At Piste Productions, we spend a lot of time working behind the scenes to bring high-energy live music to mountain stages across the Alps, from intimate resort venues to large-scale après-ski events and destination celebrations. Few bands capture the spirit of the alpine live music circuit quite like Evelyn & The Shakedown.
Known for their explosive stage presence and seamless, high-octane medleys of pop, disco, rock and club anthems, the band has become a favourite across ski resorts, weddings, corporate events and festivals.
We caught up with Evelyn & The Shakedown to talk about touring the Alps, the realities of gigging in extreme mountain conditions, and why the après-ski scene continues to be one of the most unique live music environments in the world.
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How did Evelyn & The Shakedown first get involved with après-ski and mountain touring?
We are really good mates with Apres Ski Queen Cydney Brown. She told us all about her epic touring experiences and got us along to join her.
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What keeps you coming back to play in alpine resorts?
The crowds enthusiasm and energy is unrivaled. Even after a whole day on the slopes, the crowd in The Alps is like nothing else with getting stuck in the bands set.
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You perform across weddings, corporate events, festivals, and ski venues… what excites you most about the mountain scene?
There’s nothing quite like setting up the band half way down a mountain, out in the elements, your drink has frozen over because it’s -8, the crowd literally ski into the venue and start singing their hearts out with you. It’s quite a unique gigging experience!
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What makes you a strong fit for high-energy après-ski and destination events?
Our set has morphed into multiple ginormous medleys. So it feels more like a show now as opposed to just a gig. Our pace is quick and high octane. There is no time for full length ballads, just a whole lot of disco, sing alongs and some 90s club anthems.
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What are the main challenges of touring in the mountains (travel, gear, weather, logistics)?
Putting snow chains on your van at 3am after a double gig day can be pretty rough when you just want to get home!There are lots of challenges you face gigging in The Alps, you are working in extreme weather conditions and traversing multiple mountains daily with a van full to the roof. It’s not for the faint hearted!
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How important is having an agency like Après Ski Bands when it comes to routing, scheduling, and on-site coordination?
You just couldn’t do a tour like that without a crew around you who know all the ins and outs of not only the venues, but the local area and roads that get you there. It’s a huge undertaking to schedule so many dates for so many musicians and I take my hat off to the team who organise it all meticulously each season.
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From your perspective, what makes a great partnership between a band and our agency?
Being able to communicate openly. If there are issues, knowing the agents have you back and your best interests at heart. -
What advice would you give to venues or event planners booking live bands with us?
Make sure the venue is 100% suitable for bands/artists. We can work with a lot of various set up locations, but it makes our job sooo much easier and better if the place we’re playing is really well suited to live music. We can then focus fully on giving the best performance we can. -
There’s a real sense of community between artists on the Après Ski Bands scene from helping with broken down cars to lending gear and everything in between. How would you describe that community, and what does it mean to you as a touring band?
We’ve made some really great pals along the way, and I think that’s important because it’s quite a wild job!! So it’s nice to know you have people who understand it and can relate fully. Being able to share experiences, highs and lows, ask or give advice etc. Being able to cheer lead eachother and know you have each others backs when you’re working in the same field is SO great. -
What’s your all-time favourite mountain gig memory so far, and what made it so special?
Probably singing Bohemian Rhapsody with 1,500 people, half way down a mountain, outside, in -5. It felt like an almost spiritual experience haha!