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Garrett Mason is a true bluesman at heart. He was raised in Truro, Nova Scotia by his mother Pam, and father, veteran Canadian Bluesman Dutch Mason. His quest to become a blues musician started at a very early age; being surrounded by music blues music, Garrett’s favorite tapes at 3 years old were Canned Heat and Buddy Rich. What really sealed the deal for Garrett to become a blues guitarist came after watching a video of Stevie Ray Vaughn “Live At the El Mocambo” - he was hooked.
His dad, Dutch Mason, stopped playing guitar before Garrett was born due to crippling arthritis in his hands. Although he was not able to teach his son to play, he has certainly been able to teach Garrett the structure of the Blues and to influence him about the resulting sound. Surrounded by his father’s peers, Garrett has had the benefit of hearing and learning from a wide variety of musical talent. The late Rick Jeffery was a great inspiration to Garrett; they would talk and play for hours together. Rick once said “Garrett is the only guitar player I know that can play Albert Collins’ style down to a T”. The combination of his father’s advice, Jeffery’s guidance and his own natural talents provide that special brew for Garrett to become the musical influence he is destined to be.
Garrett would be the first to tell you that riding the coat tails of others won’t take you very far in this business, but striving to be truly original is the secret to longevity and lasting success. Garrett launched his debut CD I’m Just a Man at the 2004 Harvest Jazz and Blues festival in Fredericton, New Brunswick to a sold out crowd.
This debut CD features Garrett’s talent for strong original songs, a voice that is reminiscent of a veteran performer and his extraordinary aptitude for playing electric guitar. Garrett’s original talent was awarded in 2005 when he received a Juno for Best Blues Album. Garrett Mason is poised to be one of the brightest stars to emerge from the East Coast Blues scene in years.
Garrett’s band released their sophomore album Love and Sound in July 2008 which was nominated for a Juno Award. The album won Blues Artist/Group Recording of the Year at the 2009 Music Nova Scotia and Industry Awards.
Owen Steel was raised between a farmhouse in rural Prince Edward Island and a rambling, Seaside Inn in small town New Brunswick - the latter of which hosted an array of roots music royalty during his upbringing, who instilled within him an interest in songwriting.
Since 2009, Owen has written and released various folk / garage sounds under his own name, as well as with such acts as The Belle Comedians, Mike Trask, Dana Sipos, and Motherhood. He has toured from Newfoundland to the Yukon, Texas to Sweden and points in between, appearing at major folk festivals, obscure freak festivals, basement bars, soft seater theatres, pizza joints, street corners and more! By thumb, boat, band van and train, Steel has made his way under the radar and into the ears of a small but mighty group of loyal listeners.
In the winter of 2020, Owen was invited to be the Dawson City Music Festival (Yukon) songwriter-in-residence, an opportunity which is offered to a singular Canadian artist once a year. With the pandemic altering the world shortly thereafter he - like so many others - shifted gears and took a step back from music, opting instead to try his hand at running a small antique shop in New Brunswick, where he is currently based.
2023 will see Owen slowly stepping back into his element as a live performer. Having wrapped up recording sessions with Fredericton Psycho-boogie master Keith Hallett at the helm, Owen’s third full length album, COMBE, is out now!