There are seven members in Chrome Harvest now, but the group began when Ben Wellman and Chris Jerwin were students together at The University of Lethbridge.
Wellman says, “Chris and I started the band in 2021. We were both students in a music production class.”
The two got along really well and started making music together. “As it developed, we just wanted to start playing live, and playing with more people. So we got our friends involved, people we knew from school and from the music community. We just kept asking more and more people to join,” he laughs.
Jerwin says that their visual/audio engineering studies at The University of Lethbridge helped the duo when the band expanded to include more members, and when it came time to record. “We studied ways to record different instruments, so it felt natural for all of us to get involved with the recording side. I would say we were recording music before we were playing shows. We would go straight to writing and getting things produced.”
Now the band can see their work having an impact in the world of indie music. Exclaim! Media Inc. included the band in a recent story called “5 Emerging Canadian Artists You Need to Hear in April 2025.” According to Exclaim!, “With a killer live show and a new self-titled record set for release in May, Chrome Harvest are emerging from Western Canada’s wheat fields as Alberta’s next indie folk act to watch.”
Chrome Harvest describes itself as “folk songs for prairie goths.” Jerwin says that they wanted to create a bio and describe their music in ways that resonates for people right here in Alberta.
They’ve got an album release party planned for May 23 at The Owl Acoustic Lounge in Lethbridge. After that, they’ll be at Calgary’s Loophole Coffee Bar on June 7.
Learn more about this band and see more concert dates as they are confirmed at chromeharvest.squarespace.com
