LES SHIRLEY| MONTREAL, CAN
Right off the bat, you may wonder what is a Shirley. A Shirley is a ride or die, a way of life.
Raphaëlle Chouinard (Vocals; Guitar), Sarah Dion (Bass), and Lisandre Bourdages (Drums) had too much whisky one night and accidentally unleashed the beast within them to become Les Shirley;
a kickass rock power trio.
Les Shirley is a kick-ass all-female rock power trio formed in Montreal in 2019. Raphaëlle Chouinard (vocals, guitar), Lisandre Bourdages (drums) and Sarah Dion (bass) were brought together by a strong desire to make the music they’d always wanted to hear as their life’s playlist, fueled by their unique friendship. Their musical style is redefining the genre connecting the dots between 90’s grunge, 2000’s punk rock culture and catchy pop tunes with influences ranging from Paramore to Céline Dion. Just the right dose of nostalgia mixed with a breath of fresh air, something that definitely stands out. The girls are solid musicians with a flair for flaming hot melodies and bursting riffs.
LES SHIRLEY rapidly made their way into Montreal’s music scene. In 2019, the band’s self-titled debut EP won them Best New Artist and Rock EP of the Year at Quebec’s GAMIQ gala. Forever Is Now, their debut album, was released in march 2021 and received very favorable reviews. The leading single Fuck It I’m in Love charted on the Active Rock top 40 charts and cumulated over 600K plays on all platforms as of now. Their sophomore album, More is More, came out in October of 2022 and was nominated at ADISQ gala for Anglophone Album Of The Year and the band performed for the opening number. In 2023, the band cumulates many tv appearances (Belle et Bum, Bonsoir Bonsoir, En Direct de l’Univers, etc) and was featured on The Voice Quebec as guests on a special performance for the show’s finale. LES SHIRLEY’s music was also used in many tv shows that aired on platforms such as Crave.
Quickly multiplying shows and festivals (over 200 since 2019), the girls shared the stage with many big acts such as NOFX, Weezer, Sublime and were main support for bands like Foo Fighters (upon the bands request!), Simple Plan, Billy Talent, The Beaches and Avril Lavigne. They quickly embarked on many European tours across Germany, France, Denmark and Sweden. Ever since, radios all over Canada and beyond have been spinning their tunes and their crowd is only growing bigger and wilder.
In 2025, the band is set to work on a third album, their first US tour will take place in October of that year and a return to Europe is in the books for the coming release year as well.
Notable Supports in Canada: Avril Lavigne, Foo Fighters, Weezer, Simple Plan, NOFX, Billy Talent, Beaches
Notable Supports in Europe: Jimmy Eat World, As Friends Rust, Downtown Boys, MARCH
Notable Festivals Europe: Wilwarin (DE, Ellerdorf), Bars en Trans (FR, Paris, Rennes), Aucard de Tours (FR, Tours), Booze Cruise Festival (DE, Hamburg)
Press:
“LES SHIRLEY aus Montreal sind die Band, um die kein:e Punkrocker:in einen Bogen machen kann. Raphaëlle, Sarah und Lisandre sind das spannendste Trio, das 2022 zu bieten haben wird. Und sie stehen erst am Anfang. „LES SHIRLEY gehört die Zukun]! An diesem Trio wird in den nächsten Jahren kein Weg vorbeiführen!“, schrieb SebasLan Wahle in Ox #155 über das Debütalbum „Forever Is Now“. – OX-FANZINE 2022
Bad Feeling Magazine – Watch: Montreal’s Les Shirley declare: “Fuck It I’m In Love” (January 2021)
Canadian Beats – Five Questions With Les Shirley (January 2021)
Exclaim Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s Les Shirley’s ‘Forever Is Now’ (March 2021)
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