“I played a school talent show one time, but that was it,” said Bowskill, now 22, about his lack of experience performing in front of an audience.
Hopping on stage with Healey for an impromptu performance “felt pretty natural,” he recalls. “I was ready for it, I was excited.”
He credits Healey for jumpstarting his career. Since then, the Ontario native has released five albums. At 14 he was the youngest Canadian to receive a Juno nomination for his 2004 album Soap Bar and Dog Ears.
Healey, who was well known for playing his guitar on his lap, died in 2008 and didn’t get to see Bowskill progress into the artist he is today. “I’ve come a long way since I last saw Healey years ago,” he said.
Most notably, Bowskill’s music has progressed from classic blues to an edgier, rock and roll blues sound.
“It’d be a lot of fun to get together [with Healey] and do some playing again.”
Bowskill’s parents also influenced the young musician’s passion for music. “My folks are big music lovers, there’s always records going. They’re very musical for sure.”
Through them, Bowskill acquired an ear for music on vinyl. “The sound is a lot warmer.” He has turntables in almost every room of his house, and even released a vinyl version of his 2012 album Back Number.
This latest album reinforces Bowskill’s gift for the blues with his powerful voice and killer guitar licks. Back Number also showcases his instrumental talents, which include the harmonica, trumpet and double-necked Gibson.
Bowskill is currently signed to the German blues label Ruf Records.
According to Bowskill, Germany is a blues hotspot. “There’s a really good scene for blues rock and it’s really happening.”
While Germany is his main circuit, he also plays in surrounding countries like Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic.
Since January, Bowskill has performed with two other Ruf Records artists as part of the label’s annual Blues Caravan tour. He, Joanna Shaw Taylor and Bart Walker were supposed to play in Jasper, but due to unspecified “unforeseen circumstances,” Blues Caravan has been cancelled. Bowskill will continue touring and instead play Jasper with his group, The Jimmy Bowskill Band.
At the end of this year, the trio aims to follow up Back Number with a brand new album.
“We’ve already been working on the songwriting process and getting that together. We’ve got a handful of tunes and it’s really shaping up nice.”
This marks more than 10 years of writing and recording for Bowskill, but given his young age, his future is full of the blues.
