Young Bucks bring East Coast folk to Hong Kong - Action News
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Nova Scotia

Young Bucks bring East Coast folk to Hong Kong

They had to travel half-way around the world to get together, but folk-rock band the Young Bucks, made up of four Nova Scotians, one Calgarian and one American, are enjoying popularity on the Hong Kong music scene.

Nova Scotian musicians find bandmates, thriving music scene halfway around world

The Young Bucks play a show at the Hong Kong waterfront. (Stephanie Hsieh)

They're a folk-rock band with a heavy Nova Scotian contingent, but The Young Bucks didn't come together playing at their local Legion.

Chris Ivany, who grew up in Albert Bridge, N.S., moved with his wife to Hong Kong 10 years ago to take teaching jobs.

His friend, Shamus MacKinnon, from Sydney, N.S.,had recently done the same, and the two soon started playing together at small venues and open mic nights.

"When we first started playing, Shamus and I had no idea we'd be able to play folk music in Hong Kong," Ivany told CBC's Cape BretonInformation Morning.

After some time, they were joined by Paul MacLeanfrom Glace Bay, N.S., Rob Anderson from Timberlea, N.S., Sean Softley from Calgary, and Jimmy Pittman from Chicago.

From let to right: The Young Bucks are Paul MacLean from Glace Bay, N.S., Rob Anderson from Timberlea, N.S., Chris Ivany from Albert Bridge, N.S., Sean Softley from Calgary, Jimmy Pittman from Chicago, and Shamus MacKinnon from Sydney, N.S. (Ben Marans Photography)

MacLean, who plays drums, describes the band's sound as "folk-rocky, with a bit of Americana thrown in."

"But it has a nice East Coast feel because our fiddle player, although he's from Calgary, you'd think he's straight out of Mabou," said MacLean.

The Young Bucks now get regular requests to play shows, including a monthly event called What the Folk. They've even done a couple of shows on a local radio station.

"The expat community here is massive," said Ivany, noting there are300,000 Canadian citizens in Hong Kong. "And once we saw that there were a couple other bands doing it, it kind of just gave us the confidence to put it out there and play the music that we love."

They've also grown to love their adopted hometown, and have enjoyed playing on the Hong Kong waterfront with the city skyline and surrounding mountains. Butthey admit the move to a foreign metropolis was an adjustment at first.

"I grew up on a dirt road," said Ivany. "I lived in Chticamp and Margaree for six years without even a traffic light. And that first ride from the airport into the city was very intimidating."

There are some fiddlers in Hong Kong, 'but we have the best one,' said Chris Ivany of bandmate Sean Softley. (Stephanie Hsieh)

He describes Hong Kong as the New Yorkof Asia.

"There's nothing you can't do, there's nothing you can't get, there's no food you can't eat," he said.

It's also a convenient hub from which to travel to the rest of Asia relatively cheaply, he said.

In recent years, they've witnessed protests as the local population calls for greater democracy. But Ivany said the unrest hasn't touched their lives much.

"Things have changed a lot since we've been here actually. But it continues to provide us so many opportunities that it's really hard to leave."

New album coming out

The Young Bucks are looking forward to the release of their new album Rookies, which is largely made up of "foot-stomping, sea-shanty style" tunes, said Ivany.

The album is scheduled to be released on vinyl and online streaming platforms in mid-July.

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With files from CBC's Information Morning Cape Breton