The Skeena
Michael Wilford is now living in Victoria and winning international acclaim for his blues-influenced songwriting, but he says he’d never be where he is today without his upbringing in Smithers.
“They have a massive fiddle music scene and some really world-class musicians,” he says in a new interview released by his record label Surkeus Records. “So it was one of those situations where my parents were always putting me in music lessons.”
The lessons apparently paid off. “In 2015 Michael moved to Victoria to attend the diploma in Contemporary Music Performance at Camosun College and by his graduation in 2018 he was touring all over the country with a variety of projects,” Surkeus explains.
Michael is currently a drummer and a songwriter. Last year, a “blues inflected track” he wrote called “Scotch” won a huge prize. “Scotch was selected out of a field of over 26,000 entries as a finalist in the International Songwriting Competition 2020 and has opened the door to new opportunities to collaborate and create new music alongside artists he admires,” Surkeus writes.
You can listen to the track, which features Chelsea D.E. Johnson, here. You can expect lots more from the Skeena-raised musician this year. Michael will be putting out additional tracks over the coming months. “I’m really excited,” he says.
Watch the interview with him here.
