The story of Nuclear Vibes is a love story between two small-town kids from Grey Bruce who grew up attending the same church as children, youth events as teens and working at the same fast-food joint in early adulthood.
When Kenny Ducker walked into a bar for an open mic night at Chester’s Bar and Grill in Port Elgin, and heard the sweetest cover of Can’t You See he’s ever heard, he realized it was the girl he’s always known. Although he couldn’t bring himself to say anything to her that night, Kenny Ducker made a promise to himself that he would marry Hannah Faith one day, and he made good of that promise. A year and a half later a mutual friend got the pair together at a party, and when they finally started talking, they never stopped.
They soon partnered in life and in music.
For the last decade, they have shared some beautiful memories both as partners and bandmates in their musical duo Nuclear Vibes. After reuniting and dating for a year, they were married in 2017 and now have two children together. With the encouragement from their friends and family, the pair began playing open mics. It wasn’t long before they were starting to work on their first single.
Their biggest commonality has been the passion each brings to their music. Kenny has played guitar since a high school co-op at Books and Strings in Port Elgin where he was inspired by Steve Auld, and Hannah grew up singing in church, her first performance at only three-years-old.
Booze and Bad Decisions was released in March 2023, featuring Dan Slinger on bass and Mike Campbell on drums. The song was recorded locally in Port Elgin at Blackboard Sound where Kenny and Hannah both worked offering guitar lessons and vocal coaching. Shortly thereafter, Nuclear Vibes played their first real gig in April 2023 at the Queen’s in Port Elgin.
Marilyn and Rick from the Bruce County Blues Society first stumbled upon the duo at an open mic and offered them their most prized moment yet: opening for Crystal Shawanda and Dewayne Strobel. This was a monumental milestone for Nuclear Vibes, as Shawanda and Strobel are favourites of theirs.
Kenny and Hannah truly appreciate the community they’ve made and love that music is something their whole family can be involved in. You may often see their two daughters at shows helping to set up the stage in exchange for chicken fingers and pop.
“Music has just been that thing that has always been there no matter what was going on..even when it wasn’t my favourite music in church, there was always music to lean on.” Hannah says. Kenny echoes Hannah’s passion as he describes his guitar being like a soother at times.
The duo would love to keep growing and evolve into a full-time family affair. They balance family life with work, while remaining true to their unique sound as they plan to release more original songs. More recently, they have decided to grow the band by inviting talented musicians Greg Kuhl, Simon Kearns, Pete Devlin and Becky Campbell to join in
“High Tides raise all ships, but…there are a lot of ships out there in Grey Bruce,” says Kenny. “We have been privileged to rub shoulders with likeminded musicians, and in doing so have become better ourselves.”
Stay tuned for all that Nuclear Vibes has in store. You can find their music on Spotify, book them for a gig through their website https://nuclearvibes.com, and find them on socials.
Words and photos by Ashley Winters
