentary about the social, political and environmental ramifications of Belo Monte, the world’s largest hydroelectric dam.

In 2009, to give back to their beloved East Vancouver community, the band began hosting the Boom Boom Block Party, a yearly, summer music festival. Shortly after that Aaron Ross, together with childhood friend and Team Canada basketball player Levon Kendall, founded the Music Tree.

The Music Tree is an initiative that raises awareness for environmental issues and community projects and has donated over $20,000 to both community and international projects. In 2015 the annual music festival evolved into the East Van Summer Jam. Profits from the festival are donated to The Music Tree.

The band released their third album, A Million Miles, in 2017. Emma Sloan from Canadian Beats Media called it “dazzling” and “high energy” and described the sombre “Song For Noni” as “unlike anything you’ve ever heard before, a cookie-cutter ballad elevated to new levels through the ingenuity the talent of the band has lent it.”

The album has something for everyone and incorporates numerous genres of music. Having visited many times, Ross credits Cuba as a personal musical influence and through their music one can hear traces of Bob Marley, Bill Withers, James Brown and Stevie Wonder, to name a few.

When asked what she thought after listening to the band’s music, Philpott said, “I like it.” Philpott said she is hopeful that the local audience will as well. She liked the fact that the band looked like they were having as good a time as the audience and added that the scheduling conflict created an opportunity for an “exciting change” to the concert series. “Bring all your friends,” she said.

The concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. at the Osoyoos Secondary School theatre.

Tickets are $23 in advance for adults and $15 for students and can be purchased at Mills Office Supply in Osoyoos or at Sundance Video in Oliver or at the door for $25.