Locals will know Seth Macdonald and Shara Gustafson as the front line for Mamaguroove. They're returning to the Prince George stage as an acoustic duo Friday, March 30 at Nancy O's.
Mamaguroove the funk, rock, reggae, world, groove, high energy dance band plays its infectious original music at festivals and venues all across B.C. and Alberta for more than a decade.
Now it's time for Macdonald and Gustafson to find their way along another musical path filled with a dual acoustic twist.
"Our sound as a duo is so totally different from the band," said Gustafson, who still plays with Mamaguroove, too.
Duo versus band is just a matter of logistics.
"We're a couple and we live together so there's more opportunity for us to play together whereas the band is spread out all over the place. It's just fresh and new material and it's just a lot easier for us to do shows together."
Heavily influenced by Latin guitar, reggae and other world music, the pair create a powerful and passionate performance.
"Right now we're looking to put out a five-song EP for the summer," said Gustafson, who's known Macdonald since they were teenagers. The CD will be mostly original songs with maybe one cover.
"We do a cover of Michael Jackson's Thriller that's all jazzed up that we'll probably put on the EP," she added.
Seth is the main writer of the duo and he usually writes very emotionally-charged politically-inspired songs, Gustafson said.
"He writes about the state of the world and his part in it."
The show at Nancy O's is a mix of originals and covers.
"It's going to be the most amazing show - ever," Gustafson laughed. "The audience can expect many different styles of music -- we really don't fit into any particular genre. The cover tunes we do are pretty sporadic. We do everything from an old song called You Don't Know Me to Michael Jackson to brand new originals that are kind of Flamenco based as is the style Seth plays his guitar. And then Seth pulls out his electric and rocks out to some other stuff so it's kind of all over the place."
Gustafson and Macdonald host the Robson Valley Music Festival August 17 to 19 in their front yard. Country, blue grass, reggae, funk, world and rock musicans will bring it all for the audience that was 1,200 strong last year and they're expecting about the same this year.
Check out the duo at Nancy O's, 1261 Third Avenue, Friday, March 30 at 9 p.m. Cover is $7 at the door.
For more about the festival visit www.robsonvalleymusicfestivalbc.com
