The Washboard Union

The Washboard Union is a Canadian country music group from Vancouver, British Columbia led by principal members David Roberts, Aaron Grain (aka Brett Ellis) and Chris Duncombe.[1][2]

The Washboard Union
Origin	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Genres	Country, bluegrass
Years active	2010–present
Labels	Slaight Music/Warner Music Canada
Website	www.thewashboardunion.com
Members	David Roberts Aaron Grain Chris Duncombe

Biography

Aaron Grain and Chris Duncombe met in Kelowna, British Columbia at age 15 when Duncombe's father began dating Grain's mother.[1] Duncombe and Grain eventually moved to Vancouver, where they met David Roberts, who was living in a Point Grey mansion.[1] The three began writing and singing together.[1] They originally performed under the name Run GMC.[3] Their debut album, The Washboard Union, was released in 2012 and produced by Garth Richardson and Bob Ezrin.[4]

In January 2015, The Washboard Union recorded an extended play, In My Bones, at RCA Studio A in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Trey Bruce.[5] It was released by Slaight Music/Warner Music Canada on July 10, 2015.[6] The first single, "Some Day", went top 40, and the second and third singles, "Maybe It's the Moonshine" & "Shot of Glory", reached the top 10 and top 5 respectively on the Billboard Canada Country chart.[7] In October 2015, The Washboard Union won the British Columbia Country Music Association Award for Roots Canadiana of the Year.[8]

The Washboard Union's next album, What We're Made Of, was produced by Matt Rovey (Zac Brown Band, Dean Brody) in Nashville and Jeff "Diesel" Dalziel in Toronto and Vancouver over the winter of 2017/18. The album’s first single, “Shine”, was the band’s third Top Ten Country Radio hit which they performed live on the Canadian Country Music Awards and walked away with a CCMA Award for 2017 Roots Artist of the Year.

In 2018 the group performed in Liverpool, Nova Scotia at the Queens Place Emera Centre.[9]

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Details
The Washboard Union	Release date: June 26, 2012 Label: self-released
What We're Made Of	Release date: April 20, 2018 [10] Label: Warner Music Canada
Everbound	Release date: April 24, 2020[11] Label: Warner Music Canada

Extended plays

Title	Details
In My Bones	Release date: July 10, 2015 Label: Slaight Music/Warner Music Canada

Singles

Year	Single	Peak positions	Album
		CAN Country [7]
2015	"Some Day"	38	In My Bones
	"Maybe It's the Moonshine"	10
2016	"Shot of Glory"	5
	"Head over Heels"	19
2017	"Shine"	9	What We're Made Of
2018	"Feel Like That"	11
2019	"Country Thunder"^A	2	Everbound

• ^ACurrent single.

Music videos

Year	Video	Director
2015	"Some Day"	Emma Higgins
	"Maybe It's the Moonshine"	Stefan Berrill
2016	"Shot of Glory"	Stefan Berrill
	"Head Over Heels"	Stefan Berrill
2017	"Shine"	Travis Nesbitt
2018	"What We're Made Of"	Stephano Barberis
	"Feel Like That"	Joel Stewart
2019	"She Gets Me"	Joel Stewart
	"Country Thunder"	Stephano Barberis

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee/Work	Result	Ref
2014	BCCMA	Roots Canadiana of the Year	The Washboard Union	Nominated	[12]
2015		Album of the Year	In My Bones	Nominated	[13][14]
		Group Duo of the Year	The Washboard Union	Nominated
		Roots Canadiana of the Year		Won
		Songwriter of the Year		Nominated
		Single of the Year	"Some Day"	Nominated
		Video of the Year		Nominated
2016	CCMA Awards	Roots Artist of the Year	The Washboard Union	Won	[15]
		Rising Star		Won
		Group or Duo of the Year		Nominated	[16]
		CMT Video of the Year	"Maybe It’s the Moonshine"	Nominated
	BCCMA	Group Duo of the Year	The Washboard Union	Won	[17][18]
		Roots Canadiana of the Year		Won
		Entertainer of the Year		Nominated
		Fans Choice Award		Nominated
		Songwriter of the Year	"Maybe It’s the Moonshine"	Won
		Single of the Year		Nominated
		Video of the Year		Nominated
2017	Canadian Radio Music Awards	Best New Group or Solo Artist: Country		Nominated	[19]
	BCCMA	SOCAN Songwriter of the Year	"Head Over Heels"	Won	[20]
		Single of the Year		Won
		Fan Choice	The Washboard Union	Won
		Website of the Year		Won
		Gaylord Wood Traditional Country Award/Roots Country Award		Won
	Western Canadian Music Awards	Country Artist of the Year	The Washboard Union	Won	[21]
	CCMA	Group Duo of the Year		Nominated	[22]
		Roots Artist or Group of the Year		Won
2018	CCMA	Album of the Year	What We're Made Of	Nominated	[23]
		Group or Duo of the Year	The Washboard Union	Won
		Roots Artist or Group of the Year		Won
2019	Juno Awards	Breakthrough Group of the Year -	The Washboard Union	Won	[24]
	CCMA	Group or Duo of the Year	The Washboard Union	Won	[25]
		Roots Album of the Year	What We're Made Of	Won

Tours

Headlining

• 2017 Dates: Rockin' River Music Fest in Merrit, BC;[26]
• 2018 Dates: July 12 in Calgary, AB at Calgary Stampede;[27]
• 2019 Dates: May 8 in Halifax NS; May 10 in Moncton, NB; May 12 in St. John's, NL; August 2 in Lake Cowichan BC.

Supporting

• Happy Endings World Tour (2018) with Old Dominion (Western Canada Only)[28]

References

1. "The Washboard Union Biography". CMT. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
2. Abdellatif, Nouran (January 18, 2016). "Washboard Union performing for first time in Leduc". Leduc Rep. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
3. "Kelowna: Nothing wishy-washy about The Washboard Union". Kelowna Capital News. June 19, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
4. Varty, Alexander (August 20, 2013). "Washboard Union explores a new road". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
5. "The Washboard Union". CBC Music. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
6. Hudson, Alex (May 22, 2015). "The Washboard Union Make Major Label Debut with New EP". Exclaim!. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
7. "Washboard Union Album & Song Chart History - Canada Country". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
8. Marchand, Francois (October 27, 2015). "Dallas Smith ropes in the wins at 2015 B.C. Country Music Awards". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
9. "The best Nova Scotia concerts of 2018". Chronicle Herald, Stephen Cooke, Dec 20, 2018
10. "What We're Made Of by The Washboard Union on Apple Music". Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
11. "Everbound | The Washboard Union". Thewashboardunion.com. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
12. "2014 BCCMA Final Nominees Announced". Top Country Music | Country Music News, Charts, Playlists, Videos. September 15, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
13. "BCCMA Nominees". Top Country Music | Country Music News, Charts, Playlists, Videos. September 23, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
14. "Dallas Smith ropes in the wins at 2015 B.C. Country Music Awards". Vancouver Sun. October 27, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
15. "Complete List of 2016 CCMA Award Winners - Canadian Country Music Association". Ccma.org. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
16. "2016 CCMA Awards Nominees - Canadian Country Music Association". Ccma.org. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
17. "The Full List Of BCCMA Award Winners". Country 107.1. October 24, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
18. "The 2016 BCCMA Final Ballot Nominees !". Country 107.1. September 21, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
19. "2017 CRMA Nominees |2017 Canadian Music Week April 18–22, 2017". cmw.net. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
21. "2017 Western Canadian Music Award Nominees". breakoutwest.ca. Archived from the original on May 8, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
22. "2018 CCMA Awards Nominees - Canadian Country Music Association". Ccma.org. July 11, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
23. "2018 CCMA Award Winners - Canadian Country Music Association". Ccma.org. September 9, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
24. "2019 Juno Award Nominees - Junos". Junoawards.ca. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
25. "2019 CCMA Award Nominees - Canadian Country Music Association". Ccma.org. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
26. "Star studded lineup coming to Merritt for Rockin' River 2017 - Merritt Herald - Merritt Herald". Merrittherald.com. November 25, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
27. "Nashville North 2018" Country 105
28. "Old Dominion: Happy Endings 2018 World Tour". Nash Country Daily. October 16, 2017.

External links

• Official website