While the British Columbia folk duo, Duke & Goldie – aka Eric “The Duke” Duquette and Jena “Goldie” Gogo – haven’t released new music since their self-titled debut EP in 2023, that will change by the fall of 2025 when their follow-up produced by Erik Nielsen (known for his work with City and Colour and Blue Moon Marquee) comes out.
Both Duquette and Gogo were longtime members of the roots rock band Blue Sky Miners, and have taken that experience to bring their own brand of expressive, back porch storytelling mixed with the embrace of alt-country folk melodies. Listeners will feel comfortable, like sitting in an easy chair or rocker, hearing the duo’s warm melodies and expressiveness. Duke & Goldie have produced an exciting new sound said to “revive the charm of the ’60s and ’70s Laurel Canyon music scene”. Apparent is the magnetism that emerges from this partnership.
The lyrics are grounded and relatable, with a laid-back rhythm that makes it feel like a conversation around a campfire. The hook in ‘Courage’ — Show a little courage in the morning light, It′s hard to work for something that doesn′t feel right, What’s been buried will grow with a bit of sunshine — hits like a quiet truth we all need to hear now and then.
The enchanting harmonies combined with perceptive lyrics add a dimension that separates their music from the pack. It’s loose, intimate and communal, warm folk songs that can make you feel as if you wandered into a cabin in the woods and stayed long enough to soak up the ambience and enjoy a bowl of stew. When Eric’s voice slides in then dips to join Goldie’s in harmony, it enables the emotional centre of their music to click into place. There’s a tenderness that’s not complicated.
Duke & Goldie currently reside in Vancouver, Canada, on the unceded traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. Jena is originally from Victoria, BC, while Eric is from Moncton, New Brunswick. They’ve recorded their exclusive AUK mini-gig in their living room at home. In the video, Eric is playing a Gretsch Country Gentleman, and Jena is rocking a Gibson J45. The amp Eric is playing through is a vintage 1970s Fender Vibro Champ. “It was gifted to us recently by a close friend who was always very encouraging of our dreams to be musicians. They sadly passed away, but their memory lives on.”
Listeners can find Duke & Goldie’s music and much more on their website and social media on Facebook and Instagram links. They are a congenial duo and besides the songs, we very much liked to hear them exclaim – “Thanks for having us – we had fun!” We think our listeners will as well, as they watch them perform three songs, two of which are brand new and intended for the upcoming album.
1) Romanticized Cowboy: This is a brand-new song, and is in a way our answer to the traditional cowboy ballad. In it, Jena tells both sides of the cowboy story, the romance and the ramblin’. She asks us to imagine whether those cowboys that we put on such a high pedestal are, in fact, real or a romanticised version.
2) Outsider: This one is also a new song, and continues in our cowboy/country theme while writing this album. Eric sat down to write an outlaw country song, except he didn’t feel like he had any of the usual country affections because he didn’t drive a truck, own a horse and wasn’t a coal miner’s son. He felt like an outsider, but this led him on a journey to ponder what the true meaning of country music is and that maybe, in fact, being an Outsider is what it was always meant to be about.
3) Courage: This was the first song we ever released as a band and is a manifesto for having the courage in the face of all the daily challenges that we all go through. It’s also about holding onto those precious, beautiful moments in life, and storing them in a locket for the harder days ahead.
