Hundreds celebrate Jesse Merineau's debut release (26 photos)

Back in March of this year, Sault musician Jesse Merineau told SooToday he wanted slow burn the release of his upcoming EP, teasing fans with singles and videos until it was made available to the public.

“I didn’t want to shoot my project out all at once. It will hopefully make it feel like more of an event,” he told us at that time.

Well, it appears as though his plan worked – a few hundred of his closest friends, family and fans showed up to the Machine Shop Thursday night to a take in a performance celebrating the release of the promising young talent’s debut release, That Night.

Merineau – backed by local young artists Anthony Marcello (rhythm, lead guitar and backing vocals), Brenden Fitzgerald (bass), Spencer Pine (lead guitar and backing vocals) and Trey Piraino (drums) – showed confidence and charm as he solidified his fan base with an impressive performance.

Opening the evening was recent winner of the Tidal Records Youth Songwriting Competition, Hannah Lindsay.

While Merineau does not have any other locally scheduled shows in the near future, he will be opening for Moement at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern on Aug. 20.

Keep an eye open here for information about other upcoming Jesse Merineau performances and releases.