Silly Talent joined by Billy Talent, photo by Jen Sullivan

Jay Miln has been a Billy Talent fan for 15 years. So much so, that 3 years ago he helped form a St. John’s-based tribute band, aptly titled Silly Talent. Playing around the St. John’s bar scene, Silly Talent have become a fun celebration of Billy Talent fandom and early 2000s alternative CanRock nostalgia. Comprised of members of St. John’s bands Twerp, DT & The Dinosaurs and Navigator Black, Silly Talent got an unlikely surprise at their Monday, September 17th show when two members of Billy Talent emerged from the crowd of barroom regulars to take the stage with the band.

With Billy Talent playing a 6PM show during the Iceberg Alley Performance Tent Concert Series on Monday in St. John’s, Silly Talent decided to book their own afterparty. Miln says the show was planned “for those who couldn’t make it to the real thing”.

Word of the afterparty spread to Billy Talent guitarist Ian D’Sa and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk, who showed up during the final four songs of Silly Talent’s set. Toward the end of a setlist which mostly consisted of Billy Talent’s 2003 eponymous debut album in its entirety, and two songs from the 2006 followup, D’Sa and Solowoniuk took the stage to join Silly Talent for a 2AM encore performance of the song “River Below“:

As a lifelong fan of Billy Talent’s music, Miln “still can’t believe” the surreal experience, telling us this morning that he “just lived a childhood dream”.

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