Koady Chaisson, banjo and guitar player with The East Pointers, has died at the age of 37. The critically-acclaimed trio, featuring Koady’s cousin Tim and Ontario native Jake Charron, formed in 2014 and have released three albums – the Juno Award-winning Secret Victory, 2017’s What We Leave Behind and 2019’s Yours To Break.

Their music draws on their own ancestry and that of Prince Edward Island on Canada’s east coast. Six generations of music-making Chaissons preceded them, and their shows are a compelling blend of Scottish, Irish, French and Celtic fiddle tunes infused with Acadian flavours and contemporary folk-pop, played with brilliance and verve.

The trio take their name from a small island community called East Point, where Koady worked as a lobster fisherman for 11 years. Speaking to Songlines (November 2017), his cousin Tim remembered: “I’d toured for a few years on my own, and Koady played with me, then we met Jake and hooked up with him whenever he was on Prince Edward Island, stayed up playing tunes all night.”

They would take the spirit of those nights across the world, touring Canada, the US, Australia and the UK, building up a devoted live following captivated by their brilliant string-work, harmony vocals and infectious energy. Koady and his bandmates were especially in their element during concert performances, feeding off the audience's enthusiasm and reciprocating with musical displays marked by dynamism and vibrancy.

“He wrote and performed from his heart and allowed us to dig deeper inside to do the same” the band said in a statement. East Pointers will continue to make music, but Koady Chaisson will be sorely missed.