By Steve Hubrecht
Chicago Blues Hall of Fame guitar slinger and singer Michael Charles just can’t get enough of the Columbia Valley.
Through decades of constant hard touring and a steady stream of albums, the bluesman has earned acclaim, fame and a loyal following all across North America, as well as in his native Australia. He’s earned his chops and then some, and was inducted in the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame in 2015. But rather than rest on his laurels, ride his reputation and play only large venues in big cities, Charles continues to do intimate live shows in small towns.
Those are exactly the type of shows that he initially built his career on, and he’s not going to turn his back on small town audiences now that he’s famous.
Luckily for Columbia Valley residents, Charles has taken a shine to this area in the past half decade, having played multiple shows in Radium Hot Springs in recent years. He’ll be back in the valley again soon, this time stopping in Invermere, with a concert at Columbia Valley Centre on Sunday, March 30.
Charles grew up in Australia, listening to Elvis and the Beatles on the radio. He learned to play guitar at a young age, and formed his first band when we was just nine years old. His career grew from there through a series of bands, before he decided to go solo in 1984. Five years after that he got his big break when he was invited to appear at famed Chicago blues guitarist Buddy Guy’s Legends.
What was initially supposed to be a few months in Chicago has since turned into three and half decades and counting.
Charles loves going on tour, and embraces the always-on-the-road lifestyle with Willie-Nelson-like gusto and enthusiasm, playing about 250 live shows in a typical year.
When he’s not playing concerts, he’s cutting albums. He’s released 41 so far and he’s currently working on two more that should come out later this year — a live album and a studio album.
The studio album is in the early stages, so Charles wouldn’t reveal too much about it other than to tell the Pioneer, “I’m trying to touch on a different genre in every song. Some have a bluesy feel, some have a country feel. It’s a little bit off the cuff, and it’s going to be fun.”
The live album has the tentative working title ‘Guitars, Music and Miles 2025’ and is being recorded at various venues around Canada and the U.S. as Charles tours this year.
“It will document what a tour is like,” said Charles.
Will there be a track from the Invermere show?
Charles wasn’t sure, saying it would depend on the specifics of the Columbia Valley Centre and whether it seems an ideal place to make a recording.
“If I could, I would love to record every night of the year, but it’s not completely up to me,” he said.
Charles has fond memories of his past shows in Radium and said he is very much looking forward to checking out the beaches and lake in Invermere.
“Every time we go through that part of B.C., the mountains and the landscape, it’s just so spectacular. The only word is ‘wow’,” he said.
The Invermere show starts at 6:30 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. See michaelcharles.us for more details or tickets.
