You may not find a woman or a shower next time you see Maria in the Shower, Vancouver's favourite vaudevillian quartet. But then again, they are a band that embraces contradiction wholeheartedly. The band revels in the fun and challenge of making old music feel new, writing and performing material that is as fresh as it is traditional. Simultaneously humorous and apocalyptic, human and otherworldly, these four young men have the entertaining power of a traveling circus with musical depth to back it up in spades.

Described as "part Vaudeville, part cabaret, part punk and part folk" (Vancouver Sun), their musical approach is a simple but potent alchemy, marrying traditional folk and jazz with lyrics that explore fundamental human questions and delivering it with pure fun and energy.

With more than 250 performances in the past three years, these showmen have won the hearts of cities and communities across Western and Northern Canada. Audiences of all ages have come to expect a unique kind of healing in the generosity and scope of their live show, which the band believes is the cornerstone of their art form.

Highlights include: Kaslo Jazz Etc Fest, Yellowknife Folk on the Rocks, Komasket Music Festival, Atlin Arts and Music Fest, North Country Fair, Robson Valley Music Fest, Sled Island Music Fest, Brandon Folk Festival, Kispiox Valley Music Fest, Calgary Jazz Festival, Vancouver Fringe Festival, and over a dozen municipal arts councils and folk & jazz societies across BC and Alberta.

Maria in the Shower has shared the stage with Buffy Sainte-Marie, Fred Penner, Veda Hille, Tanya Tagaq, Ken Whiteley, Jim Byrnes, Geoff Berner, Cadence Weapon, Frazey Ford, Digging Roots, Bernard Adamus, and many others.

Maria in the Shower is:
Brendon Hartley - bass
Jack Garton - accordion and trumpet
Martin Reisle - guitars
Todd Biffard - drums


"With so many styles being thrown at listeners, there’s a threat of incongruency to the set, but Maria in the Shower hardly comes across as unfocused. Unlike an amateur act grasping at genres to find its footing, the disc highlights an outfit tackling anything and everything with precision."
- Gregory Adams, Georgia Straight (CD review)

“You just can’t stand still at a Maria in the Shower show, as this quartet of musicians from Vancouver took the audience on a journey around the world and through time as they played an array of music influenced by ’40s jazz, French cabaret music, plus a couple of Trinidad and Caribbean influenced songs.”
— Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor