Don’t blink, or the opportunity may be lost to hear a travelling folk musician as he pedals his way from Texada Island to Vancouver.
Roberts Creek musician Brett Wildeman is calling his coastal tour “In a Blink” and it is to support his recently released album, Mother Earth, and “pay tribute to a slower pace of life.”
The singer/songwriter is kicking off his pedal-powered music tour of coastal BC starting in Van Anda. After traversing almost 700 kilometres of coastal inlets and peninsulas, Wildeman plans to wind up in Vancouver seven days later. Time and distance dictated the tour’s route. “I wanted to embark on something that was manageable,” he said. “It ranges between 30 to 70 kilometres per day, which isn’t too bad.”
Wildeman is scheduled to play at the beer garden at Townsite’s Aurora Festival on Saturday, September 7 in the early afternoon and then at the Texada Arts, Culture and Tourism Society (TACT) Centre (1207 Marble Bay Road) with special guests at 7 pm. He will return to Powell River to play the Open Air Market on Sunday, September 8 at 1:30 pm.
Wildeman, who grew up in a small town, is hoping that the tour will help him connect with folk fans along the coast and play music for new listeners.
“Every set of ears I can connect with is a new set of ears,” said the 24-year-old who has been pursuing his music career for the past two and a half years.
“I had all these poems I had written, but no way of delivering them,” he said. “The guitar was, at first, more of an accompaniment but that led to more singing than spoken word poetic stuff.”
Wildeman said he is excited to play Texada, as this will be the first time he has visited the island.
In the spring of 2012, Wildeman cycled the Oregon and California coast, a 1,200 kilometre journey by himself with only sparse supplies, a sketchbook and a ukulele. He left his iPod and computer at home and just focused on experiencing the road and meeting people along the way.
“During my travels, life unfolded at a noticeably slower pace,” he said. “In a day you may only ride 100 kilometres, so you see all the intricate details that you won’t necessarily see in a car.”
When Wildeman recorded Mother Earth, which he describes as “an eclectic collection of nine songs” with a “full-bodied sound,” he departed from the whimsical and airy feel of his previous releases.
The album was released in July and over the summer, Wildeman toured throughout the province and on Haida Gwaii to promote his songs.
“Meeting new people is the most fascinating part of this for me,” he said. “Just building that community and network throughout the province is huge for me at this point.”
