| Whitehorse | |
| Origin: | Hamilton, Ontario, Canada |
| Genre: | Folk rock |
| Years Active: | –present |
| Label: | Six Shooter |
| Current Members: | Luke Doucet Melissa McClelland |
Whitehorse is a Canadian folk rock band, composed of husband-and-wife duo Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland.[1] Based in Hamilton, Ontario,[2] Doucet and McClelland were both established singer-songwriters before opting to put their solo careers on hold to work together as Whitehorse.
Doucet and McClelland toured in each other's bands for years before forming Whitehorse in 2010.[3] They have since released three albums and two EPs on Six Shooter Records.[4]
In July 2013, their second album The Fate of the World Depends on This Kiss was shortlisted for the 2013 Polaris Music Prize.[5] That year, they also played their first show at Massey Hall, one of Canada's most storied music venues; to mark the occasion, they released The Road to Massey Hall, an EP comprising cover versions of songs written and performed by other artists who had previously performed there.
In 2014, they released Éphémère sans repère, an EP of French language versions of several of their songs.[6] Lyric translations for the EP were provided by Pierre Marchand.
Their third full-length album, Leave No Bridge Unburned, was released on February 17, 2015[7] and won the Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2016.[8]
Panther in the Dollhouse is their fourth studio album. The album was released via Six Shooter Records on July 7, 2017.[9]
Whitehorse performs live as a duo. While both Doucet and McClelland play guitar as their primary instruments as singer-songwriters, as Whitehorse each performs on a number of instruments.
The band makes extensive use of live looping; most commonly by opening many songs by creating layered drum and percussion loops to serve as a drum track. They also loop instrumental portions and vocal phrases in some songs.
Doucet generally plays the drum kit parts with McClelland adding other percussion elements. McClelland plays bass guitar and keyboards along with acoustic (and occasionally electric) guitar. Other than drums, Doucet generally plays electric (or acoustic outfitted to sound as an electric) guitar, with occasional keyboards. The duo also often uses several different vocal mics to achieve different sounds.[10]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Vocal Group of the Year | Whitehorse | |||
| Ensemble of the Year | |||||
| Contemporary Album of the Year | |||||
| Hamilton Music Awards | Female Vocalist of the Year | Melissa McClelland | |||
| Songwriter of the Year | The Fate of the World Depends on This Kiss | ||||
| Record of the Year | |||||
| Adult Alternative Recording of the Year | |||||
| 2013 | Polaris Music Prize Shortlist | ||||
| 2015 | Ensemble of the Year | Leave No Bridge Unburned | |||
| Pushing the Boundaries | |||||
| Polaris Music Prize Longlist | |||||
| 2016 | |||||
| Ensemble of the Year | The Northern South, Vol. 1 | ||||
| Pushing the Boundaries | |||||
| 2017 | |||||
| 2023 | Alternative Country Album of the Year | I'm Not Crying, You're Crying |