Julian Taylor is a Toronto based Canadian singer-songwriter who has received multiple JUNO Award nominations, one Canadian Folk Music Award for Solo Artist, five Native American Music Award nominations, plus a nomination for the Polaris Music Prize. Taylor, of combined Mohawk and Caribbean ancestry, is a major label veteran, Toronto music scene staple, and musical chameleon. Formerly associated with the band Staggered Crossing, he has continued to record and perform as a solo artist and has released twelve studio albums since 2001. With his songs being placed in such TV shows as “Haven,” “Private Eyes,” “Kim’s Convenience,” “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” and “Elementary.”
It`s a really blustery rain swept night as Julian takes to the stage in this intimate venue and opens with `Ballad of a Young Troubadour` a song that reflects on his early musical experiences. The song includes lyrics about Taylor leaving Toronto at age seventeen with a knapsack and a guitar and hitchhiking across the northwest. The singer revealed that he would share songs from throughout his career this evening and continued with `Ain`t Life Strange` from his latest album `Pathways` released last September. A number that ponders on life with a couple of lines that I really loved in “Don’t you wish sometimes that time would stand still, Do you ever wish that time travel was real?.”
Tracks like the uplifting `Back Again`, `Human Race` with it`s painful recollections, the modern day romantic wild west tale of `Georgia Moon` and the soulful `Sweeter` quickly follow. Julian is wonderfully engaging as he explains how he is inspired the write songs with `Bobbi Champagne` coming from playing at a chicken wings venue and meeting a bar tender with said name but falling into a bonfire and being rescued as the song came to him fully formed.
The first set closes with the heart wrenching but at the same time elevating `It`s Not Enough` before `Pick You Up` has everybody singing along as we head into a short interval.
The singer returns and is inundated with audience requests which admirably he plays, the first being `100 Proof` before `Murder13` which was obviously difficult for him to sing as it was written about a childhood friend who became the thirteenth murder in Toronto in 2005. As the song concluded Julian looked emotionally drained. We return to the latest release with a couple of numbers with the intensive `Weighing Down` a song that tells of seeking to lighten one’s load with uplifting encouragement and title track `Pathways` which relates a relationship that survives through mutual respect, support, and love. We also enjoyed `Seeds` which was about hope, resilience and forgiveness and was written with the singer`s Canadian First Nation roots at heart.
The homestretch included the questioning `Desert Star (Who Could Ask For Anything More)`, heart-rending `Love Enough`, `The Ridge` which ruminates on carefree childhood memories visiting his grandparents farm before leaving us with the inspiring `Just A Little Bit` which had this relaxed audience singing and clapping along to.
This was Julian`s debut show in Birmingham and will hopefully be the first of many visits to come. Tonight was an intimate and gentle evening`s entertainment from a versatile artist who really wears his heart on his sleeve and will have you laughing one minute and crying the next. We enjoyed personal stories and life affirming tales set to a roots-oriented folk and soul soundscape. A captivating evening that left all with a warm glow on such a wet and windy Winter`s evening.
