Way above the tree line, you’ll find the Jerry Cans, a band that is on a mission to tell you more – a lot more – about Canada’s North. The Jerry Cans fuse Inuk throat singing with the fire and energy of a rock band in a packed bar. Add a hint of reggae, the gruff passion of country noir, powerful fiddle parts and rough-hewn vocals in two disparate languages and you get a sound that recalls The Pogues’ Celtic punk and the frenetic Canadian roots rock of Spirit of the West. The band’s mash-up of musical influences flows from their roots in the Arctic, where the first European explorers from Scotland and Scandinavia brought accordions and fiddles and bodhrans. Nancy Mike, the only Inuk member, featured throat singer and accordionist, grew up in Pangnirtung, a hub for Inuktitut folk music. With the exception of violinist Gina Burgess, who travels between Halifax and Iqaluit, the rest of the Jerry Cans are all from Iqaluit, Nunavut’s fast-changing capital, where people from all over the Arctic and the world collide. Andrew Morrison, the band’s singer, main songwriter and engaging front man is a former Northern CBC Radio producer who’s lived in Iqaluit almost all his life. Morrison, the band’s main songwriter, has become fluent in Inuktitut, and he had a major incentive to do so. When he asked Nancy Mike’s unilingual father for permission to marry her, his answer was yes - on condition that he “learn to speak.” Now the couple has two young babies - Laivi and Viivi - who often travel with the band. Bassist Brendan Doherty and drummer Steve Rigby met back in grade school and grew up listening to Nunavut rock bands, along with traditional performances at community cultural events. They picked up instruments and experimented with hard rock and metal before heading south for university. The band has toured in Greenland, performed at WOMAD events in Australia and New Zealand, and played major festivals across southern Canada, from the Maritimes to British Columbia. Between festivals the band has played clubs and special events from Toronto to Sydney and from Ottawa to Nome, Alaska