Hello and thank you for joining the official Naysayers band email list!
Welcome, and thank you for your support, I am so excited to share what's been going on in our world. This will be the first of many emails from me to you, the fans, to keep you up to date with The Naysayers performances, new music, and some stuff I'm sure I haven't even thought to include yet, but this is all new to me so I am just happy to have a way to connect to the fans, aka, the reason for the season!
But first, a bit of background for anyone new to The Naysayers, me or my music.
My name is Drea, I was born in Oshawa, Ontario, and got my start playing my first shows in Peterborough, Ontario, in the early 2000s cutting my teeth with folks like Serena Ryder and Timber Timbre. I hitchhiked to the Yukon after university, and spent the better part of my life there from 2011-2023 living between Dawson City and Whitehorse. The Yukon made me the musician I am today, that and many trips to the EU in the early 2000s to play the festival circuits in Denmark, Belgium, and Holland. I then relocated my life to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan with my family in 2023, and we don't plan on leaving anytime soon.
My last name is actually Danish because technically I was a Danish citizen until I was 22, but because dual citizens weren't an option for me back then, I am Canadian by default but speak Danish and plan on recording songs in my mother tongue soon! In Denmark my last name is spelled: Nasær - when you say that in English, you get "Nah-Say-Er" or "Naysayer" . So when I tell folks I am a Naysayer by birth, that is what I mean.
Now onto the good stuff.... I have been singing and writing songs in my head since I could talk. I was trained in jazz and choral singing as a kid but self taught at everything else instrument wise. I write songs primarily on my Gibson J-180 acoustic, and or on my piano. I play electric guitar, dulcimer and harmonica once in awhile, but as my bass player says, I am a band of economy. I am blessed and grateful for the absolute legends I have had the honour to play and record music with and their gifts have benefitted my songs and my career, but I am confident in what I do best, writing, singing, and performing. I play solo and have done so for over 20 years, so while I am abundantly grateful to have such high caliber technical bandmates, for all intents and purposes, I am the band.
When it comes to music, I am influenced by every type of music you could imagine. I love everything from Ludovico Einaudi, to Amyl and the Sniffers, to Lil Wayne. But my biggest influences come from the 90s or earlier. Male voices like Steven Page, Eddie Vedder, Sam Cooke and Robert Smith, women like Tracy Chapman, Courtney Love, and Natalie Merchant all shaped my ear. As an autistic person, I learned music through mimicry and through iteration and the production of ten albums of my own. I now have developed a sound, style and brand all my own, but it took the time it took. So if you look to the artistic choices, song pauses and break downs, and performance intensity, the 90s alternative era is there. I also have three older brothers, so I have been and done every era of music you can think of, pop, punk, hippie, metal, hip hop, country, you name it. I pride myself on my diverse tastes and my passion for new music.
I write music about my life, my people and mostly my pain. I was born with death. I had a twin who did not survive and have felt her in my loneliness my whole life. I am autistic, ADHD and CPTSD. My younger life sucked, but I am happy to say I now have a wonderful life with three awesome kids and a best friend for a husband. I struggle with being non binary and I struggle with how to protect myself and thrive in this industry, but I do it because you, the fans, let me know it actually matters. And for that I am grateful.
It is nice to meet you, thanks for joining. It means the world to me.
Recent highlights for The Naysayers:
"Everybody Comes Here To Die" released everywhere you stream music December 2025. This song was recorded live at Ness Creek Music Festival in Big River Saskatchewan in July 2025.
We just finished performing for the 2026 TD Saskjazz fest opening for Snacktime and Modest Mouse, the show sold out and it was a time!
Coming up next for The Naysayers is:
The Peterborough Folk Festival August 15th and 16th in Peterborough, Ontario.
The Reeperbahn Festival - Canada House Showcase Presentation by CIMA (Candian Independent Music Association) September 16-19, 2026 - Hamburg, Germany.
Here are some links for you with thanks, and I can't wait to keep in touch!!
XO
D