His Story August 26th, 2009

Hailing from Guelph, ON, Mike Barrett is a singer/songwriter now making his living as a musician in Halifax, N.S

Blending folk, americana & east coast indie with just a voice and an acoustic guitar, he creates a sound of his own that is energetic, creative, and infectious.

Often compared to the likes of Royal Wood, Bon Iver, Gomez, and Jack Johnson, he denies comparisons and it shows in the sensibilities of his unique songwriting.

Mike was already listening to legends like Louis Armstrong and John Coltrane in his early teens and borrowing titles like Miles Davis’ Kind Of Blue from the local public library. He took to playing tenor saxophone in high school as guitar was not an option in the school band. Though he enjoyed the feeling he got from the full sounding band, the music was not favorable and not being permitted to play the guitar frustrated him. He would soon find something more fitting, joining an eleven piece reggae group on electric guitar. The group was called Well Charged and was comprised of some very good players who were much older and more experienced than he, the singer and front man, Winston Cole, was a 60-some-year-old Jamaican native who recounted stories of hanging’ with Bob Marley on the streets of Kingston, JA. Within three years Mike had performed on several studio recordings from Well Charged and was regularly gigging in bars before he was legally allowed to be in them. He performed several high profile gigs with the band including the famous Bamboo club on the docks in Toronto and on the main stage at the 2005 Hillside Music Festival opening for Sarah Harmer.

Mike has also shared stages with The Constantines, The Barmitzvah Brothers, James Gordon, Jeff Bird (Cowboy Junkies), Matt Mays & El Torpedo, and many many other great acts.

Destined for road, and with a burning desire to play music, Mike left Guelph in the spring of 2006 and headed for the west coast of Canada. He discovered a little piece of paradise in Tofino on Vancouver Island, spending a summer writing songs with an acoustic guitar and learning to surf, while living in a camper van. He later found himself on the road to California with friends, then to a desert in Baha, Mexico. Mike then decided to retrace his acadian roots on the east coast, leading him to musical hot-bed of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Here he began recording a solo album and released his debut What More Could I Ask? on April 18th, 2008. Mike is still making his living with music in Halifax.

Mike Barrett also plays bass for ECMA nominated rock band Andrew Hunter & the Gatherers, who in 2009 alone, released an award-winning self-titled EP, showcased at the East Coast Music Awards and Canadian Music Week, and nominees for Nova Scotia Music Awards.