Rare Americans (Canadian alternative band)

Rare Americans is a Canadian-Slovak pop rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia, most noted as Juno Award nominees for Breakthrough Group of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2023. The band was created by brothers James and Jared Priestner, and includes bassist Jan Cajka and drummer Duran Ritz. In May 2023, it was announced that guitarist Lubo Ivan had made the decision to leave the band in December 2022. They are known for having animated videos created by Solis Animation. At the Juno Awards of 2020, Ben Kaplan won the Jack Richardson Producer of the Year Award for his work on Rare Americans' "Brittle Bones Nicky" and Mother Mother's "It's Alright". James Priestner: Vocals, Guitar Jared Priestner: Songwriting Jan "Jongo" Cajaka: Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Trumpet Duran Ritz: Drums, Percussion Lubo Ivan: Guitar Ginger Chen: Bass Jeff Quin: Bass Ilana Kaplan, "Rare Americans Are The Pop-Punk Band With Eye-Catching Animated Videos". Spin, July 29, 2022. "Here are all the 2023 Juno nominees". CBC Music, January 31, 2023. "Interview with Rare Americans", American Songwriter, June 26, 2020. Mike Usinger, "On Our Radar: Punk or not, Rare Americans make a mind-boggling statement with 'Brittle Bones Nicky 2'". The Georgia Straight, March 2, 2021. "Junos 2020: the complete list of winners". CBC Music, June 29, 2020. "RA 1". YouTube. Retrieved 2026-01-05. "RA 2". YouTube. Retrieved 2026-01-05. "Crooked City Studios". www.crookedcitystudios.com. Retrieved 2026-01-05. "RA 3: Jamesy Boy & The Screw Loose Zoo". YouTube. Retrieved 2026-01-05. "you're not a bad person, it's just a bad world". YouTube. Retrieved 2026-01-05. "Searching for Strawberries: The Story of Jongo Bongo". YouTube. Retrieved 2026-01-05. "RA4: The Human Animal". YouTube. Retrieved 2026-01-05. Rare Americans (2025-04-05). Rare Americans - (S)KiDS [Full Official Film]. Retrieved 2026-01-05 – via YouTube. "Songs That Don't Belong". YouTube. Retrieved 2026-01-05. v t e