The East Pointers are starting the year with new music. The PEI-founded folk group recently released Schoonertown. “It is basically just life growing up in a small East Coast town… loosely based around some of our experiences earlier on in our adult years, and just a big kitchen party and hopefully a good time,” said Tim Chaisson in an interview with CTV Atlantic’s Katie Kelly. For the first time, the band also handled the entire production process themselves, recording and producing the album from home in Charlottetown. “Jake engineered it and we produced it and wrote it and recorded it all ourselves. It definitely is a big undertaking, but it was so rewarding whenever you actually tackle it and finish it,” Chaisson said. The release also keeps their late bandmate Koady Chaisson close, while leaning into a more uplifting sound. “Our last record we kind of wrote some songs that were in a sad place and we purposely wanted to do something that felt more positive sounding musically,” Chaisson said. “But there’s still tunes we wrote with Koady, and the last track on the album, Sea Spirit, is a track that Koady wrote and we recorded it.” And whether listeners are on the East Coast or far from home, the band hopes the album brings people back. “If you live on the East Coast, maybe you feel proud to be on the East Coast, and if you’re away, just kind of be transported there,” said Jake Charron. With new music out, the band is now preparing to take the songs on the road, joining Alan Doyle on a cross-country tour. “I think it’s going to be a good time. I’m worried about how foolish people are going to get, but I think that’s a good thing,” Chaisson said. The tour includes 6 Maritime dates in March, including four back-to-back shows in Halifax. The East Pointers also have a Hometown Album Release Show in April at the Trade Centre at the Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown.
