Boat Race Weekend in December? Music lovers, start your engines

They’re hardly new to the stage.

The guys of Boat Race Weekend have years of experience playing around the Northwest and beyond, plus two well-received records and a growing following.

But the Spokane alt rockers will probably still feel nervous when they play Dec. 23 at Emerald of Siam in Richland.

That’s because the crowd will be full of family and friends. The guys all grew up in the Tri-Cities.

“(A hometown show) is one of the most fun you can do, but in a lot of ways it’s the most nerve racking,” said Jay Orth, the band’s drummer.

“We play for people we don’t know all the time, but (at a hometown show) people are coming because they’re your friends. You don’t know if they’ll like your music,” he said.

It’s a safe bet they will.

Boat Race Weekend got together in 2013, while Orth and longtime friends Evan Kruschke and Collin Price all were studying at Gonzaga University.

By 2015, they’d released their first album, The Talisman, which landed on Indie Rock Cafe’s Best DIY Music of 2015.

The guys also were singled out as one of Music Connection’s Hot Live and Unsigned Bands that year.

Last year, they dropped new music with the EP Throw Your Head to the World! Dawson Scholz of The Ongoing Concept produced.

They plan to work with Scholz again on their next album, which they hope to release in the spring.

The new music “is more mature than our first one. It’s the most mature album,” Orth said.

The guys blend their varied influences, from pop-punk to emo, indie acoustic and heavier music, ending up “with our own creation,” he said.

Price plays bass and Kruschke plays guitar and sings lead. He also handles songwriting for the band.

When it comes to lyrics, “I want my words and actions to help you out, because I believe that you can do the same for me. We’re all in this together. Different people and situations, but many of the same struggles. Why not share them and help each other out?” Kruschke said.

The guys will play a mix of new and older songs, plus some covers, at the Emerald show.

Badland Nomad and Sammy Pete also will take the stage. Music starts at 9 p.m. Cover is $5.

Orth and Kruschke became friends in kindergarten. They met Price in middle school, and all three attended Tri-Cities Prep together in Pasco.

Along with being bandmates, they’re also roommates in Spokane.

“We’re pretty much brothers. We’re best friends when it comes down to it — brothers and best friends,” Orth said.

That makes creating music together seamless and fun, he said.

The guys said the Emerald show is a fun tradition — a chance for people to spend time together while listening to homegrown music.

It might be a little nerve-racking, but they love it. “This band has shared the stage with some of my favorite musicians of all time and toured all the way to San Diego,” Price said, “but coming home at Christmastime to play in a Thai restaurant full of my friends and family is something I look forward to every year.”

Emerald is at 1314 Jadwin Ave.

This story was originally published December 21, 2017 at 12:43 PM with the headline "Boat Race Weekend in December? Music lovers, start your engines."