B i o g r a p h y
Highway Sunrise is a Pop Rock/Country cover group from Ottawa Ontario and is one of the top event bands in the city. Rooted by their influences and delivering the best hits in pop, rock and country music with songs dating back from the 50’s to today’s hottest music.
The newly formed quartet are forging a musical path of their own. This collaboration of guitarist Chris Gagnon, bassist Dan Joseph, drummer Dan Loach and vocalist Ben Cooper are built upon a common dedication to the craft of performing to a large array of audiences with many collective years in the industry. Individually these four musicians have a wealth of experience under their belts.
Ben Cooper has been a part of the Ottawa music scene for years leading the way at bringing the local scene to the Canadian public. He has written and published music for BMG and has opened for household Canadian names such as 5440, The Trews, Wide Mouth Mason and Jeff Martin of Tea Party. Ben’s acclaimed song writing has led him to winning the 2005 Canadian Music Week Songwriting Competition and the 2003 Emergenza Music Festival. From iconic venues including Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern, Wakefield’s Blacksheep Inn and Ottawa’a Barrymore Musical Hall, to widely-attended festivals such as the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest, Ben Cooper’s roots as a professional musician have spread both across the region and the airwaves.
Dan Loach is a 30-year, in-demand veteran drummer whose resume includes thousands of performances. The seasoned professional has experienced success with several revered local acts such as Big Money Shot winners Loudlove. His talent has been featured across the country on national radio airplay, and his performances have been enjoyed by many on several international tours.
From left to right: Dan Joseph, Chris Gagnon, Ben Cooper, Dan Loach
As versatile a player as they come, Dan Joseph complements any musician fortunate enough to share the stage with him. His all-encompassing stylistic abilities have extended across genres from country to jazz, R&B, rock, punk among many more. Dan has accompanied an extensive list of local and semi-local acts such as Cherry Suede, Rachelle Bahrens, Latin Sound Machine, Amanda Rheaume, Intoxacoustics and Nick Carey. His 20+ years of experience have allowed him to open for such heavy hitters as Rick Springfield, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Eric Lapointe, Gregory Charles and many more.
Chris Gagnon’s guitar playing has been accompanying musicians in the local music scene for several years. A former jazz student at the highly-regarded Concordia University music program, his versatility and adaptability have allowed him to appear on records for artists such as Bill Quigley and Nashville recording artist Sandi Skye. Chris has been making his mark in the Ottawa music community with freelance session work and has had the opportunity to travel across Eastern Canada on several occasions.