The Hornitz are Coming! - Grid City Magazine

Prepare for some serious funk.

The Hornitz are one of the hardest working and original sounding duos around. Hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, the band have been regularly playing the East Coast of Canada for the past six years. So much so, they could be easily mistaken for Maritimers.

“We’ve played up in New Brunswick a bunch of times,” said Stoo, who handles sax and keyboard duties alongside his band mate Friendship, who handles the bass trombone and beat-boxing. “Our first performance [in New Brunswick] was at Sunseeker in 2009. Sunseeker gave us an opportunity when we were still discovering ourselves, so it wasn’t our greatest show but they kept bringing us back. We played that festival a few times, and we’ve also done Folly Fest, Messtival, Midsummer Madness, Collaborate and Listen, and Salty Jam. We’ve also hit Evolve Fest in Nova Scotia. Last year was the first time we were able to do club shows without needing a work permit, so we’ve been taking advantage of that new rule as much as possible.”

Besides the growing circuit of summer music festivals throughout the Maritimes that has welcomed The Hornitz over the years, Stoo claims the group’s regular return trips are due largely to something altogether different.

“The people are what bring us back,” he said. “So much energy and a great vibe! We’ve made so many new friends and the people know how to enjoy music and enjoy life.”

The duo keep busy playing anywhere from 130 to 150 shows a year. With an established tour network that keeps the them on the road as much as they like, The Hornitz have become regulars on stages from Saint John to Boston. This summer they plan to extend their touring to include new states, festivals and parties who have yet to experience Stoo and Friendship’s high-level funk.

“We do well in our hometown of Boston, Southern New Hampshire, and New England in general. Recently we’ve been pushing south and we have a bunch of festival appearances lined up in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

“This summer we have our busiest festival schedule so far. Pretty much every weekend we’re traveling to a different part of the country. As for Canada, we’ll be back for Evolve Fest in July, and we have something brewing for later in the summer, but it hasn’t been announced yet, so we’ll let that be a surprise.”