Hey everyone! I hope you are all feeling fantastic.

Summer has gone and fall is here. That hurts my feelings. I am not a real big fan of winter time. Yeah. I know. I live in Manitoba. Listen, just because I live here doesn’t mean I have to like the weather.

As I am still trying to get back up on my feet a bit, I am probably going to make some adjustments to the blog. Most of the time I will be covering just artists for now and as I start to feel a bit better I will start getting back to the news and maybe some lifestyle and fashion articles. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Being in my 40’s, I am trying to remember what it was like being 13. It’s difficult to remember. I am certain, however, that it probably included a Platinum Blonde cassette tape, Au Coton slouch socks and far too much blue eye shadow. There was no internet or social media. There were no smart phones. If you wanted to talk to a friend you either called them from the house phone or went and saw them. I don’t remember really thinking about what I wanted to do when I grew up. And I certainly didn’t start working towards it.

The world has changed, but I don’t know if 13 year-olds have fundamentally changed. They still want to have fun and hang out with their friends.  They still want to not have to worry about responsibility. Enter Beamer Wigley – the most uncommon 13 year-old you will ever meet.

When I spoke to Beamer, it was during his summer break. When I asked him how his summer break had been, he replied, “It’s one of the best summers for my music!” I asked him what else he had been up to. “Preparing for my album release.” Beamer had been working all summer. “Downtime is a liberty for me,” he commented but he doesn’t seem to mind it at all.

That is probably because he loves country music. “The lyrics tell stories and I love writing things that do tell a story.” So not only is he a singer, he is also a young songwriter. This past July, his single ‘Meteorite’ was released to Canadian radio. I mentioned to him that I thought he had a sound similar to American country singing star Hunter Hayes to me. Beamer laughed, “I get that a lot. It’s not a bad person to be compared to.” I asked him what it was like hearing his song on the radio for the first time. “Oh man!” He started. “I was in a radio station, CFWE in Edmonton and it started playing on the overhead speakers of the radio station as I was walking out. I’m like, ‘I want to hear this in the car.’ So I give my guitar to my dad and I book it for the car, running as fast as I can and my mom just sees me bolting to the car and I make it for the last chorus and it was the best feeling in the world. I was out of breath but it was really cool hearing my song on the radio.”

This Penticton, BC sophomore says he has a lot to thank his parents for. According to him, they are extremely supportive and it doesn’t look like they will be stopping any time soon. “I can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done.” He says they are having a lot of fun with the whole thing and adds, “I hope they’re having a lot of fun because they tell me they are. If they’re lying I’m going to be pretty upset!”  I asked him if he’d considered any other careers. He said he’d considered acting. In fact, Beamer has done quite a bit of musical theatre. His heart, however, remains with music and songwriting.

It’s interesting to come across someone so young who is so certain of who he is – especially as an artist. He says that Keith Urban is his inspiration. “When I was 5 years-old I heard Keith Urban and Brad Paisley’s ‘Start a Band’ and I looked at my mom and I said, ‘I need a guitar.'” Incidentally, if Beamer could play with any one singer on stage it would also be Keith Urban.  I asked him what the appeal of the Australian superstar was for him. Beamer replied enthusiastically, “I love the way he presents his songs. I love his stage presence. You can’t go wrong with his guitar playing. That’s incredible!”

Beamer is no slouch when it comes to playing the guitar either as he is a member of the Brotherhood of the Guitar. This is a community of young and gifted guitar players ages 13-19. They help each other out and collaborate. “It’s really just like a big group of friends who share the same interests.”

Well, it seems as though Beamer is always working so I was curious to know what he enjoys outside of music. Apart from going to the beach, Beamer is a self-proclaimed car fanatic. He really enjoys checking out cars online, especially ones from the 50’s. He likes anything from the 50’s in general. “I am a vintage kinda guy,” he says. I referred to him as an old soul. He laughed and said, “I’ve heard that before.”

Being that he did feel older than his age, I asked him how he responds to hearing “well, maybe he is too young for that”. “I laugh,” he answered. He admits that coming out as a 13 year-old artist has its challenges. “Radio has been really tough.” When it comes to live performances, he is sometimes passed over for better slots. “Sometimes I’ll get a slot and it’s kinda bad and I’ll be like ‘And this is my first single that just went to Canadian radio called Meteorite!’ and I’ll see the guy who booked me kind of like ‘Oh’.”

He may be young but one thing I can say is that he is extremely detailed. I decided to have some fun with him and ask him what were 3 things he would take to a deserted island. They of course could not be electronic. Before we even began, he asked, “Am I on a large island or like a 10 foot square island?” I laughed and clarified that it was the size of a couple of square city blocks. “Ok,” he started, “I think I am going to bring, almost number one on my list would be a water purification system, a flare gun. And…um. Is there any wildlife on this island or just trees.”  I assured him it was just trees. “Then I am going to bring a hatchet so I can cut down trees and build a shelter.”

This summer wound up with an album release party for Beamer in London, ON during Country Music Week. You could tell he was thrilled. “I don’t think I could have gotten a better place to have it…especially with Brett Kissel’s band backing me up.” Agreed!

It was time to wrap things up. So I asked him what the last picture he took with his phone was.  At that time it was “My dog wearing a dress.” He pointed out that the dress doubles as a harness. “I love Teddy. She’s the best.”

PLEASE go to Beamer’s website (http://www.beamerwigley.com/) and check him out on Twitter (https://twitter.com/BeamerWigley) and on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/beamerwigleymusic/) He is so great! In the meantime, here are the smooth stylings of Beamer Wigley singing Meteorite: