Family Day is a holiday in a variety of Canadian provinces, observed by B.C. on Feb. 13 and everywhere else, Feb. 20. Since so many of our favourite established and emerging bands’ origin stories are rooted in family — siblings, multigenerational, married couples, etc. — CBC Music wants to provide you with the ultimate soundtrack to your Family Day.
Below, you’ll find a comprehensive family band playlist featuring a massive array of artists playing everything from French art-pop to rootsy folk-rock and fiercely original classical to heart-pounding hip-hop.
Happy family day!
Band: Tennyson
Song: "Fault Line"
Hometown: Edmonton
Family tree: siblings Luke Tennyson and Tess Pretty
Band: the New Pornographers
Song: "High Ticket Attractions"
Hometown: Vancouver
Family tree: uncle AC Newman and niece Kathryn Calder
Band: Grand Analog
Song: "Love is a Battlefield"
Hometown: Winnipeg
Family tree: siblings Odario and Ofield Williams
Band: Malajube
Song: "Synesthésie"
Hometown: Montreal
Family tree: siblings Julien and Francis Mineau
Band: the Stella Sisters
Song: "Ring of Fire"
Hometown: Oshawa, Ont.
Family tree: siblings Lennon and Maisy Stella
Band: the Sadies
Song: "Another Season Again"
Hometown: Toronto
Family tree: siblings Travis and Dallas Good
Band: Digging Roots
Song: "I’ve Got It Bad"
Hometown: Barrie, Ont.
Family tree: spouses Raven Kanetakta and ShoShona Kish
Band: the Dears
Song: "I Used to Pray for the Heavens to Fall"
Hometown: Montreal
Family tree: spouses Murray Lightburn and Natalia Yanchak
Band: Tegan and Sara
Song: "100x"
Hometown: Calgary
Family tree: twins Tegan and Sara Quin
Band: Cheng² Duo
Song: "Horse Racing"
Hometown: Ottawa
Family tree: siblings Silvie and Bryan Cheng
Artists: Martha and Rufus Wainwright
Song: "Come a Long Way"
Hometown: Montreal
Family tree: siblings and children of artists Anna McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III
Artists: Kate and Anna McGarrigle
Song: "Heart Like a Wheel"
Hometown: Montreal
Family tree: siblings and mother and aunt, respectively, to Martha and Rufus Wainwright.
Band: the Wainwright Sisters
Song: "El Condor Pasa"
Hometown: New York/Montreal
Family tree: half siblings Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright-Roche, daughters of Louden Wainwright III
Band: Arcade Fire
Song: "The Suburbs"
Hometown: Montreal (and Haiti and Texas)
Family tree: spouses Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, and brother/brother-in-law William Butler
Band: the Besnard Lakes
Song: "Necronomicon"
Hometown: Montreal
Family tree: spouses Olga Goreas and Jace Lasek
Band: Winsome Kind
Song: "This Much is True"
Hometown: Vancouver
Family tree: spouses Scott Perrie and Leora Joy
Band: Too Attached
Song: "Unhappy"
Hometown: Vancouver and Toronto
Family tree: siblings Vivek Shraya and Shamik Bilgi
Band: Les soeurs Boulay
Song: "Déjeuner"
Hometown: Montreal
Family tree: siblings Stéphanie and Mélanie Boulay
Band: The Bells
Song: "Stay Awhile"
Hometown: Montreal
Family tree: siblings Anne and Jackie Ralph
Band: Whitehorse
Song: "Mismatched Eyes (Boat Song)"
Hometown: Hamilton, Ont.
Family tree: spouses Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland
Band: Doomsquad
Song: "Apocalypso"
Hometown: Toronto
Family tree: siblings Allie, Trevor Blumas and Jaclyn Blumas
Band: Mother Mother
Song: "Letter"
Hometown: Vancouver
Family tree: siblings Ryan and Molly Guldemond
Band: Dani and Lizzy
Song: "Dancing in the Sky"
Hometown: Vancouver
Family tree: twins Danielle and Elizabeth Nelson
Band: Dear Rouge
Song: "Black to Gold"
Hometown: Vancouver
Family tree: spouses Danielle and Drew McTaggart
Band: Brave Shores
Song: "More Like You"
Hometown: Toronto
Family tree: siblings Jay and Stefanie McCarrol
Band: Tasseomancy
Song: "29 Palms"
Hometown: Toronto
Family tree: twins Sari and Romy Lightman
Band: the Rankin Family
Song: "Fare Thee Well Love"
Hometown: Mabou, N.S.
Family tree: siblings Jimmy, Raylene (died in 2012), Genevieve, Heather, John Morris (died in 2000) and Cookie Rankin
Band: Leahy
Song: "The Call to Dance"
Hometown: Lakefield, Ont.
Family tree: siblings Donnell, Erin, Angus, Maria, Doug and Frank Leahy, Siobheann Donohue (Leahy), Denise Flack (Leahy)
Band: KEN mode
Song: "Failing at Fun Since 1981"
Hometown: Winnipeg
Family tree: siblings Jesse and Shane Matthewson
Band: Matt and Jill Barber
Song: "One True Love"
Hometown: Halifax
Family tree: siblings Matt and Jill Barber
Hang out with me on Twitter: @_AndreaWarner
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