A popular cover band from Victoria, The Lonely, will be performing for the first time on Cortes Island at Lovefest on Aug. 14.

Jack Weyler is a member of the band, with deep roots on Cortes Island. Weyler has performed at Lovefest in 2018 and 2019, with five different acts, but performing with The Lonely this year will be significant for several reasons.

“It was always a plan of ours to perform Lovefest with Michael," Weyler says. "That unfortunately did not work out for several reasons. However we are thrilled as a group to finally be performing on Cortes.”

Weyler is referring to Michael Demers, a founding member of The Lonely, who passed away in May 2021. The band continues on and has welcomed Danielle Lebeau-Petersen.

Lebeau-Petersen played her first performance with The Lonely at Michael Demers memorial ceremony. Lovefest will be the second performance, and the first public one since Danielle has joined. 

“We had a performance for Mike Demers’ celebration of life," Lebeau-Petersen says. And that was a particular way to appear as a ban…we had never performed in any other context publicly which actually feels in a lot of ways, very special…just the nature of COVID. We probably would have had other opportunities… it was actually very charged because this particularity but it was beautiful and now we were coming up on love Fest. So that's yet like another, like our second baby step into the world as this iteration.”

Most recently, on July 23, Lebeau-Petersen performed a tribute for Joni Mitchell at the Islands Folk Festival in Duncan.

“My first opportunities were playing with my parents and that became my wheelhouse. And it's always been my wheelhouse of my strongest repertoire to perform and the things closest to my heart. And Joni Mitchell was a huge standout for me, just because of her musical pros and individuality, her artistic strength.”

The Lonely is also known as a cover band, making Danielle a natural addition to the ensemble, and she described the current flavor of the band.

“I'm doing a few Roy (Orbison) songs, which is really fun because also there's been a few female artists who have done a repertoire of his, like 'I Drove All Night,' for example.”

Hear Danielle Lebeau-Petersen perform with The Lonely, as they play this next chapter, at Lovefest on Aug. 14. 

Listen to the full interview with Danielle Lebeau-Petersen below: