GARRET T. WILLIE’S NEW LP, BILL’S CAFE, OUT TODAY
LISTEN / SHARE “GOING TO TORONTO” HERE
BUY / STREAM BILL’S CAFE HERE
NORTH AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN TOUR DATES BEGIN MARCH 20
“From a burned-down pool hall in Alert Bay to Nashville studios, the 25-year-old bluesman turns whiskey, small towns and hard truths into Bill’s Cafe.” RANGE Magazine
“Willie blends hard-hitting AC/DC riffage with a baritone voice that sounds like he has been making music for decades. The truth is, this devilishly good guitar-slinger isn’t even 30 yet.”
The Vancouver Sun
“Named after his grandfather's pool hall and café in Alert Bay, Bill's Cafe superimposes those Pacific ghost towns atop the streets of Nashville, communing with them in honky-tonk bars with a signature gravelly, blues rock pluck.” Exclaim!, 2026 Most Anticipated Albums
Photo Credit : Sydney Woodward // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
Today, celebrated songwriter and guitarist Garret T. Willie releases his new album. Bill’s Cafe is more than a record — it’s a tribute, a turning point, and a reckoning. Named after his grandfather’s pool hall café in Alert Bay, British Columbia, the album carries the ghosts of home into the bright lights of Nashville. It was there, under the guidance of Grammy Award-winning producer Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy, Kingfish, Susan Tedeschi), that Willie sharpened his blues-rock fire into something bigger, bolder, and truer.
The album is a road map of grit, heart, and soul. Written and recorded between late nights, long drives, and Nashville sessions, the record captures the restless spirit of a young artist carrying old-soul blues and rock traditions into the future. Across the album, Willie threads tales of whiskey-fueled nights, missed chances, stubborn resilience, and the freedom that only comes with chasing music town to town.
This is the case with the album single, "Going to Toronto", which is “a song I wrote sitting in my living room, late one night with my Gibson SG unplugged,” says Willie. “It started more like a Rolling Stones / Faces riff. The song talks about going to Toronto - sort of like Wilbert Harrison’s ‘Kansas City’ song. The lyrics: ‘Kansas City, Kansas City here I come. They got some crazy little women and one day. I’m going to get me one. Well I might take a train. I might take a plane. Even if I have to walk. I’ll be getting there just the same.’
“Same for going to Toronto. My lyrics: ‘She’s a million miles away and I’m far behind… Single cab truck, Flying down the Kings Highway. Running in the red, Hauling in my Chevrolet.’
“In my case, I’m talking about driving from BC to Toronto. Anything just to see your baby, just like the inspiration from Kansas City I used to listen to a lot of Muddy Waters and those guys back in the day when I was a teenager and I guess it just sort of stuck. I finished writing the song with Tom Hambridge down in Nashville."
LISTEN / SHARE “GOING TO TORONTO” HERE
MORE ABOUT BILL’S CAFE
With his guitar in hand and a voice that cuts like hi-beam headlights on a dark backroad, Willie delivers songs that feel lived-in and timeless. Bill’s Cafe is about the forces that hold us — love, loss, addiction, ambition, and the unshakable call of music as a means of survival. It’s a live wire of raw energy and soul — a reminder that sometimes the most dangerous thing is also the most irresistible.
That edge runs through the whole record. From roadhouse stompers to backseat ballads, Willie shines a light on hustlers, heartbreakers, and the broken pieces we all carry. He doesn’t just sing the blues — he spits them, shouts them, and bends them into something both timeless and dangerous.
LISTEN / SHARE “DEVIL DOLL” HERE
WATCH / SHARE “I’M LATE” (MUSIC VIDEO) HERE
In Bill’s Cafe, Garret T. Willie doesn’t just honor his past — he builds a bridge between worlds: Alert Bay and Nashville, tradition and reinvention, the ghosts of family and the fire of the future.
On stage, Garret T. Willie is undeniable. At just 25 years old, his towering stature and deep, gravel-soaked voice channel the weight of an artist who has lived every shade of the blues. His performances are electric — no gimmicks, no fluff, just raw shredding, searing tone, and solos that rip straight through the room. He plays with the intensity of the greats, often bending the guitar behind his head mid-solo or leaping into the crowd to bring the fire even closer. Willie’s live show is more than a concert — it’s a shockwave of blues-rock energy that leaves audiences speechless and makes believers out of anyone.
LISTEN / SHARE “HYPNOTIST” HERE
LISTEN / SHARE “GOLDEN HIGHWAY” HERE
Willie first made his mark with his debut album Same Pain, written with Parker Bossley at Afterlife Studios in Vancouver. The record lit a fire that spread far beyond Canada’s borders, earning praise from The Toronto Star, RANGE, Guitar World, Wonderland, Blues Matters, Blues in Britain and Classic Rock Magazine, while also landing airplay on BBC Radio 2’s The Blues Show with Cerys Matthews. Same Pain broke into the Top 20 on the UK Blues Albums chart and the US Roots Music Blues Rock chart in 2023, earned Willie two Western Canadian Music Award nominations for Blues and Indigenous Artist of the Year and a nomination for Best New Touring Artist at the Canadian Live Music Industry Awards. He carried those songs across Canada and in the US, opening for legends like Kenny Wayne Shepherd, John Fogerty, Kingfish, and recently performed on Joe Bonamassa’s Blues Cruise with Marcus King, Jimmy Vivino, Jeremie Albino, Ariel Posen, and more — proving that his firebrand blend of blues, rock, and raw honesty could hold its own on any stage.
BUY / STREAM BILL’S CAFE HERE
GARRET T. WILLIE LIVE
03/20 Guelph, ON - Sonic Hall
03/21 Toronto, ON - The Baby G
03/22 Hamilton, ON - Mills Hardware
04/08 Rossland, BC - The Flying Steamshovel
04/09 Lethbridge, AB - Owl Acoustic Lounge
04/10 Edmonton, AB - Blues on Whyte
04/11 Calgary, AB - Palomino
04/14 Golden, BC - Rockwater Bar & Grill
04/15 Salmon Arm, BC - Canooligans
04/16 Kelowna, BC - Red Bird Brewing
04/17 Kamloops, BC - The Effie Arts Collective
04/18 Cobble Hill, BC - Cobblestone Pub
05/14 Cumberland, BC - The Waverley
05/16 Nanaimo, BC - The Queen's
07/11 Evansburg, AB - Pembina River Nights
07/17 Winthrop, WA - Winthrop Blues Festival
09/08 Newcastle, UK - Cluny 2*
09/09 York, UK - The Crescent*
09/10 London, UK - 100 Club*
09/11 Nottingham, UK - Rescue Rooms*
09/12 Norwich, UK - Adrian Flux Waterfront Studio*
09/13 Manchester, UK - The Deaf Institute*
09/15 Glasgow, UK - Stereo*
09/16 Bristol, UK - The Exchange*
09/17 Faversham, UK - The Old Brewery*
11/12-14 Sumperk, CZ - Blues Alive Festival
