Yellowknifer Shea Alain has announced he is to leave indie group Reuben and the Dark after eight years.
Alain confirmed he is “stepping back” from the Calgary-based band in a Facebook post to friends on Sunday.
The guitarist and keyboardist called his time in a touring band “by far the hardest and most rewarding thing I have done in my life.”
A private show for Yellowknife friends and family in early August will mark his final appearance with the band.
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Reuben and the Dark’s second studio album, Arms of a Dream, was released in March 2018. One reviewer dubbed their sound “Bright Eyes meets Mumford & Sons.”
In the past year, the band has played shows across Canada, the US, and Ireland.
Alain said touring had “challenged my creativity, given me a new family, and allowed me to travel the world,” as he announced his departure.
“The people that you surround yourself with shape who you are, and I am extremely humbled and proud to have shared a stage with such wonderful and talented humans,” he wrote.
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“I wholeheartedly would like to thank every friend and Yellowknifer who has come out to support us, especially in the early years.”
Alain added he hoped to still collaborate “in some capacity, from afar,” but was otherwise “not sure what the future will bring.”
Reuben and the Dark was the first band played on Cabin Radio’s launch day, March 5, 2018, with the song All or Nothing introduced on-air by Alain.
