The Washboard Union

The Washboard Union is a Canadian country music group from Vancouver, British Columbia led by principal members David Roberts, Aaron Grain (aka Brett Ellis) and Chris Duncombe.^[1][2]

The Washboard Union
Background information
Origin	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Genres	Country, bluegrass
Years active	2010–present
Labels	Washboard Union Productions Universal Music Canada Warner Music Canada
Members	David Scott Roberts Aaron Grain Chris Duncombe
Website	www.thewashboardunion.com

Biography

Aaron Grain and Chris Duncombe met in Kelowna, British Columbia at age 15 when Duncombe's father began dating Grain's mother.^[1] Duncombe and Grain eventually moved to Vancouver, where they met David Roberts, who was living in a Point Grey mansion.^[1] The three began writing and singing together.^[1] They originally performed under the name Run GMC.^[3] Their debut album, The Washboard Union, was released in 2012 and produced by Garth Richardson and Bob Ezrin.^[4]

In January 2015, The Washboard Union recorded an extended play, In My Bones, at RCA Studio A in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Trey Bruce.^[5] It was released by Slaight Music/Warner Music Canada on July 10, 2015.^[6] The first single, "Some Day", went top 40, and the second and third singles, "Maybe It's the Moonshine" & "Shot of Glory", reached the top 10 and top 5 respectively on the Billboard Canada Country chart.^[7] In October 2015, The Washboard Union won the British Columbia Country Music Association Award for Roots Canadiana of the Year.^[8]

The Washboard Union's next album, What We're Made Of, was produced by Matt Rovey (Zac Brown Band, Dean Brody) in Nashville and Jeff "Diesel" Dalziel in Toronto and Vancouver over the winter of 2017/18. The album's first single, “Shine”, was the band's third Top Ten Country Radio hit which they performed live on the Canadian Country Music Awards and walked away with a CCMA Award for 2017 Roots Artist of the Year.

In 2018, the group performed in Liverpool, Nova Scotia at the Queens Place Emera Centre.^[9] On November 22, 2019, The Washboard Union released "Country Thunder"^[10] as the leadoff single to their third studio album, Everbound, which was released on April 24, 2020. The album's second single was "Dock Rock," followed by "If She Only Knew"^[11] and "Never Run Outta Road."

In 2023, the band released their single "I Run on Country" as part of a new partnership with Universal Music Canada.^[12]

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Details
The Washboard Union	Release date: June 26, 2012 Label: self-released Formats: CD, digital download
What We're Made Of	Release date: April 20, 2018 [13] Label: Warner Music Canada Formats: CD, digital download
Everbound	Release date: April 24, 2020[14] Label: Warner Music Canada Formats: CD, digital download

Extended plays

Title	Details
In My Bones	Release date: July 10, 2015 Label: Slaight Music/Warner Music Canada Formats: CD, digital download

Singles

Year	Title	Peak positions	Certifications	Album
		CAN Country [7]
2015	"Some Day"	38		In My Bones
	"Maybe It's the Moonshine"	10
2016	"Shot of Glory"	5	MC: Platinum[15]
	"Head Over Heels"	19
2017	"Shine"	9		What We're Made Of
2018	"Feel Like That"	11
2019	"She Gets Me"	16	MC: Gold[15]	Everbound
	"Country Thunder"	2	MC: Gold[15]
2020	"Dock Rock"	9	MC: Gold[15]
	"If She Only Knew"	33
2021	"Never Run Outta Road"	17
2023	"I Run on Country"	14		TBA
	"Gather Round"	34
2024	"Band on Her T-Shirt"	17

Christmas singles

Year	Single	Peak positions	Album
		CAN Country [7]
2021	"Feliz Navidad"	46	—

Music videos

Year	Video	Director
2015	"Some Day"	Emma Higgins
	"Maybe It's the Moonshine"	Stefan Berrill
2016	"Shot of Glory"
	"Head Over Heels"
2017	"Shine"	Travis Nesbitt
2018	"What We're Made Of"	Stephano Barberis
	"Feel Like That"	Joel Stewart
2019	"She Gets Me"
	"Country Thunder"	Stephano Barberis
2021	"If She Only Knew"
	"Never Run Outta Road"

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee/Work	Result	Ref
2014	BCCMA	Roots Canadiana of the Year	The Washboard Union	Nominated	[16]
2015		Album of the Year	In My Bones	Nominated	[17][18]
		Group Duo of the Year	The Washboard Union	Nominated
		Roots Canadiana of the Year		Won
		Songwriter of the Year		Nominated
		Single of the Year	"Some Day"	Nominated
		Video of the Year		Nominated
2016	CCMA Awards	Roots Artist of the Year	The Washboard Union	Won	[19]
		Rising Star		Won
		Group or Duo of the Year		Nominated	[20]
		CMT Video of the Year	"Maybe It’s the Moonshine"	Nominated
	BCCMA	Group Duo of the Year	The Washboard Union	Won	[21][22]
		Roots Canadiana of the Year		Won
		Entertainer of the Year		Nominated
		Fans Choice Award		Nominated
		Songwriter of the Year	"Maybe It’s the Moonshine"	Won
		Single of the Year		Nominated
		Video of the Year		Nominated
2017	Canadian Radio Music Awards	Best New Group or Solo Artist: Country		Nominated	[23]
	BCCMA	SOCAN Songwriter of the Year	"Head Over Heels"	Won	[24]
		Single of the Year		Won
		Fan Choice	The Washboard Union	Won
		Website of the Year		Won
		Gaylord Wood Traditional Country Award/Roots Country Award		Won
	Western Canadian Music Awards	Country Artist of the Year	The Washboard Union	Won	[25]
	CCMA	Group Duo of the Year		Nominated	[26]
		Roots Artist or Group of the Year		Won
2018	CCMA	Album of the Year	What We're Made Of	Nominated	[27]
		Group or Duo of the Year	The Washboard Union	Won
		Roots Artist or Group of the Year		Won
2019	Juno Awards	Breakthrough Group of the Year -	The Washboard Union	Won	[28]
	CCMA	Group or Duo of the Year	The Washboard Union	Won	[29]
		Roots Album of the Year	What We're Made Of	Won
2020	2020 Canadian Country Music Awards	Group or Duo of the Year	The Washboard Union	Won	[30]
		Roots Album Of The Year	Everbound	Won
		Video Of The Year	"Country Thunder"	Nominated
2021	2021 Canadian Country Music Awards	Group or Duo of the Year	The Washboard Union	Nominated	[31]
2024	Canadian Country Music Association	Group or Duo of the Year	The Washboard Union	Nominated	[32]
2025	Canadian Country Music Association	Group or Duo of the Year	The Washboard Union	Pending	[33]

Tours

Headlining

• 2017 Dates: Rockin' River Music Fest in Merrit, BC;^[34]
• 2018 Dates: July 12 in Calgary, AB at Calgary Stampede;^[35]
• 2019 Dates: May 8 in Halifax NS; May 10 in Moncton, NB; May 12 in St. John's, NL; August 2 in Lake Cowichan BC.

Supporting

• Happy Endings World Tour (2018) with Old Dominion (Western Canada Only)^[36]