Whitehorse

Americana, Canadiana, singer-songwriter

The easiest and most obvious comparisons for Whitehorse are the solo careers of its members - Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland. Whitehorse records for Six Shooter Records and fits solidly under that label. They're likely to be of interest to fans of other Six Shooter artists like Elliott Brood, the Deep Dark Woods, NQ Arbuckle, and others. For their richly harmonious, moody, emotive tunes, they may also be of interest to fans of Patty Griffin, Buddy & Julie Miller, Emmylou Harris, and Shawn Colvin.

Melissa McClelland - guitar, vocals
Luke Doucet - guitar, vocals

Whitehorse (Six Shooter Records, 2012) compare prices

Luke Doucet - Broken (And Other Rogue States) (Six Shooter Records, 2005) compare prices

Melissa McClelland - Victoria Day (Six Shooter Records, 2009) compare prices

"Dirty Dirty Blonde" (by Luke Doucet and the White Falcon, from Steel City Trawler)
"Pretty Blue" (by Melissa McClelland, from Stranded in Suburbia)
"First Day (In the New Hometown)" (by Luke Doucet, from Blood's Too Rich)

Luke Doucet was born June 9, 1973, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He grew up in Manitoba, Canada, with a penchant for traveling. He traveled from Winnipeg to Nova Scotia by himself at age 11 and then took a bus trip from Winnipeg to Vancouver, BC, by himself a couple years later. It was that same year that he got his first guitar. Until his teen years, Doucet had dreamed of becoming a lawyer. He took up playing the blues and joined a band with his father while he was still in high school, then moved to Vancouver, BC, after high school (when he was just 19 years old) to take a spot as lead guitarist in Sarah McLachlan's band.

In the mid-1990s, Doucet joined another Vancouver-based band called Veal, which broke up after their third album was released in 2003. Luckily for Doucet, he had already launched his solo career at that point, dropping his debut in 2001, titled Aloha, Manitoba. That disc was also the first release ever by the label Six Shooter Records. Since then, Doucet has released five more solo albums - frequently featuring backing vocals and other collaborations with Melissa McClelland, his wife.

In addition to his solo work, Doucet has become highly respected among independent Canadian musicians for his work as a producer and session player. He's produced albums by fellow Six Shooter artist NQ Arbuckle, Rose Cousins, and others, and has appeared on albums by McLachlan, Oh Susanna, Major Maker, and others. He's been nominated for a number of awards through the years, including Canadian Folk Music Awards and other honors.

Melissa McClelland was born in Chicago in 1979 before her family moved first to Burlington, Ontario, and then to Toronto. It was in Toronto where she first started pursuing music, making her way around the local Canadiana singer-songwriter scene there.

In 2001, McClelland released her debut self-titled solo album before signing a contract with Orange/Universal records. She released two albums on that label before moving over to Six Shooter Records. The first one she recorded for Orange was produced by Luke Doucet in 2004. Two years later, the couple announced their marriage on a CBC television show. Doucet produced three of McClelland's albums, also lending his guitar work to them. McClelland has returned the favor by appearing on his records and adding her backing vocals to the work of Sarah McLachlan (who has lent her voice to McClelland's work, in turn).

Finally in 2011, the two decided to start calling themselves a band, and got to work on a duo album under the moniker Whitehorse. The disc has been remarkably well-received, scoring the duo much-buzzed-about slots at festivals like South by Southwest and beyond.