The Sault’s Tom and Alyssa Peer - a married couple and musical duo known as The Dustcovers - have already made a strong, positive impression on the Sault and northern Ontario music scene since forming in the fall of 2024.
Alyssa is on vocals while Tom plays acoustic guitar.
First taking to the stage in November, the couple has performed at the CTV Lion's Children's Christmas Telethon in December, the Algoma Visionary Awards in January and the Northern Arts Festival in Sudbury in February.
The enjoyment of performing as The Dustcovers didn’t come before a long period of extreme difficulty for Alyssa.
“When I started singing and performing, I was really young. I was 10 years old onstage and I had horrible anxiety and stage fright. That followed me all the way through high school and it eventually got to the point where I felt ‘you know what? I feel so horrible every time I sing on stage, I’m giving this up,’” Alyssa told SooToday.
That led to a 10-year absence from the stage for her.
The birth of Tom and Alyssa’s beloved daughter Clementine in September 2023 was an even greater source of trauma.
“It was a very scary experience. I had a very sudden postpartum hemorrhage. It was severe. I needed six blood transfusions. I ended up in the ICU at Sault Area Hospital,” Alyssa said.
“She was rushed to the OR. She suffered a severe bleed and her blood pressure dropped to very scary low levels and she ended up being rushed to the operating room and was in ICU after. Even the doctors said it was quite a scary experience for them too,” Tom said.
Both mother and daughter are now not only in good health but the nightmarish experience of a severe, life threatening postpartum hemorrhage also changed Alyssa’s life for the better.
“One day, after I had recovered, I thought ‘life is so precious and so fragile, so what am I doing holding myself back from singing?’ I love singing so much. So, I said to Tom ‘let’s just do it, let's start a band.’"
With that, the Dustcovers came into being.
“I'm feeling great. I'm better than ever. I like my whole new outlook on life. I'm doing what I love. It's truly the best time of my life,” Alyssa said.
The couple performs a wide variety of cover material.
“We'll cover anything, from classic rock to Taylor Swift, country and pop. Whatever you can think of, we're open to trying it. But all the covers we do, we make them our own. They're very stripped down and relaxed,” Alyssa said.
Alyssa listed Kate Bush and Freddie Mercury among her favourite vocalists, while Tom admires the work of Tom Waits and Prince.
The Dustcovers are heading to Sudbury to compete for a space at the Northern Lights Festival Boreal to be held in Sudbury July 4-6.
That audition takes place Sunday, March 23.
“You have to get a special invitation to it, so it was really nice to be selected for an audition,” Tom said.
“I've always been in love with music and in love with singing. I play acoustic guitar and I've been writing music since I was a child,” Alyssa said.
Tom has also had a lifelong attraction to music.
“I’ve always been fascinated with all kinds of different music and how it was put together. I remember being a child and wondering how composers do what they do.
"I can play a variety of instruments, I’m a songwriter and I sing as well. I've done some musical theatre here in the Sault and in Sudbury and actually Alyssa and I met through doing musical theatre,” he said.
The couple have recorded a five song EP of original material that will be released May 10.
The EP release will be accompanied by a performance beginning at 7 p.m. on May 10 at The Art Hub at Spring at 504 Queen St E.
The Dustcovers have a busy summer of performances ahead of them, Tom said.
A Dustcovers single entitled Five Frets High has already been released and can be heard on all major streaming platforms including Spotify.
Their EP is entitled Citriculture.
“The cover of the EP is actually our daughter's hand grabbing a clementine (a citrus fruit). It’s a nod to her because she really is what inspired us to do this entire thing. We were kind of trying to think of a fun way to incorporate her,” Alyssa said.
What can listeners expect to hear?
“We've got a couple of slower songs on the EP and then a few peppy songs. In terms of the lyrical content I would say the lyrics are emotional expressions but not necessarily in a bad way, just things that are pretty near and dear to our hearts,” Alyssa said.
Music comes naturally to the couple.
“Music for me is a need. It’s like breathing or walking. It’s the biggest stress reliever for me. It's the perfect creative outlet,” Alyssa said.
It’s also a valuable outlet for Tom.
“Music continues to be something that helps me express my emotions. I've always had a bit of a challenge expressing myself through words. I'm more of a doer than a sayer. To be given the space to express myself feels really good,” Tom said.
More information on The Dustcovers can be found on their website.