YQG band nominated for Juno award

Tarek Jafar, guitarist/vocalist for the Blue Stones, is proud of the band’s Juno nomination.

Their first show was at the now closed Chubby Pickle in 2011, but according to Tarek Jafar, half of the Blue Stones, their first event was in a backyard with six guests in attendance.

The band has come a long way since then. The Blue Stones currently have 857, 431 monthly listeners on Spotify.  How does the band make the magic happen when producing their songs?

“Typically I’ll hear a melody in my head and sing it into my phone. That way I can store it for later and work on it. Normally it starts with me messing around on my guitar and then I have a laptop set up where I can play with different effects,” said Jafar. “Then I’ll write sort of a skeleton framework of a song with a melody in my head no lyrics. If I like it enough I’ll throw some sample drumming on it myself or I’ll throw it to Justin.”

They are headlining on their second tour and have recently been nominated for breakthrough group of the year at the Juno Awards. In the category they are accompanied by bands such as Hunter Brothers, Neon Dreams, Palaye Royale and Valley.

“It’s so great to be recognized by your country like that, you know? Even to be nominated is such a huge honour. It’s something we’ve always dreamed of… so it’s nice to have it happen,” says Jafar.

This year the Juno awards will be hosted by Alessia Cara in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on Sun. March 15, 2020.