Bands across Manitoba have been trying to make their mark on the music industry with shows playing constantly across the province.

Two young men from Portage la Prairie are working to make their musical dreams a reality, playing shows in the Westman area.

Ethan Hofman and Brandon Letexier met in high school, and were fairly musical individuals, but have only started playing together more recently.

"We met each other in vocal jazz at PCI, so that was circa 2018," Hofman shared.

"We've always been fairly musical, so, it was only a matter of time until we started jamming together a few years ago," Letexier states. "It's been four years since we started jamming, but we've only been playing together in public for just shy of that, two or three years."

Hofman shared the reasoning behind the band name Beanee.

"His nickname is Bean, and my nickname is 'Eth', and we kinda smashed them together and came up with Beanee."

The local duo has played several shows at venues in the city of Brandon, where Hofman now lives. Letexier commutes between Brandon and Portage for shows and to practice, which includes writing and producing their own music. They shared their thoughts on how their shows have been received so far.

"That's why we do it. We enjoy playing music, so we know when we go out there to play shows, there are going to be people out there enjoying the music that we play. We like to play a wide range of music," Letexier noted. Hofman added, "But all songs that we personally enjoy. We're not just trying to please other people, this is also a very 'us' thing as well. Things that we enjoy, and we just enjoy sharing that as well."

While the duo has yet to release any original music, they said it will be coming. Hofman noted "EP coming out soon," with a laugh.

The two have shows booked for next month, noting they will be playing a set at Brandon's first sober bar, Club 1202, as well as Eastside Eatery. Both shows are coming up in the month of April.

The pair added that they are open to bookings, and if you are interested, you can reach them through their social media or by emailing them.