THE BEACHES ’ FUTURE LOVERS TOUR
With a lighting team of George Gorton & Ishdeep Bhogal , the fast-rising rock & roll band staged their most high-end tour yet
By Michael Raine Photos by Evie Maynes
Propulsive rhythms , slice-of-youth lyrics , and singalong choruses have made The Beaches one of Canada ’ s hottest bands . Though we live in a musical age where many artists ’ reputations are made online , from SoundCloud to TikTok , especially in the pop / rap / R & B realm , when it comes to good ol ’ rock and roll , the live show is still where a band earns respect . There are markers along that path for a band , beginning with lugging your gear onto the sticky stages of dive bars , to the point where you have a legit , professional crew and some real production value . The Beaches have climbed that ladder , and the Toronto quartet has earned their accolades the old-fashioned way , by being a kick-ass rock and roll band that commands the stage and gets audiences bouncing .
With the release of the acclaimed Future Lovers EP in 2021 , The Beaches were set for bigger things . That was certainly obvious when they were tapped to open for The Rolling Stones at a massive outdoor show in June 2022 , which was no doubt a dream come true for the four band members — lead singer / bassist Jordan Miller , her sister Kylie Miller on lead guitar , and their childhood friends Leandra Earl ( keyboards / guitar ) and Eliza Enman-McDaniel ( drums ). But for any band , there is nothing like playing to your own fans on a headlining tour . Unfortunately for The Beaches , like nearly every band , their ability to play for those fans was stunted by the pandemic .
Initial plans for a Canadian tour in support of Future Lovers were called off because of provincial restrictions . Thankfully , that tour was rescheduled for spring 2022 ( plus a couple late summer shows in Toronto , some festival dates , and a few support slots for Avril Lavigne ) and they took off for a tour of theatres and concert halls in Ontario and western Canada . And to show off their growing popularity , the band wanted to up the spectacle a bit for this tour , while still keeping the focus on what makes the band great — the music and charisma of the four musicians .
To help them achieve this balance , they reconnected with lighting designer George Gorton , who is no stranger to lighting Canadian rock stars , having worked with Mother Mother , Sam Roberts Band , Dallas
THE BEACHES PERFORMING AT HISTORY IN TORONTO
Smith , Stars , The New Pornographers , and many more . To program the timecoded show and operate the rig on tour , Gorton enlisted his friend Ishdeep Bhogal , who has worked with the likes of Rise Against , Dallas Smith , The Reklaws , and others .
“ If you come to a Beaches show , their presence onstage is massive — they are total maestros at using their stage effectively ; they recognize and accent movements that are effective to light . It really helped drive the design process and I wanted a structure that no matter the size of the venue , it put as many backlights as possible behind them ,” begins Gorton about his design for Future Lovers Tour .
Bhogal , meanwhile , who is based in Winnipeg , has been building his name as a lighting designer and programmer in the Canadian live music community for the last few years . He ’ s worked with and seen a lot of on-the-rise bands as they ’ ve come through town , and The Beaches were one that always stuck with him .
“ George did a tour with The Beaches pre-pandemic and , at the time , I bugged him ; like , ‘ Hey , can I do this one ?’ I was a fan of The Beaches in high school and that ’ s how I knew them before . There was a ton of times they came through opening for bands and I ran them when I was house teching ,” Bhogal recalls for Professional Lighting & Production . “ It still didn ’ t work out at that time , unfortunately , but then when things were coming back and tours were getting confirmed again [ post-pandemic ], one of the conflicts for George was The Beaches tour . I just said , ‘ Okay , I have to do everything to make this one work ’ because I really wanted to do it . I just knew the camp was great and I could really do my thing there . Plus , George being the other side of it , this was one I really wanted to do .”
It just so happened that Bhogal was already committed to a tour with popular American punk band Rise Against , but there was a break in their schedule that coincided perfectly with The Beaches ’ planned Canadian dates . After consulting with the band , exchanging ideas with Bhogal , and adapting his plans according to product availability , Gorton ’ s final design was highlighted by 12 vertical pipes framing the back of the stage , plus
28 | Fall 2022