Fans help Royal Canoe stay afloat after gear was stolen

Winnipeg's Royal Canoe is thanking their fans for helping them stay afloat after they had their gear stolen in Quebec.

"We have all had an emotional couple of days and the silver lining to all of this is how incredibly supportive everyone has been," said Matt Schellenberg, who plays keyboards and sings in Royal Canoe.

• Winnipeg band Royal Canoe's tour trailer robbed of $82K in instruments

Early Monday morning the band's trailer was stolen from a parking lot outside their hotel north of Montreal in Laval, Que. Schellenberg said the gear and merchandise was valued at about $90,000. The band's insurance covers $60,000.

In the hours following the realization their trailer was gone, the band called police, made lists of the gear and tried to find instruments to buy or rent for the rest of the tour.

Schellenberg said they also, reluctantly, turned to Indigogo to fund the replacement.

"We are people with privilege and we get to tour the country and it's a cool job," Schellenberg explained. "But we couldn't think of another way we could continue being a band without help."

By Friday, the band had raised more than $13,000.

"[It] has been so incredible as far as the support we have received so far," Schellenberg said.

The band did have to cancel one show, but three days after the theft they took to the stage in Toronto.

"It was wonderful. It was really incredible to see everyone there," Schellenberg said.

"Everyone was so supportive. It felt like everyone was kind of in it with us."