She recalled one memory where she saw instruments set up by her step mom’s band, A Certain Class, and felt pulled towards the mic, wanting to hold it to her own lips. A few years later, the band members gave her a guitar, which Ashley would use to strum along with as the band practiced.

“I would just bring it everywhere I’d go,” said Bérubé. “I couldn’t even play the chords, I just loved being able to strum the guitar.” She explained that growing up, she was also drawn towards classes, such as dance, that enabled her to express her creativity.

“We knew at that time that she was very creative and she was pretty well creative in whatever she did,” said Margaret Dupuis, Bérubé’s stepmom who has been playing in A Certain Class for more than 50 years.

Despite her initial interest in instruments and music, Bérubé explained that she was intimidated by the idea of singing in front of crowds and shied away from it, even in front of her family.

“Anything else, I would be front and centre,” said Bérubé. “It took me a long time to be comfortable with my singing voice and to actually believe that I was a singer.”

Now, as she performs alongside her band in front of crowds at concerts, that stage fright is unrecognizable.

In 2014, Bérubé moved to Victoria, B.C. from Fort Coulonge. Soon after, she formed the band The Happy Failure with her two friends, Trevor Bennet and Ry Williams. Williams suggested the name at a band meeting, taking inspiration from Herman Melville’s short story of the same name.

“We loved it from the get-go because we felt like we were amateurs trying to be in a real band,” said Bérubé. “With failure comes growth. Not all failures are sad. Sometimes it’s just [a learning experience].”

She added that their focus as a band isn’t to worry about every little detail or what others think. Instead, it’s just to have fun and enjoy their performance.

The band’s roster has changed over the years, with Trevor, the band’s former guitarist, having left. Now, Bérubé has shifted away from playing bass and focuses primarily on vocals and Williams continues to play on percussion. Two new band members, Ashley Adams and Sarah Sedlock, have joined the band and play guitar and bass respectively.

“And what’s really fun about our band is that those are our main roles in the band, but we do switch it up for a few songs,” said Bérubé. “We’re all multi-instrumentalists, so everybody kind of plays around with different instruments. And then [we try not] to lose the feeling of that because everybody has their own style.”

Bérubé explained that the band is generally alt-rock, but also doesn’t limit itself to one genre. Bérubé’s own style is mostly pop-influenced, whereas Ry has a lot of punk and ska influences. She described Sarah as having a very soulful performance and Adams as “straight out of the ‘90s.”

She added that this sort of versatility often surprises the audiences and keeps them on their toes, while also allowing the band members to explore different avenues and give a different feel to their music.

“It’s all part of the recipe that is the Happy Failure,” said Bérubé.

Bérubé explained that since she’s stepped away from playing bass, she’s had more of an opportunity to focus on her vocals.

“Now I’ve really stepped into the role, especially now not having a bass or anything to hide behind, I am just on the mic and I finally feel good about that,” said Bérubé. “I used to struggle with it, but it’s a confidence thing and once you feel comfortable with your craft, you’re like ‘I’ve got this, I can do this.’”

Bérubé’s talent in singing is complemented by her ability to write lyrics. Along with her band, she writes many of their songs, which sometimes focus on social and political issues. She described the songs as a mix of self-expression and as a means to help others in vulnerable positions feel seen.

“We’re all very into what’s going on with the world right now. And we try to concentrate on political things without being too abrupt or too in your face about it,” said Bérubé. “We talk about things that to certain people might not be the right thing to talk about, but we want to make things like that normal.”

She explained that the band’s song, “Prague,” is about the band’s guitarist and her wife with the music video taking place on their wedding day. Their song, “The Darkness,” focuses on depression, which Bérubé says she’s struggled with in the past.

“She’s very gifted in writing, she knows how to blend the words properly,” said Dupuis. “She uses a lot of personal experiences, which always makes for good songwriting.”

Bérubé explained that as they’ve begun to perform again, she’s been impressed by the reaction she’s seen in the crowds. She explained that audience members will often want to dance along to their music, but can’t due to event restrictions. As a result, they end up “dancing in their seat.”

Her recent performances have included a small show at Café Downtown in Fort Coulonge during July while she was visiting family. There, she performed alongside A Certain Class as she did when she was younger, this time taking the lead and performing many of her band’s songs or her own originals.

In August, The Happy Failure performed at the Victoria Event Centre, putting on a strong performance with the band’s four members. They’re set to perform there again on Oct. 20.

“I always feel like when I have these projects going on, I just want to share it with the world and see what they think,” said Bérubé. “It’s definitely a goal of mine to be doing this more than I am right now.”

She said she hopes the band will eventually be able to tour around and perform outside of Canada.

“I definitely dream about becoming bigger because I believe in our project, so it’s definitely a dream to be able to share it with more than just Canada.”

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