Coffee with the lead singer of Manderville, Halifax’s newest student band

“I want to make real music for real people,” Quinn LeBlanc says, as we sit across from each other drinking coffee at Trident Booksellers & Cafe. 

We discuss Manderville, his new band, inspired by artists like Townes Van Zandt and Jackson C. Frank. 

“I consider my writing to be a pseudo love letter to Greenwich Village in the ’60s,” LeBlanc says.

His look fits the part. He’s the kind of guy who you might find unironically leaning against a brick wall with a lit cigarette, secretly shivering under his pea coat. I can imagine him walking off the set of A Complete Unknown (2024) or the Coen Brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis (2013). Somehow, he’s charming enough to pull it off, coming across as earnest. 

“I’ve always been drawn to more personal songwriting and lyricism,” he says.

The Carleton, the venue for the band’s first sold-out show, is an aesthetic match for LeBlanc. Low lighting, a narrow room with a long bar, a black box stage. Intimate, with good acoustics. 

He opens the show alone, singing “Fools Gold.” His voice has a deep texture with a bit of growl. Think Leonard Cohen, with a sprinkle of Bob Dylan; their inspiration evident in the folk parts of his set. Songs like “Georgia Peach,” “Yesterday’s Muse” and “To Fly is to Die” are poetic, with LeBlanc’s lyrics driving the melody. The music is entertaining, the sound is cohesive, and there is a pleased rumble through the crowd at the end of each song. 

Relying on poetry, however, is risky and doesn’t always pay off. His songwriting on “Queen of Thorns,” “Song to Alice” and “Hey Hey, Where’d Ya Go” veers into the fantastical, dramatic and at times downright sentimental. Yet, the earnestness of the set brings it back to earth. 

Between sets, LeBlanc tells the crowd, “It’s so cool to do something that you love.”

Back at the café, LeBlanc says, “I wrote a lot of these songs with the intention to play by myself.” 

At times, this is obvious. While LeBlanc relies on his lyricism, the music is at its best when the band gets a chance to shine. Stand-out moments include the epic fiddle solos in “Letter to a Friend,” the punchy drums on “Odalee,” the raucous banjo on “Fools Gold,” and the vocal harmonies on “Song to Alice.” 

It’s when Felix Slander takes the mic that the band’s power is in full force. During “Holy Islands” and “Nawt,” they reach their fullest sound. 

“I’ve been blessed with being surrounded by very talented musicians who are certainly far more gifted than me,” LeBlanc says. 

The band is composed of LeBlanc, lead singer; Slander, electric guitar; Seamus Johnson, tenor guitar and banjo; Phil White, bassist; Oscar Moyles, fiddle; Michael Ciccia, drummer; and Imogen Ash, backup vocals. 

“I met Felix when I first started in the music scene in the city,” says LeBlanc. “He’s from England. The night that we had met was also his first night out in Halifax. So we got really close, really quickly. We were just at open mics, like every night.” 

As LeBlanc tells it, Manderville was collected through friends of friends, Gin & Jazz at the Local, and open mic nights at 2 Crows Brewing Co. Blushing, he describes approaching Ash.

“I drunkenly asked her if she wanted to sing in a band that didn’t exist yet.” 

Weaving through the Carleton between sets, it’s clear everyone here knows a musician, is friends with a musician or loves a musician — the Halifax music community is out to support. 

“We feel really lucky,” Ash says after the set. She’s been working at the Carleton for two years. The place is managed by her brother.

The Carleton is “a wonderful place for musicians,” Ash says. 

“It really gives a location for voices to be heard. Which I think is really important, especially in the local scene.” 

The tight-knit local scene is on display when LeBlanc brings out Tom Johnson for a rendition of “Hang Me, Oh Hang Me.” Johnson, with 45 years of performing under his belt, is a local legend and member of cover bands SemiVinyls and 3 Way Radio.

“We go to a lot of open mics and meet a lot of these upcoming young artists,” says Johnson. “You’ll probably see these guys on the festival circuit, hopefully as early as this summer.” 

LeBlanc is excited for the future. 

“To make an impact is the dream,” he says. 

During the set, he tells the crowd, “The thing with music is you can play it on your own, but to play it to people is a dream come true.” 

The band plans to record an EP as early as spring 2026. Manderville has potential and passion, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for where they go next.