young friend

Drew Tarves' music as young friend feels classic and immediate all at once, capturing the summer-sun nostalgia of post-adolescence while diving deep into a pool of self-reflection. His debut EP, HOW DID WE GET HERE?, act as a practical mission statement for this talented singer-songwriter — showcasing Tarves' innate tunefulness and lovingly slack croon, which adorns this collection of wistful guitar pop that's as thought-provoking as it is purely transportative. A trained dancer for most of his adolescence, the 24-year-old Vancouver native switched artistic disciplines after spending time jamming with his musician friends. "I found out very quickly that I loved it," he recalls. "It was my favorite thing to do." Armed with a guitar and a laptop, Tarves started hashing out early songwriting attempts on Garageband as he found his own style that suited him: "It was all about experimenting while trying to find what worked for me." In 2023, Tarves' released his sophomore EP scaredy cat which led to his first touring and a Juno Nomination. Now, young friend is heading into a full debut album rollout produced by David Marinelli (Wallice, Claud, Stephen Dawes) to be released on Nettwerk. The message that Tarves spreads as young friend is one of self-acceptance, as well as in finding and practicing empathy for others. "Don't hold people to the standard of where they used to be," he states while discussing his mental mission statement as an artist. "Accept when they're changing, and do everything you can to appreciate the person they're becoming.