LONG BIO

Memphis and the Grande are kickin' up new songs from the dirt road that feel like old friends.

The band is led by proud Métis artist Ross “Memphis” Pambrun. A cultural connector in the shape of a singer-songwriter, Memphis fronts the Grande on vocals and guitar with a storyteller's presence that works a crowd without losing the song. He has said that if he is having a good time, the audience will share that energy, and festival rooms feel that philosophy in every set. As Memphis puts it: “every show we play is like our Saturday Night.” Named a 2026 Most Compelling Calgarian by the Calgary Herald, he hosts APTN's Red River Gold, with Season 2 landing around September 24, 2026, and will host the forthcoming eight-part APTN docuseries 300 Years of War in 2027. Beyond the screen he is a Speakers Bureau of Canada keynote voice on Indigenous awareness and community, an emcee who is never far from a guitar, and a Métis business leader who stays close to stages, festivals, and community rooms. He is also a Captain with the Calgary Fire Department, with medals for more than two decades of firefighting service, and speaks nationwide on artificial intelligence and Indigenous awareness. That Métis thread runs through the band's work, from the Red River Gold theme song (written by Memphis and Kinger) to residencies and rooms at places like cSPACE, the Grand Theatre, and ContainR Park. The music leads. The story sits beside it.

Stephen “Kinger” King, who has been recording for over 40 years, co-writes the songs with Memphis and anchors the band on guitar, banjo, harp, and harmony vocals. That co-write is the creative spine of the catalogue: every original starts with the two of them.

Around that core sits a touring and studio family with deep Calgary chops. Coming together in 2018, the Grande has 100+ years of experience and draws on the Dino Martinis circle: Brent “BK” Kawchuk, a founding member of that jump-blues and party institution, brings lead guitar, mandolin, and slide; Scott Lachlin plays drums on the studio records. Live, Mark “De Zee” Szabo holds the bass chair, Corey “Baskin Boy” Baskin drives the drums, Tegan Seymour adds fiddle, and Keith “K-Dawg” Dundas covers keyboards and accordion. Pros who cut their teeth in other well-known local bands, they look and sound like they have been on the road forever: cowboy hats, western shirts, well-worn boots, and a room that feels like Saturday Night. They have played Calgary Stampede parties, Banff events, local festival headlines, Smoky Lake, and the annual national Métis gathering Back to Batoche.

Right now the tip of the spear is brand new single Ray's Bar and Bowl (2026), the first song from the forthcoming 2027 album The Modern Western Gentleman's Companion. Behind it sits Songs from the Dirt Road (released February 20, 2024), whose big hit was Whisky Sunset, plus the German EP Lieder Aus Dem Dreck and the Red River Gold theme that ties the music to the APTN series. Soft catalog scale, as Stephen has stated: about 14 albums, more than 150 songs, and millions of streams. A site press-kit figure of about 200K streams in over 50 countries is sometimes cited for the Dirt Road album; if used, label it clearly as a site press-kit figure.

Music lives first at the band website: https://www.memphisandthegrande.com. The live press kit is at https://www.memphisandthegrande.com/press-kit. Streaming links are secondary for bookers.

Whether it is a duo on a small stage or the full band filling a festival bill, Memphis and the Grande show up ready to kick new songs out of the dirt road until they feel like old friends. Every show is Saturday Night.

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Events, Festivals, Rodeos, Brewery Parties and Corporate backyards can book the band three ways. Duo is Ross and Stephen, the songwriting heart of the act, ideal for smaller stages and acoustic-leaning sets. Quartet adds Mark (bass) and Corey (drums) for a full rhythm section that still travels lean and hits hard. Full band brings Tegan (fiddle), BK (lead guitar, mandolin, and slide), and Keith (keyboards and accordion) for the whole enchilada. We'll confirm the configuration with booking before advance so the tech rider and stage plot match the show.