Local band 'Horsebath' kicking off this year's Halifax Urban Folk Festival

The Halifax Urban Folk Festival returns to The Carleton this weekend and one Halifax-based group is ready to get the week-long party started.

The band Horsebath is composed of songwriter duo Daniel Connolly of Guysborough Intervale, N.S., and Ontario's Keast Mutter, as well as musician Etienne Beausoleil.

"Keast and I are the writers of the band and we're the founders of the band," said Connolly, during an interview with CTV News at Five’s Katie Kelly. "We play guitars. Keast is electric, I play acoustic and some electric, and we both sing lead vocals together in harmonies, and Etienne plays the bass, the electric bass and the stand-up base. And he does background vocals as well."

Connolly and Mutter met during a rideshare in 2018 and have been travelling the country ever since, writing songs and entertaining local crowds.

As to why the name Horsebath was chosen, that's a secret they’re not willing to give up.

"It's one of Canada's most sought-after secrets right now, so we're actually trying to keep it that way for a little while," said Mutter.

To date, the band has been live-performance based, but that's all about to change.

The members of Horsebath are almost finished their debut album.

"It's exciting because it's kind of a body of work that we've been playing for the last year now and are excited to release it," said Mutter.

The group says they’re also looking forward to kicking off this year's Halifax Urban Folk Festival (HUFF) on Aug. 28.

"We're kicking off the HUFF event and we have three songwriters that are going to open up the evening, the supporting acts," said Connolly.

As far as what to expect during a live performance, the band promises to bring a good time.

"It's full of love, fun and dance, and passion," explained Connolly.

More information on the Halifax Urban Folk Festival can be found online.