Aurora band The Beresfords are hopping on the Swiftie train this summer, performing their tribute act as part of the Newmarket TD Music Series on July 18 and Aurora’s Concert in the Park series on July 24.
Brother and sister country and rock duo Brendan and Shannon Beresford have been performing together for more than a decade, but have recently branched out into performing a Taylor Swift tribute act.
Shannon recently returned from a show in the U.S. performing her Taylor Swift tribute and said Swift has “definitely influenced my own songwriting throughout the years.”
“We’re finding a lot of families are coming out to our shows because they weren’t able to get tickets to the real thing, we do meet and greets before and after, and just seeing how happy that makes them, it’s really heartwarming," she said.
While Taylor Swift attracts a group of hardcore fans, Shannon said they are invariably excited to hear the songs, “which takes away some of the pressure.”
“I like a lot of her songs, so it’s fun to just get up there, I think people are so passionate about her music and love her songs so much, they’re there to listen and have a good time.”
Shannon said even while she and her brother were both musical growing up, they never saw themselves forming a band together.
“We were very musical growing up but it was separate and I would go to open mic nights on my own, and play my own stuff.”
“One day Brendan brought his guitar and left it in the car, and I got the whole crowd to cheer for him and to go get his guitar, and we played a Keith Urban song together. And that was it, people were saying, ‘You guys need to do this together.’”
While Brendan has moved to Guelph from Aurora, the pair are juggling their busy summer show schedule and working through the repertoire of songs they have written and are now looking to record.
“We fight, we definitely fight, but it’s one of those things where our family has always been closely knit, we’re very fortunate to have each other throughout this experience," said Shannon. "We’ve done a lot of really cool shows, we’ve met a lot of really cool people, and to experience that with a family member who’s also your best friend, it just makes it even more worthwhile.”
“When we’re old and look back on it, even if it doesn’t evolve into a huge career, by whoever’s standards, it will be cool to look back and say, ‘We did that.’”
Their new single, Pull My Heart Away, is set to be released Aug. 16.
The Beresfords are headlining with their Taylor Swift tribute at Riverwalk Commons in Newmarket this Thursday, with Buck Twenty opening, from 6 to 9 p.m. Then, on Wednesday, July 24, they bring their tribute to Aurora Town Park from 7 to 9 p.m.
Editor's Note, July 16: This article and sub-headline has been amended to remove an incorrect reference to an upcoming appearance.
