Canasta

Jeremy Beckford – guitar / vocals (about) Elizabeth Lindau – vocals / violin (about) Kyle Mann – piano / vocals (about) Matt Priest – vocals / bass / trombone / percussion (about) Colin Sheaff – drums / vocals (about) Ian Wilson – keyboard / vocals (about)

Living amongst the immense musical talent in a city like Chicago is eternally inspiring. But standing apart from the crowd can be a never?ending challenge. So Canasta came together in early 2002 when six friends joined forces and augmented the standard rock set?up with piano, violin, keyboard and trombone, in an effort to craft a more ambitious strain of majestic, ultra?melodic, orchestral pop. Canasta songs are nothing if not eclectic; you’ll hear everything from bouncy, horn?driven ditties to epic, sweeping anthems and slow, country?tinged narratives to instrumental post?rock. But what’s constant is an emphasis on sophisticated songwriting, dramatic dynamics and meticulous orchestration that has won them comparisons to Arcade Fire, Belle & Sebastian, The Decemberists, The Delgados, The Sea and Cake, Wilco and Yo La Tengo.

Canasta has performed for sizeable audiences all over the country, including stops at the SXSW Festival (Austin), CMJ Music Marathon (NYC) and CMJ Rock Hall Fest (Cleveland). In their hometown, they have headlined the legendary Metro, held the esteemed “Practice Space” residency at Schubas, played sold-out gigs at Double Door, Subterranean and Schubas, and just recently, performed at the amazing Riviera Theater, along with Wilco, Macy Gray and Barack Obama, at a fundraiser for the senator. They’ve shared stages with artists such as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Kaiser Chiefs, Sloan, Devotchka, Voxtrot, Grizzly Bear, Menomena, The Lemonheads, The Delgados, The Dears, The Posies, Jeremy Enigk, The Clientele, The New Amsterdams, Crooked Fingers, American Music Club, Longwave, Earlimart, Nebula, Imperial Teen, Califone, Edith Frost, Annuals, The Cool Kids, Adam Green, Elf Power, Saturday Looks Good To Me, Jill Sobule, The BellRays, Starlight Mints, Aqueduct, Nicolai Dunger, Eleventh Dream Day, The Damnwells, The Kingsbury Manx, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Now It's Overhead, Headlights, Page France, The Earlies, Kelley Stoltz, Nomo, Swearing at Motorists, Bobby Conn and The Aluminum Group, among others. They’ve also done a number of charity performances to benefit domestic?abuse, rape advocacy, sustainable architecture, independant radio, AIDS, and arts organizations.