The Sugar Pills have Sydenham Connection

May 21, 2025

By Jemma Dooreleyers

Evan Jackson is a music teacher at Sydenham Highschool and vocalist and lead guitarist for the Sugar Pills. Sydney Fiset, an event and wedding florist, is the lead vocalist with the band. They took time out of their busy schedule to discuss:  the inception of their band, growing up in and around South Frontenac, where they find their inspiration, and their newly released single, Crybaby.

I met them at the Point Park in early May, by Sydenham Lake.

The first thing that’s noticeable about Jackson and Fiset is their ease with each other. They sit comfortably next to each other on a picnic bench, laugh at each other’s jokes and finish each other’s sentences with an ease that makes one think they have been friends since childhood, which according to Jackson and Fiset, is “kind of a funny story”.

“Our moms went to High School together and were besties there, but we did not know that, and did not meet that way. Then we both did the Crystal Ball gala with the Limestone Learning Foundation and performed there. But our moms did not mention anything about being best friends,” said Jackson.

“And then something else that is super serendipitous and maybe meant to be,” interjects Fiset,” is that my uncle introduced Evan’s parents to each other, so there’s that and then my uncle and Evan’s dad were in a band together and we did not know that until we started hanging out and playing together. It’s kind of fun for our families because they get a little high school throwback because they played all of the same venues that we play now.”

While their family ran in the same circle decades ago, it wasn’t until COVID that Fiset and Jackson became friends. Jackson moved “just up the street” from Fiset right as lockdown began and having known of her previously, he reached out and they became part of each other’s bubble almost immediately.

They discovered their musical chemistry sitting on the floor of Fiset’s living room, singing and playing guitar together. When they weren’t spending time with each other, they exchanged voice memos of ideas they had been working on individually that “had nowhere else to go”.

From there Sugar Pills was born.

“We started collecting this music that had nowhere to go and didn’t make sense for either of us solo. It always starts with a voice memo of us saying ‘I know this sounds stupid but.’ and it does sound stupid but we love it and then we get into it.”

That’s where Crybaby, their first song that they wrote together, came from.

“I was working and no one had come in that day so I was super bored and I had this idea floating around in my head so I sent it to Evan.”

Crybaby is a catchy, emotionally charged song that blends upbeat, retro-inspired instrumentation with a touch of indie flair. It taps into themes of heartbreak, self-reflection, vulnerability and also sarcasm.

The song, along with their other single, Nepobaby, perfectly reflects what they set out to accomplish with the inception of the Sugar Pills - a place to have fun.

“As song-writers we’re always trying to find the best words for how we’re feeling and try to put the angst of being human into words and then with the Sugar Pills we decided we were just going to go for it and we’re just going to put it out there just to get the idea out authentically and not stress about if it,” explained Jackson.

“It’s hard to let go and simplify an idea and to cut out all of the things in the song that aren’t serving you and that has been a release for us. Sugar Pills was a big healing thing for us where we’re like ‘this idea is just kind of pop-trash but let’s just roll with it and then it ended being something really beautiful.”

Their authenticity and fun is working “a lot quicker” than they anticipated. The Sugar Pills are booked and busy with many shows lined up through Kingston and Ottawa in the summer.

However, while they are playing the shows in town and in the city, they never forget their South Frontenac roots and the integral role growing up here played in their respective musical journeys.

“I was really fortunate to have a great music learning experience at Loughborough Public School. When I went to high school in town and then began  teaching music I learned how not everybody is so lucky to be exposed to music making at such a young age,” said Jackson, “but for me, it’s the nature and the privacy out here just to be able to take my guitar somewhere and sit and write is so huge. I always do better when I have a while to sit in silence and turn off the noise.”

“The gatherings out here are more intimate and we’re not meeting at a pub or a restaurant so my mom will tell me to go get my guitar and it will end up a group of friends and family singing which I honestly feel like would never happen in town,” said Fiset.

“We don’t realize how fortunate we are to be here, casually and I think people feel a connectedness to the land and then they feel a connectedness to each other.”

As a music teacher at Sydenham Highschool, Jackson believes that especially now, teenagers need a creative outlet and space to communicate their feelings while feeling like it is not that serious.

“Music is a communicator and as a music teacher I am teaching that there are lots of ways to communicate for yourself that are maybe easier for some people and I think everybody and especially teenagers right now need a voice and they need a way to express what they’re feeling and they need a space where they can play their ideas and people won’t think they’re stupid.”

Fiset believes that music is one of the most important outlets a human can have while navigating the current societal climate.

“In times like these when we’re battling our own uncertainties and challenges and when the world can feel so divided at times, music is more important that ever,” she said. “

My whole life I’ve been able to escape through music whether it’s putting my headphones on and listening to an album start to finish and allowing myself to be in that artist’s world or creating music myself and putting my feelings into song rather than holding on to them, it’s a powerful form of self-care in my opinion. So the fact that we have been able to create a fun atmosphere with our music that allows people to escape their own reality for even a moment is priceless.”

To find Sugar Pills and their songs and upcoming shows, look for them on Spotify, Apple Music and instagram at thesugarpillsband.