Jimmy Bowskill (born 16 September 1990) is a Canadian

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

singer, guitarist and bassist based in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Early life

Bowskill grew up in

Bailieboro Bailieborough or Bailieboro (; ) is a town in County Cavan, Ireland. , its population was 2,683, up from 1,529 as of the 1996 census. Bailieborough's proximity to the N3 National Road has made it a commuter town. History Plantation Before ...

, a small village near

Peterborough, Ontario Peterborough ( ) is a city on the Otonabee River in Ontario, Canada, about 125 kilometres (78 miles) northeast of Toronto. According to the 2021 Census, the population of the City of Peterborough was 83,651. The population of the Peterborough ...

, where he learned to play guitar.

Career

Bowskill began performing at a young age, and first played on stage at the age of eleven at

Jeff Healey Norman Jeffrey Healey (March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008) was a Canadian blues, rock and jazz singer, guitarist, and songwriter who attained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. He reached No. 5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart with " A ...

's club in

. “They wouldn’t let an 11-year-old inside his club, so I started busking on the side- walk outside,” Jimmy recalls in

Guitar Player Magazine ''Guitar Player'' is an American popular magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California. It contains articles, interviews, reviews and lessons of an eclectic collection of artists, genres and products. It has been in print s ...

“

Jeff Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey. Music * DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes * ...

heard about me, invited me in to play, and I did pretty well. I got a lot of gigs and exposure just from that one night.” Healey's bassist, Alec Fraser, provided studio time for Bowskill, and eventually he signed a deal with

Ruf Records Ruf Records is a German independent record label, which was founded in 1994 by Luther Allison’s manager, Thomas Ruf, to promote Allison's career. The motto of the blues label is "Where Blues Crosses Over". The company's office is located in ...

. The next year he recorded his first album, ''Old Soul'', and performed on the main stage at the

Peterborough Folk Festival The Peterborough Folk Festival is a three-day music, arts, and community festival in Peterborough, Ontario. The festival is a non-profit organization which receives funding from the Lloyd Carr-Harris Foundation, The Department of Canadian Herita ...

. Bowskill's second album, ''Soap Bars and Dog Ears'', was nominated for a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

when he was fourteen years of age. In 2005 he was presented with a Maple Blues Award as "Best New Artist of the Year"."The Jimmy Bowskill Band"
, ''CBC Music'' In 2010, he toured in Europe with

Joe Bonamassa Joseph Leonard Bonamassa ( ; born May 8, 1977) is an American blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He started his career at age twelve, when he opened for B.B. King. Since 2000, Bonamassa has released fifteen solo albums through his ind ...

and

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...

. He also performed more locally at the Belleville Blues Festival. In 2011, he released his first live album, ''Jimmy Bowskill Band Live'', produced by

. In 2012, Bowskill introduced his album ''Back Number'' at the Kincardine Lighthouse Blues Festival. The album was recorded at

Metalworks Studios Metalworks Studios is a music recording studio in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1978 by Gil Moore of the Canadian rock group, Triumph. Over a span of 40 years, Metalworks has been the recipient of Canadian Music Week's ' ...

Mississauga, Ontario Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

. He also performed at the Windsor International BluesFest and at the All-Canadian Jazz Festival in Port Hope with the Ganaraska Sheiks. While on tour in 2009, the Jimmy Bowskill Band included Wayne Deadder on bass and Dan Neill on drums. In 2012, the band members were Ian McKeown on bass and Dan Reiff on drums. In November 2015, Bowskill joined the Canadian rock band

The Sheepdogs The Sheepdogs are a Canadian rock band formed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 2004. The Sheepdogs were the first unsigned band to make the cover of ''Rolling Stone'' and have gone on to a career featuring multi-platinum album sales and four Ju ...

playing lead, rhythm and pedal steel guitar. In 2016,

Blue Rodeo Blue Rodeo is a Canadian country rock band formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have released 16 full-length studio albums, four live recordings, one greatest hits album, and two video/DVDs, along with multiple solo albums, side projects, a ...

released their album ''

1000 Arms ''1000 Arms'' is the fifteenth studio album by Canadian country rock band Blue Rodeo, released on October 28, 2016. Track listing All songs written by Greg Keelor and Jim Cuddy. # "Hard to Remember" – 4:57 # "I Can't Hide This Anymore" – 3: ...

'', which includes Bowskill playing on two tracks.

Discography

*''Old Soul'' (2003) *''Soap Bars and Dog Ears'' (2004) *Jimmy Bowskill (2007) *''Jimmy Bowskill Band Live'' (2009) *''Back Number'' (2012). Blues Etc carlos del junco (2016)wikipedia

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowskill, Jimmy 1990 births Living people Canadian blues singers Canadian blues guitarists Musicians from Ontario