For party-goers, Derrival’s concert to conclude the Port Coquitlam Canada Day celebrations will be a fun way to usher in the country’s 151st year.
For the band, though, the July 1 show will be their way to say goodbye to many years of making music together — at least for the time being.
Lead vocalist and guitarist Adam Mah said the group — once mentored by Kardinal Offishall and Sam Roberts through a Juno Masterclass, and the second-place winners of the 2014 Peak Performance Project — will take a hiatus after its Castle Park gig.
“It wasn’t an easy decision to make but, for various reasons, it feels like the right one,” said Mah, who plans to release new music with producer and Derrival keyboardist, Shane Stephenson.
They’ve had quite a run.
Since forming, the five-piece band has played to some very large crowds (Squamish Valley Music Festival) and worked with some major producers (Ryan Worsley, Chris Gehringer) to cut such catchy tunes as Ice Cream and Ghosts of Our Past. They also met some big names, signing up with AntiFragile Music, which was founded by Tom Sarig (Lou Reed, Bryan Ferry).
Along the way, they also brought their act to the Tri-Cities: They played PoCo for a Victoria Day celebration two years ago and, last August, opened for Bif Naked at the Kaleidoscope Arts Festival in Coquitlam.
For their Sunday concert at Castle Park, Mah said Derrival will cover a wide range from their catalogue as well as some Canadian covers.
“We weren’t planning on playing another show but we were asked to do this one and decided it would be good to do one more show before we take a hiatus and go our separate ways,” Mah said.
• The Canada Day celebrations in Port Coquitlam start at 8 a.m. at Lions Park, in downtown PoCo, with a pancake breakfast and fishing derby. At noon, the party continues at Castle Park, in Citadel Heights, with community entertainment; firefighters will serve a salmon dinner from 3 to 6 p.m. with proceeds supporting the BC Professional Fire Fighters Burn Fund. Jessica Barbour, Top City and Derrival hit the main stage before the grand finale fireworks at dusk, also courtesy of the firefighters. Visit portcoquitlam.ca/canadaday.
