Local rock band Kings of None has had a busy summer with shows across the Rainy River District. One of the highlights being opening for Helix at the Rainy River 120 celebrations, they return to Rainy River as the main event for Saturday night under the big tent.
Lead singer and guitarist Dave Byrnes says the summer has been full and opening for Canadian legends Helix was a highlight.
Kings of None rocking at the Rainy Lake Square
“The summer has been fantastic, we’ve had a pretty full slate as far as live shows go,” he said. “We had a pretty big one already in Rainy River where we had the opportunity to share the stage with Helix which was cool. We all grew up listening to them and to be able to share a stage with them was pretty cool.”
They recently played at the Nestor Falls Wings and Wheels Festival as well.
This won’t be the first time they’ve played the Walleye Tournament either.
“I think we played the year after COVID,” Byrnes said. “It was a fantastic time. I think it was the first time after a number of years of people being locked in and seeing the whole town get out and get behind it, it basically turned into probably one of the most energetic live shows that we’ve ever played.”
The local rockers are also promoting their most recent release, the EP Hot Mess which is available for streaming online.
“It takes a lot to write a new album, it took us probably a year,” Byrnes said. “We do all our own recording but then we had people involved like Cliff Pidlubny (of TOP Music Productions) locally in town and we had some out of town people help us with mastering and such.”
The band typically plays a rock oriented repertoire which includes their originals and a wide array of covers.
“We’re typically rock and roll from classic on up to the more current stuff,” Byrnes said. “But we also aren’t afraid of throwing some country in there, some Zach Brown, some easier listening stuff for a sit down show where you would sit and watch.”
Though the Walleye Tournament is a show where they don’t want to see anyone sitting.
“When it comes to the Rainy River Walleye Tournament, we’re trying to get people off their feet and get them on the dance floor and having a good time,” Byrnes said. “The best way to do that is to play upbeat music and play things that everybody under the big tent has grown up listening to. But then to be able to play a wide variety that will cater to people from the older generation right up to the younger generation, you’ve got to have a diverse set list to do that. We’ve been at it now for in excess of 18 years so we do have a decent set list that we can pull from.”
Byrnes says there are times when it takes some effort to get people moving during a show but they’ll eventually hit on the right song to get the crowd going.
“We can typically tell at the beginning of the night people are going to get acclimatized, and then as the night progresses, if you can play the music that gets them up on their feet, then just don’t stop. Keep playing that kind of music, right?” Byrnes said. “It’s generally not rocket science, but sometimes you’ll get up and play a few songs that you think are going to pack the dance floor and doesn’t. Then you pull out a country tune with a little bit of a higher, upbeat step, and all of a sudden the dance floor packs. I guess our job is, once you get them there, what do you have to do to keep them there?”
In addition to Byrnes, the band also features Todd Wrolstad on drums and background vocals, Ted DeBenetti on bass and Tyler Gagne on lead guitar. Byrnes says the members are all music lovers.
“I think we all truly love music, we like all genres of music. I guess the challenge is, as you work together as a crew, is what new music is coming out, or what song did you see somebody play that got the people off their butts and onto the dance floor?” Byrnes said. “We typically would be, as we call it, jamming once a week. I would say two hours plus per week that we dedicate to the live show, and to me that could be related to a lot of other things that people do, like I have friends that typically go and they golf twice a week, that’s their disconnect. For me truly when I plug in a guitar and I get together with the guys, it’s joking, laughing, but we’re also very dedicated to doing the job at hand. For me, everything else kind of disappears while you’re on stage and when you’re jamming. It’s almost like that thing you enjoy, some people may say, ‘Hey, I like to go fishing every weekend. I get out there and I’m at one with the wilderness.’ Well, it’s kind of that way with music for us, we get up on stage, we have fun doing it, and that’s kind of our thing, I guess.”
Kings of None is set to take to the stage at 9 p.m. on Saturday Sept. 21 and Byrnes says they’re willing to go until they stop serving beer, though the schedule says 1 a.m.
