Blues & Brews in Kelowna presents “Canada’s next big star in the guitar world”

When the smoky opening notes of Garrett T. Willie's song “Same Pain” reach your ears, you might think you are hearing a blues musician who has seen it all and done his duty.

When he incorporates his deep vocals (think Tom Waits at his best baritone) into the track, you might think, “Yep, this guy’s been through a lot.”

So it may surprise you that the blues musician from Kingdom Inlet is only 23 years old.

The Toronto Star hails him as “Canada’s next big star in the world of down-to-earth, classic-rock blues guitar.”

Garret T. Willie ('Namgis/Kwakwaka'wakw) brings his blues to Revelry Food + Music Hub on June 8th and headlines Blues + Brews.

He knows the licks, the riffs and how they feel – Howlin' Wolf, Albert King, Muddy Waters, Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis.

But what we hear is that at the fork in the road, Willie has taken a different path that leads through the classic blues and rock'n'roll that he knows inside and out and that he wants to make his own.

“I think we offer the world something that doesn't currently exist,” Willie said in a press release. “It's been a long time since anyone has done it right or done it for a real reason and not just because they admire it. I don't just want to be the greatest in British Columbia, I want to be the greatest in the world.”

Wonderland Music described Willie's debut album, Same Pain, as “a rock and blues virtuoso unleashing a sonic revolution that you can't help but fall in love with.”

Willie is one of a handful of artists with multiple nominations for the 2024 Western Canadian Music Award (WCMA). He is nominated for Blues Artist of the Year and Indigenous Artist of the Year.

Tickets for Blues + Brews are available on the Revelry Food + Music Hub website.

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