The Northwest is about to do something big

The Northwest, a five-piece band from Sault, have had some amazing success lately.

From the outside it really feels like things are really coming together after almost nine years as a band, three releases and several videos later.

“This year has been incredible,” says Wayne Watkins, vocalist and guitarist for The Northwest.

“We’ve put a lot of time and effort into this new EP and really focused on releasing it and getting it out to as many people as possible.”

Watkins is joined in the band by Mike Yakasovich on guitar/vocals, Greg Callaghan on guitar/vocals, Mike Smykacz on bass guitar and Marc Santos on drums.

“We spoke to many industry representatives ahead of time to help us formulate an appropriate release strategy,” says Watkins.

“We’re really proud of that.”

The band has garnered positive reviews for their album, airplay on stations across Canada, songs played (multiple times) during Hockey Night in Canada, and most recently a successful opening slot at the GFL Memorial Gardens, which is the venue for the headliners of the Show, Mariana’s Trench, Heated and the Trews.

When asked if the opportunity to play The Gardens with the legacy of all the great bands that have played there over the years has influenced the band, Watkins confirmed it was a “dream come true”.

“Oh, sure… as soon as we got on stage I had chills,” says Watkins.

“Even leading up to the show, I felt overwhelmed at certain points when it actually happened. Actually, it was just about being in the moment and enjoying the day.”

The frontman confirmed that the attention The Northwest has been receiving lately seems to be a lot bigger than what many local bands are seeing.

“When we found out in 2019 that we had received the Ontario Arts Council grant, we decided to try the next step,” he says.

“Our goal with this release was to break out of the ‘local band’ category. As a songwriter, I really wanted to see this project as a ‘band from Canada’ and really start reaching out to new markets and audiences.”

Although a full Canadian tour doesn’t make financial sense for the band right now, they are taking their music to new communities.

“Our strategy is really just weekend shows or going out of town to play when it makes financial sense or when the opportunity is beneficial.”

Watkins also notes that the band is currently applying to as many Canadian festivals as possible for the summer of 2023.

“We’ve also applied for a festival in the UK for next spring,” he says.

“So let’s hope to share this news soon!”

Meanwhile, The Northwest has an upcoming show in North Bay to play a concert series hosted by the Guerrilla Grooves Music Performance Series.

“We are also planning our Christmas show at LopLops, where we will celebrate a very successful year.”

Watkins says the band is grateful for all the community support they’ve received.

“First we all have to thank our family and partners for the support and back. We’re all fathers with young children, so our partners have been great and encouraging to us,” he says.

Our circle of friends also gave us a lot of support. Everything in it All in all, it was great to see that people have our backs and support what we do.”

The Northwest EP Everything in it was released on June 10th and is available on most streaming platforms.

Listen to The Northwest on their Apple Music or Spotify page.

Stay up to date with the band by following their Facebook, Bandcamp, Instagram, TicTok or Twitter Pages.