Rare Americans

Rare Americans is an alternative rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia, formed in 2018 by brothers James and Jared Priestner, along with guitarist Jan Cajka and drummer Duran Ritz. Combining alternative rock, indie pop, and punk, Rare Americans tackles thought-provoking themes such as political corruption and social inequality through their music, portraying this through an eclectic mix of visuals, including animated characters and live-action footage in their music videos. The band debuted in 2018 with their self-titled album, however gained significant attention and popularity through their viral single, "Brittle Bones Nicky" earning them the Jack Richardson Producer of the Year Award at the 2020 Juno Awards. The song as well as hit single "Hullabaloo,” featured on their second album entitled Rare Americans 2 (2019) which landed them a place on the Billboard Top 100 charts. Riding this sudden wave of success, Rare Americans released another album later in the year entitled Jamesy Boy & The Screw Loose Zoo followed by You're Not a Bad Person, it's Just a Bad World in July 2022. In December 2022, they released their first EP Songs That Don’t Belong leading to yet another Juno Award nomination for Breakthrough Group of the Year (2023) seeing the group garner millions of streams and building a dedicated fanbase both in Canada and internationally.