Local band Mother Sun played the Blackwell Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel in Kamloops, BC on June 1. They brought in guest artists, The Breathing Effect, from Los Angeles. This band is fronted by longtime friends Eli Goss on synthesizers, guitar and vocals, and drummer and vocalist Harry Terrell.

This talented band also included a keyboard player/violinist, a bass player, and a guitarist/vocalist. The Breathing Effect’s influences are noted as soul, rock and jazz.

The Breathing Effect has a long list of albums to their credit. They played a few songs off their 2023 album Eli & Harry and others off previous albums. Some of the early tracks had a progressive rock feel and two tracks covered the soul or R&B genres. “Shake It Up” had some of the audience singing along. The Breathing Effect played a great set and at times, the audience seemed entranced by their performance.

Mother Sun played the final set. Over time they have amassed a good number of tunes to choose from and are constantly adding to their catalogue.

They played a number of tracks from the albums Train of Thought and Caramel Clouds, along with songs that had been released as singles or in pairs. Their dreamy mix of light vocals with psychedelic guitars, keyboards and drums has garnered a big following in the area. Guitars are manned by Emilio Pagnotta and Jared Doherty. They provide most of the vocals, too. Alex Ward plays keyboards and bass, while Jared Wilman handles the drum kit.

Their song “One Eye,” provided a surf rock feel. Their set included (a personal favourite) “Flower” which is a dreamy, slower tempo mix of vocals and guitar. Other crowd favourites were “Orange Colossus” and “Mustard Seed.“

Most of the audience stood on the ballroom floor and to the side of the stage and showed their approval with sustained applause. It was a fun evening of music and a great idea to combine these two accomplished bands from different parts of North America for this show.