Rube & Rake, a.k.a. Josh Sandu and Andrew Laite, are based in St. John’s, Newfoundland. The award-winning folk duo has released three albums, most recently Good Time After Bad in 2025. Their songs explore the nature of home, the passage of time, and the friction between aspirations and duty. In performance, the pair’s easygoing humour and empathetic musicality create an intimate and engaging listener experience.

Rube & Rake is an award-winning folk music duo based in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Josh Sandu and Andrew Laite, natives of Canada’s West Coast and East Coast respectively, sing about a 21^st century Canadian experience, unconfined by a single region or musical style. Their original songs reflect on the nature of home, the passage of time, and the spaces where aspiration and obligation intersect. The Rube & Rake live performance combines musical precision and sensitive vocals with the pair’s approachability and easygoing humour. They have released three full-length albums, most recently Good Time After Bad in 2025. 

Rube & Rake is a genuine meeting of East Coast and West Coast minds. The original songs of Josh Sandu of Prince George, British Columbia, and Andrew Laite of St. John’s, Newfoundland, bring to life a 21^st century Canadian experience, unconfined by a single region or musical style. 

The Rube & Rake sound elides an empathetic vocalistic rapport with thoughtful, sometimes playful, acoustic guitar and banjo stylings. Their tender melodies and tight vocals evoke a sense of keen listening, both to the world around them and to each other. Supported at times by bass, fiddle, and electric instruments, the graceful conviction of their vocals and the sensitive surety of their instruments are enriched by the counterpoint energy of dense harmonies, expansive soundscapes and steady rhythms.

The duo’s mosaic of influences, both musically and lyrically, draw on their personal experiences and their individual family histories. Their introspective lyrics reflect on the nature of home, the passage of time, and the spaces where aspiration and obligation intersect. In turns ballads, poems, and stories, their songs take the listener on journeys of exploration, both of the self and into the lives of others. 

The Rube & Rake live performance combines musical precision and sensitive vocals with the pair’s approachable personas. Thoughtful songs, a subtle rhythmic energy, and an easygoing humour all contribute to an intimate, engaging experience for the listener. Their vulnerability and spirit of openness connect with audiences in small salon performances and larger venues alike.

The duo began performing together in 2013 and self-produced their debut album, Back and Forth, in 2017. On Leaving With Nothing, released in 2020, the pair explored a more extensive breadth of instrumental sounds while remaining true to their vocal subtlety and lyrical vulnerability. This sophomore album was recognized as SOCAN Songwriter of the Year at the 2022 East Coast Music Awards. 

With the 2025 release of their third album, Good Time After Bad, Rube & Rake find themselves in a more mature place, both in life and as musicians. A more eloquently responsive acoustic guitar complements lyrics that examine the spaces between duty and desire, choice and circumstance, optimism and vulnerability.