Starpainter

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Starpainter is Joel Stretch, Colby Stolson, Mickey Hayward, and Joel Gray, and together they’re a folk rock band from Lethbridge, Alberta. They wear their influences on their sleeves, showcasing strong songwriting and an affinity for gently psychedelic alt-country tones. The band has been growing a following across Canada on the strength of a debut full-length titled Bury Me By My Family (2020) and a 3-song EP titled Blood in the Snow (2021). 

Starpainter has been featured on CBC’s Key of A and spent time on CKUA’s Top 10 chart, as well as Earshot’s Canada-wide Folk / Roots Top 10 chart. The band recently finished a record titled Rattlesnake Dream to be released June 2nd, mixed by Jon Anderson (Andy Shauf, Aiden Knight) and mastered by Philip Shaw Bova (Feist, Father John Misty). 

Rattlesnake Dream exists in a small-town universe that has become a defining feature of Starpainter’s body of work. Themes of family, aging, and personal loss are explored across the album’s 10 tracks. The forthcoming record is their strongest yet, exploring new sonic territory and further developing a signature sound built on old-school songwriting craftsmanship and imaginative, guitar-heavy arrangements. 

“. . . what I found in Starpainter is a sound that’s new, but feels so familiar and almost intuitive. It’s folk rock, alt-country, whatever you want to call it: it has that very classic sort of prairie-Alberta sound.” – Celeigh Cardinal, CBC Radio

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