The Romantics are on their way to serenade Kelowna for the first time ever, adding some much-needed variety to Rock the Lake 2019.

The power-pop rockers attribute a portion of their success to Canada and Ontario’s blossoming new-wave scene in the late 70s’.

“Our band was built on rock and roll because we got to see a lot of it from musicians in our area like Bob Seger, Alice Cooper and Ted Nugent,” said Palmer.

“But it was the bands over in Europe like The Clash or The Jam who deviated from that and helped us move away from what other bands were doing in our area.” 

According to Palmer, the band tired out venues in their hometown of Detroit quite quickly in their early years, prompting them to branch across the border to play more shows.

Photo credit: The Romantics Facebook

“We used to play Canada a lot because Ontario was so close to Detroit,” said Palmer.

“We didn’t play the standard long songs with crazy guitar solos, we kept it short and the underground new-wave scene there made it easy for us to get booked — Toronto became like our second home.”

While their music didn’t necessarily showcase the influence of their fellow Michigan musicians, The Romantics live performances always have. 

“Coming from Detroit and having the influences we did by the time we got together it all just flowed naturally,” explained Palmer.

“Your brain is a giant sponge that absorbs everything and it helped us put together a really good and high-energy set.”

And we are just weeks away from seeing it! 

Photo credit: The Romantics Facebook

The band is set to Rock the Lake on Saturday, August 10 — a performance Palmer says the group is “really looking forward to.”

“We’ve never been to Kelowna but Canada is always great anyway and with a great line up like the one at this festival, I can’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday.”

In true RTL fashion, The Romantics will follow suit and promise to deliver a set riddled with their biggest hits and maybe a few new ones to let fans know that they’ve still got it. 

“The bottom line in showbiz is ‘give the people what they want’ and we are going to!” he said. 

“All the songs they know from us, bits and pieces from all the albums and even some new music to show that we are still capable of creating fun and new material — a little bit of everything and I think the crowd will love it.”

Grab your tickets to Rock the Lake from August 9 to 11 now by clicking here!