A new band full of local talent will be making its debut at Crossroads United Church this weekend.

The Funkyard, featuring North Delta-raised Julia Skye and Colin Sankey (vocals and bass, respectively), with Seb Chamney on guitar and Johneil Vi帽as on drums, is performing its first-ever live show on Saturday night (Feb. 1) with a set full of 鈥渇unkified鈥� cover tunes plus a few of Skye鈥檚 original songs.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just been a really fun group to get to play in. They鈥檙e all super proficient on their instruments so it鈥檚 a treat for me to get to sing with them,鈥� Skye told the Reporter.

The group came together about five months ago, Skye said, with Sankey and Chamney recruiting the other two members.

鈥淲e all have some connection to Vancouver Community College. We all went through the music program there at some point or another, but Colin Sankey and I also both grew up at so we鈥檝e known each other for years,鈥� Skye said.

鈥淐olin and Seb are really good friends, and so [they] came up with the idea and got Johneil and I in on it. We鈥檝e all had a really fun time starting to play together, so we鈥檙e excited for our first show 鈥� and excited for many more!鈥�

Skye said the band鈥檚 blend of funkified versions of pop, rock and blues tunes is a departure from the more pop/singer-songwriter style of music she usually writes and performs.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a little bit of a step outside for me in terms of the arrangements are super funky, and all of these guys are just super great musicians so the music is really fun,鈥� she said.

鈥淥ur goal with the project is to have all these funkified arrangements of pop tunes but keep the songs still feeling recognizable as the pop song that it is. My part in the project is actually to be that sort of anchor and keep the song recognizable, so I鈥檓 just kind of singing pop songs and they sound really funky because of the music under it. So it feels comfortable to me in that way, but it鈥檚 definitely something new for me too, and that is cool.鈥�

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for the 7 o鈥檆lock show. Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for seniors and students, and can either be reserved by emailing tickets@crossroads-united-church.ca or purchased at the door (7655 Scott Rd.).

As part of Saturday鈥檚 set, The Funkyard will be performing two songs from Skye鈥檚 forthcoming debut EP: 鈥淒owntown,鈥� a song Skye says is 鈥渁bout escapism a little bit, getting away from things and just wanting to get out and have a good time,鈥� and 鈥淭-Shirt,鈥� which she describes as 鈥渁 fun pop tune that should be a good time.鈥�

The seven-track EP, titled Think Myself to Sleep, was recorded last fall at Monarch Studios in Vancouver and will be released in March.

鈥淚鈥檓 super excited about it. It鈥檚 coming up pretty quick,鈥� Skye said.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e all original songs that I wrote myself over the last couple of years. I tried to really keep it as a smaller project. I wanted to really curate the list and make sure that the songs all made sense together but that they also all had something kind of different to them so that they all have their own special place within the work.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e all kind of pop/singer-songwriter, and there鈥檚 even a little bit of a rock influence in the music. There鈥檚 a big blend: some of them are pretty chill and introspective and really lyrically focused, and we have a few more pop-y, dance-y tunes.鈥�

A release party for the EP is in the works for spring, where Skye will play the album in front of family and friends, and another show with her backing band is planned for April 3 at Guilt and Co. in Vancouver.

For more info, visit or check out The Funkyard's members on social media (@colinsankeybass, @sebchamney, @jv_vinas, and @juliaskyemusic).