Miles Canyon lives in Crossfield, but this prolific singer-songwriter has found a home in the Airdrie music scene. Saskatoon was his base before he moved to Alberta more than a year ago, but he’s been on the road most of his life, touring with his longtime band across North America.
“We started in heavy metal, then hard rock, then we were doing funk rock and R&B soul,” Canyon says. “We were a multi-genre band; it’s been most of the same guys I’ve played with all my career.”
Canyon plays guitar and “a little bit of whatever I can get a hold of.” He learned to play when he was 12 and decided being a musician would be his life.
“I just went all in,” he says. “I started writing songs when I was 13 and sold my first one when I was 15. I love writing and I love performing.”
Canyon has written and sold hundreds of songs, but has managed to also make a living as a performer.
“I can honestly say that I’ve made more money as a musician than I’ve spent being one, and I have a lot of guitars,” he says.
Canyon’s passion for songwriting and storytelling is the driving force.
“I’ll drop everything to finish a song,” he says. “I can’t just set inspiration on the shelf. If I have plans that day, I’ll cancel everything until that song is done.”
Canyon says doesn’t waste a word or a thought.
“You’ve got three minutes to tell a story, and you want to invoke some sort of image or emotion out of those three minutes,” he says.
Canyon journey into writing and performing country music began with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Things kind of slowed down, and, like many musicians, I thought I’d use the time to be a writing machine,” he says.
But Canyon found himself struggling, and it wasn’t until he and his guitarist were playing with a riff that the unexpected happened.
“We accidentally wrote a country song,” he says. “So, we said, let’s show this to our producer.”
The producer liked the song and encouraged them to keep writing. Canyon ended up with more than 60 songs.
“The original plan was just to write songs to sell, and then I moved to Alberta, and I saw how great the scene is here. I can’t just sit on the sidelines and not perform,” he says.
Canyon himself has recorded about 20 of those songs. “Country Girls” was the first to be released.
The single is immediately enjoyable with its upbeat country-rock sound and Canyon’s effortless vocals. The accompanying video was shot near Airdrie and featured music from his band and local fiddler, Talia Beckie. With lyrics like, “Didn’t know country could be as good as rock and roll,” and, “Now I’m a country boy, and I’m never going back,” it’s clear there’s a story behind the song.
“All my songs are stories, and this is a story about myself,” Canyon explains. “Growing up playing rock and roll and then — this.”
Moving to Alberta has been a great experience, he says.
“The music community is so helpful, and I’m making great connections,” Canyon says. “It’s nice being the new kid in town, too. I roll in with a bunch of experience and a bunch of great songs, and everyone welcomes you.”
Canyon plans to continue releasing new music and performing around Airdrie and other communities.
“I’m a storyteller; I’m a musician. It’s what I do; I can’t help that,” he says. “No matter what age I am, I’m still going to be performing and writing songs.”
“Country Girls” begins the next chapter in the story of Canyon’s music career.
“This song is basically an introduction: Hey, I’m here, and there’s more to come,” he says.
