It’s been a while since Dana Jennejohn and the Bennett Sun have graced the pages of What’s Up Yukon. In fact, it’s been too long: all-women Whitehorse string group was last featured in our paper in 2010, the year the band formed.
A lot has happened since then, and despite all living busy lives, even nearly 15 years later Jennejohn and her bandmates still manage to get together and play as often as possible.
“I think one of the things that stands out is that we’re five women and we’ve been playing regularly, almost once a week since 2010, which is a long time,” says Jennejohn. “We all have our own lives outside of the band; none of us are making our living as musicians. It’s a commitment to do it.”
Practising and playing shows may be work, but for Jennejohn and her bandmates, these things are also social gatherings in a way, and while the band is a commitment, it’s still a fun one. Members of the quintet have stuck together through many ups and downs in their respective personal lives, with the band becoming a sort of rock for each of them.
“Since 2010 we’ve had seven pregnancies in the band, the deaths of three parents, a number of emergencies and a pandemic, and we’ve kept going,” Jennejohn continues.
“One of the things that is really special is that when we get together and play, it feels like a coming together of friends and community.”
With Jennejohn on vocals and guitar, the rest of the band is made up of Lisa Christensen on vocals and banjo, Erin McKnight on bass, Dorothy Williams on fiddle and Roslyn Wilson on vocals, mandolin and harmonium.
Having been a stalwart of the Whitehorse music scene for so long, Jennejohn says her band has a consistent following, but she hopes to branch out to other markets in the near future.
“Because there are five of us and we come with all our own people, it pads the room pretty well,” she explains. “But once people get to know our music and see our shows, I think they enjoy it. We work hard when we get ready for the shows because we want to have new things to share with the audience.”
As Jennejohn and her bandmates constantly strive to keep things fresh for their consistent audience, they are also cautious about playing too much within the community, as they don’t want their crowd getting bored of them.
Jennejohn says it’s different for bands down south who tour and play for different audiences each night, and keeping up a mix of the familiar and the new for returning audiences is crucial.
Dana Jennejohn and the Bennett Sun take the stage next on Oct. 26 at the MacBride Museum. A yearly show at the museum has become something of a tradition, and the band looks forward to returning.
“We try to build a relationship with the people who come to the shows,” Jennejohn says. “It’s meant to be a shared experience together of music and feeling good and connecting.”
