Beech Hill (l to r) Neil MacQuarrie, Peter MacInnis, Jesse Ryan, and Jesse Fraser. Photo supplied by Neil MacQuarrie.
-by Beverley Phillips
Beech Hill has just released their third album, entitled Release.
The local modern folk band continues to engage the listener with their storytelling and laid-back sound, as they did on their previous albums, Midwinter EP and Chameleon.
The group is made up of multi-instrumentalist Peter MacInnis, Jesse Ryan on guitar and ukulele, Jesse Fraser on bass, and Neil MacQuarrie on drums. They’ve been together for 15 years and perform a wide range of music when hitting the stage. The venue and the audience determines the set list, and while some festivals and concerts may feature their original music, they cover everything from classic rock and country to top 40 hits.
As a band, MacQuarrie said they are inspired by groups like the Avett Brothers and Fleet Foxes and the songwriting styles of Tom Petty and Bob Dylan.
While their songs are a group effort, Ryan and MacInnis are the songwriters of the band. “They wrote lyrics, the chord structures, and progressions,” said MacQuarrie, “and then once we start jamming together as a group, we write our own parts, and we help each other. It’s a collaboration after the boys write the bones of the song.”
The band will be playing festivals around the county this summer and have a big show as part of KitchenFest, where they will be playing at the Gaelic College on June 30th.
On what it means to still be playing together after all these years, MacQuarrie said, “It’s one of the best things happening for us. It’s so much fun. We get together, play, write music, do shows, and have lots of fun. It’s awesome. It was fun since the first time we jammed, and it’s still fun today, so we just keep doing it.”
The album can be found on all music streaming apps, as well as YouTube and Instagram.