When the smokey opening notes of Garrett T. Willie鈥檚 song 鈥楽ame Pain鈥� find their way to your ears, you might think you鈥檙e hearing a blues player who鈥檚 been there, done that - paid his dues.

When he drops his deep vocal (think Tom Waits at his baritone best) into the track you might think 鈥淵ep, this guy鈥檚 been around.鈥�

So you might be surprised to learn that the Kingdom Inlet-born bluesman, is just 23-years-old.

The Toronto Star hails him as 鈥楥anada鈥檚 next big thing in down-and-dirty, classic-rockin鈥� blues guitardom,鈥�

Garret T. Willie (鈥楴amgis/Kwakwaka鈥檞akw) is bringing his blues to Revelry Food + Music Hub on June 8, headlining Blues + Brews.

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

But you can hear that Willie is on a different path at the crossroads, one that winds through the classic blues and rock 鈥榥鈥� roll he knows intimately, and one he vows to make his own.

鈥淚 think we鈥檙e providing the world with something it doesn鈥檛 have right now,鈥� Willie said in a media release. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a long time since somebody鈥檚 done it right, or been doing it from a genuine place and not just because they admire it. I don鈥檛 wanna just be the biggest in British Columbia, I wanna be the biggest in the world.鈥�

Wonderland Music described Willie鈥檚 debut album, 鈥楽ame Pain鈥�, as 鈥漚 rock and blues virtuoso, unleashing a sonic revolution that鈥檚 impossible to not fall in love with.鈥�

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

Tickets for Blues + Brews are available on the .

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