Rare Americans, fronted by WHL alumnus Priestner, set for JUNOS stage

From 2006 through 2011, James Priestner was busy patrolling the blue paint in the WHL.

This weekend, he will take to the ice as a part of the JUNO Cup, all while he and his bandmates in Rare Americans wait with bated breath for the 52nd annual JUNO Awards on Monday evening.

Rare Americans, fronted by the 32-year-old Priestner, is nominated for Breakthrough Group of the Year – the band’s first ever JUNO Awards nomination.

Back in 2006, Priestner was selected by the Kamloops Blazers in the second round (31st overall) of the WHL Bantam Draft. He made his WHL debut between the pipes with the Blazers during the 2006-07 season, earning a tie in his first career game before then appearing in 24 games during the 2007-08 campaign.

From 2008 through 2011, the native of Edmonton, Alta., split time between the Brandon Wheat Kings and the Prince George Cougars, eventually wrapping up his WHL career with 103 regular season appearances, a record of 40-41-4-2 and four shutouts.

Though Priestner’s days of stopping pucks came to a close, he moved on to musical pursuits, eventually co-founding Rare Americans with his brother Jared back in 2018. The now expanded lineup includes guitarists Lubo Ivan and Jan Cajka, and drummer Duran Ritz.

Since then, the Vancouver-based alternative rock band has released four albums and an astounding 31 singles – pumping out new music at an impressive rate, including August 2022’s full-length LP you’re not a bad person, it’s just a bad world and December 2022’s EP Songs That Don’t Belong.

Self-described genre-bending punks, Rare Americans have built their fanbase by delivering a positive message, relentless work ethic, and inventive storytelling. Part of the band’s unique approach to delivering its message to the mainstream is through the use of narrative animation, which can be enjoyed thoroughly on the Rare American’s YouTube channel. Heading into their first JUNO Awards, Rare Americans have three more albums already completed, ready to test a new format as a multimedia brand releasing full music films, rather than one-off music videos.

“We’re launching Rare Americans as more of a multimedia act, with two musical films coming,” Priestner told the Vancouver Sun on March 10. “The first is a 35-minute-long concept narrative story and the next is a far more ambitious 90-minute, full-length feature. The fans have branded us as storytellers, so we took it and ran with it for a new approach in the music industry.”

Aside from recording and launching track after track, Rare Americans have taken their show on the road this spring as part of the Milk & Honey Tour. The band’s first Canadian jaunt launched at Edmonton’s Starlite Room with a sold-out gig back on March 3 and another jam-packed gig at Calgary’s Commonwealth on March 4.

Future dates on the tour in Ottawa (March 24) and Toronto (March 25) are already sold out, while shows in Vancouver (March 18), Montreal (March 22) and Toronto (March 26) are closing in on being sold out.

Priestner and Rare Americans aren’t stopping at a simple Canadian tour. At the end of March, they’re taking breakthrough act oversees with 14 shows spread across Europe, beginning in Slovakia and concluding in Belgium, before then hopping over to the United Kingdom and Ireland for another six gigs from April 21-30.

But before Priestner and Rare Americans embrace life on the road, they will descend on Edmonton this weekend for the JUNO Cup and the 52nd annual JUNO Awards.

2023 marks the return of the JUNO Cup for the first time since 2019. A celebration of music and hockey, the JUNO Cup pits musicians and professional athletes against one another in support of MusiCounts, Canada’s music education charity.

The 2023 edition of the celebrity hockey game is set to feature a host of WHL alumni. Chris Joseph (Seattle Thunderbirds, 1985-87), Jason Chimera (Medicine Hat Tigers, 1996-99; Brandon Wheat Kings, 1999), Kyle Brodziak (Moose Jaw Warriors, 2000-04) and Zack Smith (Swift Current Broncos, 2005-08) will all suit up and take on a star-studded lineup of musicians, led by Priestner and the likes of Gord Bamford, Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo, and Jonny Gallant of Billy Talent, among many others.

The 2023 JUNO Cup takes place Sunday, March 12 (1 p.m. MT) at Edmonton’s Downtown Community Arena.

The following day, Priestner and Rare Americans aim to secure their first JUNO Award. The 52nd annual JUNO Awards begin Monday, March 13 at 8 p.m. MT from Rogers Place in Edmonton.

Rare Americans are one of five finalists for Breakthrough Group of the Year. They will go up against dancehall-pop duo Banx & Ranx, rock band Harm & Ease, indie-pop due Tommy Lefroy, and folk band Wild Rivers.

“It feels pretty damn awesome [to be nominated for a JUNO Award],” Rare Americans said in a question-and-answer with junoawards.ca. “Since the start of the band, we’ve really had a ‘fan-first’ type of approach. Trying to make great art and earn fans one-by-one around the world. We haven’t had a ton of media recognition up until this point, but I think after dozens of sold-out shows around the world last year people started taking notice. This just feels like a huge step for Rare Americans and we’re super excited to be a part of it.”

For more information on Rare Americans, visit the band’s website at rareamericans.com.

Named in tribute to Pierre Juneau, the first chairperson of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the JUNO Awards were founded to raise the public profile and recognition of musical artists in Canada.