Sound Seekers by Fateema Sayani is published weekly at OttawaMagazine.com. Read Fateema Sayani’s culture column in Ottawa Magazine and follow her on Twitter @fateemasayani

The Balconies Pull an Arcade Fire

They started as the pop group called Jacquie in the Kitchen and developed a loyal following playing club gigs and battle of the bands shows around Ottawa.

After a few years, the group found their hard-and-sweet rock style and became the internationally touring act known as The Balconies. Ever grateful for the education that two of its members — siblings Jacquie and Stephen Neville — received at Canterbury High School, the band decided to end its current tour by playing a show back at their old stomping grounds with proceeds from the gig going to support the school known for its arts program.

They aren’t the first band to heap praise on the school located near Walkley Road and St. Laurent Boulevard. Super-group the Arcade Fire drew attention to the place when they played in Canterbury’s cafeteria in 2007 between a string of sold-out dates in Montreal and New York. AF’s Richard Reed Parry went to Canterbury to study in the literary arts stream. Other prominent alumni include actors Raoul Bhaneja, Jessica Holmes, and filmmaker Martin Gero. (more…)