A Juno Award-winning Canadian duo, Dear Rouge make driving dance-rock with glistening synths and arena-ready hooks. Their self-released single "I Heard I Had" was a Canadian radio hit in 2014, leading to a record deal with Universal. Two years later, they took home the Juno for Breakthrough Group of the Year on the strength of their major-label debut, 2015's Black to Gold. The McTaggarts were both touring musicians based in Vancouver when they met; Drew was a member of the indie rock band Maclean and Danielle (then Heykants) was half of Gaetz Ave with Ben Mullen. By the time they formed Dear Rouge, they had parted ways with their other projects and were married. With Danielle McTaggart singing lead, they debuted their spiky, anthemic sound on the Heads Up! Watch Out! EP in 2012, following it with another EP, Kids Wanna Know, later the same year. In late 2013, an unsigned Dear Rouge released the single "I Heard I Had." It began to chart for radio play in 2014 and went on win the SOCAN Songwriting Prize. Universal Canada signed the band for their full-length debut, Black to Gold, which arrived in March of 2015. Featuring the alternative hits "Black to Gold" and "Tongue," the album was followed by a Juno Award for Breakthrough Group of the Year in April 2016. A month later, the Jason Priestley detective show Private Eyes premiered on the Global network with Dear Rouge's cover of the Hall & Oates song as its theme. The duo then went to work on their second LP, which was inspired by witnessing the extremes of both positive and negative major life events. Titled PHASES, the 2018 release included collaborations with, among others, singer/songwriter Dan Mangan and Hot Hot Heat's Steve Bays. ~ Marcy Donelson