Colin James is no doubt one of the most acclaimed musicians to grace this edition of the Whistler Summer Concert Series.
His career spans three decades and counting. Within those years, he's racked up eight Juno Awards (the latest of which came in 2022) and 30 Maple Blues Awards to go with multi-platinum record sales. He's also collaborated with a who's who of top-shelf talent including Lenny Kravitz, Bonnie Raitt, ZZ Top, Carlos Santana and Johnny Hallyday.
James' 21st album, Chasing the Sun, drops officially on Aug. 23, but a week before that he returned to one of his old haunts: Whistler.
"I wouldn't be able to tell exactly how many times over the years [I've performed there]," said James. "Years ago, I played with Smokey Robinson. In the earliest days, we would get out there usually to rehearse at Buffalo Bills…but after that, I played in Whistler a gazillion times at different places."
The Regina, Sask. native has always been a fan of British Columbia, which offers considerably more in the way of scenery than his home province. It's a great place to lose yourself in nature before you take the stage.
Engaged and developing
Chasing the Sun features contributions by revered artists Charlie Musselwhite, Lucinda Williams, Darryl Jones and Charley Drayton, each of whom bring their own brand of energy and spice to the table.
For lesser-known artists, this degree of partnership isn't always a good thing. No one wants to be relegated to a sideshow in their own material as eyes and ears turn towards a bigger name on the label. Yet nobody upstages James, who continues to grow his reputation with visionary creative excellence.
The result is a harmonious interplay between greats. For instance, lead single "Devillment" marries James' distinctive voice and razor-sharp guitar with Musselwhite's fiery, Grammy-nominated harmonica. Both get a turn in the spotlight, however, no one comes away doubting that they've heard a Colin James track.
James says he wanted to write most of the songs on his new album, and did so with Tom Wilson, Terra Lightfoot and co-producer Colin Linden riding shotgun. All three helped kick off last year's Canada Day in Whistler with Blackie and the Rodeo Kings.
Linden, who has produced six albums with James since 1997, had this to say in a press release: "Colin [James] is still so engaged with his own artistic development, and it just got better every time we dug in deeper, which is not always the way it is.
"There are some places on the record where I can’t tell if it’s me or him playing guitar, even though we play differently. There is this blending of styles indicative of the vibe of serving the music."
For his part, James appreciates every opportunity to work with other musical standouts, gain their perspective on the industry and learn from their passion to keep performing because it means the world to them.
'You can't rest on your laurels'
James is certainly a success story, but he doesn't view himself as the biggest fish in the pond—not by a long shot.
"In the States, I still have to go down there and prove myself in certain areas," he revealed. "Last year, I got a standing ovation at the Ryman Auditorium opening up for Buddy Guy. For me to get a standing-O in Nashville was really something else. One of the biggest joys in life is when you connect with an audience that doesn't know you."
As a result, there's still a fire in the Saskatchewanian's belly to keep pushing the envelope and moving forward past his previous achievements.
"You can't rest on your laurels," he stated emphatically. 'All of us who have had a hit on the radio realize that it's a pretty precious thing. You never want to disparage your hits or your career, but you can't wallow in it. That's a question of survival. Some records are popular, some records aren't, but you've got to live through all of it and come out the other side."
If you haven't heard James perform live before, know that he doesn't phone in any of his shows. He brings instead an infectious energy that belies his former stage-shyness as a young man, and loves the kind of diverse crowd Whistler tends to host. Perhaps some in the audience will have grown up with his stuff in the 1990s, and perhaps they'll bring their kids.
Multi-generational recognition is the most gratifying of all to James: seeing a 20-year-old, a 40-year-old and a 70-year-old grooving at the same time.
