The story of James Blonde starts long before the band got its name. Friends and schoolmates Phil Taylor (drums) and Neil Carson (bass) met guitarist Steph Mercier in 2010 and immediately hit it off with their love of music. The band started writing songs and playing shows around their hometown of Niagara Falls and the surrounding region under an old moniker. With a few big breaks such as playing Osheaga in 2015 (with The Black Keys, Arkells and Weezer), opening for the likes of Keith Urban, Nick Jonas & Shawn Mendez in Niagara Falls, and a few tours under their belt, the trio felt the desire to take the band to the next level. With a full-length LP finished, the band was renamed to James Blonde in time for their debut hometown performance at the 2017 NYE concert, opening for Sam Roberts and Serena Ryder. Since then, James Blonde has toured North America with high-energy performances and had their first big break with the single “Heartbreak” getting picked up worldwide by Starbucks stores and being featured on Spotify editorial playlists. Their follow-up single “Sh!tshow” reached #96 on the US Top40 radio charts in 2019. The band is releasing their newest EP (produced by Gus Van Go) in the form of singles in the coming months as they work on their next record.
