Alt rockers Boat Race Weekend say farewell with final Tri-Cities show

Jay Orth, Evan Kruschke and Collin Price all have Tri-City roots, so it’s fitting they’ll play one of their final shows together here.

The guys – who make up the popular alternative rock trio Boat Race Weekend – are going their separate ways as a band, but not before they take the stage Friday at Uptown Theatre in Richland.

“Come sing, rip, sweat, dance, chant, smile and laugh with us,” they posted on their Facebook page.

The Blü and Sammy Pete also are set to perform during the all-ages show. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and cover is $5.

The guys are donating their proceeds to their friend Danika Whitsett, who was hurt in a car accident in Arizona last month.

Orth, Kruschke and Price grew up together, all graduating from Tri-Cities Prep in Pasco.

They went on to Gonzaga University in Spokane, where Boat Race Weekend was born.

In 2015, they released their first album, “The Talisman,” which landed on Indie Rock Cafe’s Best DIY Music list that year.

Their final album as a band, “Near & Dear,” dropped in June. It’s available on online platforms now.

A new music video for the single, “Youth,” is filled with nostalgia.

It combines performance footage shot in the Spokane house the guys shared for years with home videos captured by family and friends.

The band’s split isn’t about negativity or a falling out, “but simply the inevitable tides of life that shift and change priorities, sweeping us onward to new and great adventures,” the guys posted.

They started out as best friends playing music together, and that’s how they’ll end the band’s run, they said.

They thanked their supporters. “It’s cliche, but you are the reason we were able to keep doing what we loved for so long,” they said.

“We have been so blessed the last five years. We got to travel around and meet incredible people, with even more incredible stories. We got to open up for and befriend some of our biggest musical influences. Most importantly, we got to get on stage every night as best friends and pour our hearts out to whoever was listening, be it 500 or five people,” they said.

“Thank you for giving us that experience, over and over again.”