Press Photos Album Artwork, Posters, Stage Plot Reviews & Press Band Biography

Press Photos

Photo by Helene Cyr

Album Artwork, Posters & Stage Plot

Dry Bones (2007)	a seven song e.p. (2006)

Poster (colour)	Poster (b&w)	Stage Plot

Reviews & Press

for Dry Bones (released December 2007)

Voted Favourite Album in the 2007 Monday Magazine Awards, Victoria B.C.'s arts & culture magazine's annual readership's awards (March 2008).

In Georgia Strait (Vancouver, BC) critic Tony Montague's Top 10 Albums of 2007:
"The musicianship is impeccable, and the singing unusually strong. Bassist Oliver Swain's agile voice will make the hairs bristle on the back of your neck."

Monday Magazine (Victoria, BC) critic Amanda Farrell's pick for Top Album of 2007:
"The debut full length from this local quintet is pure bliss. Haunting lyrics, solid musicianship and a timeless quality makes for top-notch roots music from one of the city’s strongest bands."

In Rogue Folk Club (Vancouver, BC) director Steve Edge's Top 10 Albums of 2007.

"Dry Bones" is a record with music from all times and a musical journey through the American history brought to us by a collective of young and enthousiastic music lovers and top artists which each individually also still work very hard on a solo-career. Much respect, guys!"
- Rootstime.be (May 2008)

"Cheerful funky fiddle folk music that sounds as if it was recorded in the Dust Bowl days of the great Depression."
- Detroit Metro Times (March 2008)

"...blazingly original folk-roots..."
- Whitehorse Daily Star (June 2008)

"Dry Bones is a terrific disc with some grass, some old-time, and considerable originality... I can't do this band justice in a review. Highly recommended."
- Bluegrass Now (Dec. 2007)

"... one of the hottest new bands on the folk circuit..."
- Victoria Times Colonist (Dec. 2007)

"Dry Bones is a gem - one of the most exciting debuts by a roots outfit from B.C. since Zubot & Dawson’s Strang came out almost a decade ago."
- Penguin Eggs (Winter 2007)

"...one of Victoria’s strongest albums of 2007 from a group that seems to be destined for greatness."
- Monday Magazine, Victoria (Dec. 2007)

“[Outlaw Social’s] first full-length recording deserves to trigger a flood-alert the length of the Pacific Coast”
- Georgia Strait (Nov. 2007)

for a seven song e.p. (released April 2006)

...Their arrangements and musicianship ride a fine line between raw and sweet in all good ways, and it may way well be that like those Duhks, Bills and a handful of others, they're creating a new voice in Canadian acoustic music.
- Ian Kilburn, Penguin Eggs (Winter 2006)

Victoria seems to have become a breeding ground for some of the most dynamic rising roots artists in the country... If fiddles, folk and fun is your cup of moonshine, don't miss this exceptional debut. With talent like this, success seems inevitable for Outlaw Social.
- John Threlfall, Monday Magazine, Victoria, BC (April 2006)

other press

"... the best acoustic old-time band in North America. Nobody even comes close to them. They're all incredible musicians and they're very nice people."
- Bob Hayes - Festival Director, Kluane Mountain Bluegrass Festival (June 2008)

Voted Favourite Folk/Roots Band in the 2007 Monday Magazine Awards, Victoria B.C.'s arts & culture magazine's annual readership's awards (March 2008).

"...one of the most exciting roots-based bands to emerge on the West Coast scene in recent years."
- Tony Montague, Penguin Eggs (Winter 2007)

Voted Favourite Band in the 2006 Monday Magazine Awards, Victoria B.C.'s arts & culture magazine's annual readership's awards (February 2007).

"...a very fresh sound that puts the good time in old time. This band has a personality that sets it apart from others and gains loyal fans wherever they appear. Really reccomended."
- Brent Hutchinson - Artistic Director / Producer, Islands Folk Festival, BC (December 2006)

"...when Outlaw Social opened for the Wailin' Jennys, it was such a great set you almost wondered if this nearly sold out show was a double bill."
- Matt Landry, High Tide Entertainment, Victoria, BC (October 2006)

They'd be too modest to call themselves a Vancouver Island folk supergroup... Blending roots/traditionals with their own innovative arrangements and dandy originals... a band to watch (and we mean that literally).
- Rick Dennis, Media to Go, Vancouver Island (July 2006)

They are young, energetic and incredibly accomplished musicians. Best of all - they are fun.
- Pirjo Raits, Editor for Sooke News Mirror, Sooke, BC (June 2006)

Songwriter Pharis Patenaude is a B.C. historical treasure.
- Mike Ballantyne, President of the B.C. Folklore Society (May 2006

Band Biography

Outlaw Social is a five piece band from Victoria B.C., born out of friendship and tempered by a mutual passion for traditional string music. Three talented and uniquely emotive lead vocalists are carried by equally spectacular playing on traditional string instruments and electric guitar, making for a sound that is vibrant and original. Their repertoire includes powerful original songwriting, thoughtful interpretations of traditional music, and a few truly inspired covers of contemporary songs.

Each member of Outlaw Social is a roots music veteran in their own right, with members’ projects including Scruj McDuhk (The Duhks), The Bill Hilly Band (The Bills), The Paperboys, Chip Taylor, Pierre Schryer and Daniel Lapp.

In 2006 the release of their seven song e.p. met with high critical acclaim as “creating a new voice in Canadian acoustic music” (Penguin Eggs, Winter 2006). Enthusiastic audience response has followed everywhere they go. Gracing stages at the Victoria ICA Folk Festival, Wintergrass ( Tacoma, Washington), Vancouver Island Music Festival, Mission Folk Music Festival, and many other premier west coast venues, Outlaw social has won over fans and critics alike. Whether wowing audiences in concert halls or ripping it up at festivals, Outlaw Social brings contagious passion and energy to the stage.

With the release of their new album Dry Bones in the fall of 2007, Outlaw Social have taken their varied talents and forged them into a dynamic sound, deeply rooted in tradition but clearly all their own. Recorded live off the floor at Baker Studios in Victoria, engineered by Joby Baker (The Bills, Marc Atkinson, Mae Moore), the new album truly showcases the talents of this band. Their musicianship is both articulate and soulful. Each member operates as a powerful independent voice, while still being able to blend perfectly with its counterparts during their striking arrangements. An unabashed love for rock and roll runs like an undercurrent through their music, driving it to uncharted heights of emotion and lending a contemporary edge that merges perfectly with their traditional influences.

Prominent on the festival circuit and garnering significant airplay and high charting status on North American national, local and campus radio, Outlaw Social – Catherine Black, Kendel Carson, Adam Dobres, Pharis Romero, and Oliver Swain – is poised at the forefront of the North American roots music scene.