The thing you need to know right off the top is that the Legere family is different.
I’ll never forget the first Christmas I spent with them, which is the core memory my brain always conjures up when I think of them as a family unit.
I arrived a little late, expecting to walk into the normal malay of finger foods and holiday schmoozing. Instead, the whole family—four borderline identical blonde, mostly adult children and their charismatic dad—were gathered around the piano, the oldest son, Stewart, was playing and they were all belting out Meatloaf’s “I would do anything for love” in perfect harmony.
Essentially, the Legere family are the modern day von Trapps, but with wine. So it’s no surprise that now—20 years later—the siblings are still performing together.
The brothers Legere—Mike and Stewart—are gearing up to play a show this Saturday at The Carleton. It was a sibling collaboration that almost didn’t happen because Stewart had planned to be away on a different tour. Mike was looking for a local venue and band to perform with and asked Stewart for suggestions.
“I was supposed to be away, but then my plans changed and I was like ‘let’s share the night and do it at The Carleton’,” says Stewart in an interview at the Halifax library with The Coast. “I love The Carleton because it’s a listening room. The sound engineers there are awesome and it’s a beautiful place that respects music; it’s just a culture of listening.”
Stewart’s acoustic sound—“it’s just me and a guitar”—is certainly worth listening to rather than screamed over in a crowded bar. It’s a right he has earned.
Aside from his solo singer-songwriter projects, Stewart is a vocalist with orchestral pop outfit The Heavy Blinkers. He is also the associate artistic director of Zuppa Theatre, which has performed for audiences at theatres and festivals across Canada and the UK. An avid and passionate collaborator, his work is fascinated with sexuality, vulnerability, intimacy, the destruction of persona and the celebration of performance.
On Saturday, the brothers will split the bill—with the older, Stewart, going first—so there really will be something for fans of both. For his set, Stewart plans on playing a few new songs that have been in the works for a while.
“I’m slowly working towards a new album, but it takes me a long time to write,” says Stewart. “In this capitalist hellscape where you have to juggle a million things in order to live, I find it hard to find the time to sit down and really focus and openly reflect on what I’m doing.”
Stewart will also be joined by Halifax singer-songwriter Adam Warren—aka waants—to perform their collaboration “You won’t be punished for the lie”.
“I’m going to do a few songs with waants and then Mike and I are going to do one of his songs—he just released a new one—so we’re going to do a duet in his set,” says Stewart. “It’s really going to be a big love-in.”
The Mike Legere Band—as they are going by in this particular tour because the album is Mike’s project—is a four piece based out of Toronto. Mike is joined by Omar Shabbar (bass, synth, backup vocals), Greg O’Toole (guitar), and Colin McNalley (drums). They perform dynamic music that moves between folk, indie rock and alternative genres, and has a strong emphasis on lyrics.
“They are kind of like a collective. They each do their own projects and then they play on each other’s projects,” explains Stewart. “So if it’s someone else’s project, the band is named after that person.”
Stewart says he imagines there will be “one million” Legeres in attendance to show their family support on Saturday night, but you can still get tickets even if you aren’t related to them at https://www.thecarleton.ca/events/the-mike-legere-band-stewart-legere/
This article appears in Oct 1 – Nov 6, 2024.