Vancouver Island based contemporary roots rocker, WiL, knows a thing or two about being on the road; after all he has been writing and recording original music professionally since the release of his debut album ‘Both Hands’ back in 2003. Nominated for three WCMA’s including Best Live Act, the album launched his career path as a touring singer/songwriter.
His first real break came in 2011 when his song ‘Roam’ was chosen to represent the award winning media campaign by Travel Alberta called ‘Remember to Breathe’. The video with its stunning images was a regular staple during hockey games and events in Canada and worldwide helping his body of music (six studio albums, one live album and 3 EP’s) reach a larger audience.
For the past eighteen months WiL has been writing and recording tracks for his forthcoming and seventh LP ‘Gold Mine’, written, recorded and entirely self produced at his home studio over the course of fourteen months. Each song came into fruition at different times while juggling stints writing commercial compositions, commercial fencing (the kind that keeps cows and horses from roaming around freely) and playing live shows with his steadfast band mates, Keith Gallant (drums) and Lena Birtwistle (keys and vocals).
The workload may sound daunting but it is the balance of those three that help WiL focus on his ultimate goal and that is to play music live, on stage to people who care enough to listen, until he’s dead and buried. If you’re a fan reading this, don’t worry! He’s alive and quite well. In fact, his weekly sessions in the dojo help him stay fit so that he retains his reputation for putting on a live show that has been coined legendary by fans and critics alike.
And so, via reputation and maybe just a bit of convincing by the bands manager, Johnny Price, former talent buyer at the Last Drop decided to book the band for “one test show”. Fast forward three years and a yearly summer concert in Sicamous, it wasn’t until a road trip to Victoria to see the band perform on a larger stage that Johnny knew he just had to bring the trio to The Revelstoke Performing Arts Centre.
Performing at Revelstoke PAC will be no stretch for WiL. He has had the honour of sharing floorboards with musical heavyweights such as Burton Cummings, Matthew Good, Feist, Ray LaMontagne and most recently, the legendary Mavis Staples.
WiL hits the roads of western Canada January 27 – March 9 to road test songs from his forthcoming LP Gold Mine with stops that include Edmonton’s The Starlite Room and two nights at Calgary’s Ironwood Stage & Grill. Listen to a deeper tracks from the forthcoming album here or at the link below.
WiL will be performing at the Revelstoke Performing Arts Centre at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 15.