Brandon Isaak Releases Walkin’ With The Blues – A Raw, Soulful Journey into Classic Electric Blues
Brandon Isaak, the Whitehorse-born bluesman known for his gravelly voice and deep respect for tradition, returns with Walkin’ With The Blues—his most authentic and electrified blues album to date. Recorded live off the floor with minimal mics, vintage gear, and a soul soaked in the genre’s deepest roots, the record is a love letter to classic blues—gritty, emotional, and defiantly old-school.
“This is the most straight-up blues record I’ve ever made, and I could not be more pleased with how it turned out,” Isaak shares. “I wanted to make a record with strong lyrics, soulful playing, and zero tolerance for wanking—and I think I’ve achieved this.”
The album marks Isaak’s first time producing and engineering on his own, a feat he describes as both a challenge and a dream realized.
The lead single and title track, “Walkin’ With The Blues,” captures Isaak’s hallmark songwriting style—equal parts heartbreak and hard-won wisdom. Lyrics like “With the blues as my companion / down this long hard road / we’ll keep on walkin’ / and share this heavy load” show Isaak’s emotional range, drawing listeners deep into his world of lost love and gritty perseverance.
Themes throughout the album stretch from life and love to death, sex, and even murder—all delivered with what Isaak calls “gusto and passion.” Each track is infused with the vintage tones of electric blues, channeling the spirit of legends like T-Bone Walker and Ronnie Earl.
“I’ve always dreamed of making an electric blues album that captures the feel of the records I grew up on,” he says. “This one’s for the guitarists I worshipped as a kid.”
The record was made with Isaak’s touring band, The Saints of Swing, on Vancouver Island.
“We built this in a single room with ribbon mics, cold beer, and heart,” he says. “Every note played was real, unfiltered. The drums, the guitars, the feel—it’s all there, honest and alive.”
That honesty translates to every track, from rollicking shuffles to mournful ballads.
A true blues craftsman with over 37 years on the road, Isaak has toured across three continents and earned accolades, including a 2024 Juno nomination for Blues Album of the Year. His performance resume includes 13 European tours and four nominations at the 2023 Maple Blues Awards, where he was recognized for Male Vocalist of the Year, Album/Producer of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, and Acoustic Act of the Year.
To celebrate the release of Walkin’ With The Blues, Brandon Isaak will embark on an extensive tour across Western Canada, bringing his new album to life with performances full of storytelling, humour, and heart. Tour stops include:
- July 8 – 39 Days of July – Duncan, BC
- July 12 – Large House Concert – Main Island, BC
- July 13 – 39 Days of July – Duncan, BC
- July 24 – Parksville Museum – Parksville, BC
- July 25 – Fort Langley Jazz Festival – Fort Langley, BC
- Sept 4 – Blues Barn – Leduc, Alberta
- Sept 5 – Large House Concert – Red Deer, Alberta
- Sept 6 – Badlands Amphitheatre – Drumheller, Alberta
- Sept 11 – Mackie House Concert – Coldstream, BC
- Sept 12 – Dream Café – Penticton, BC
- Sept 13 – Vibrant Wine Vineyard – Kelowna, BC
- Sept 20 – Osborne Bay – Crofton, BC
- Oct 7 – Oak Bay Recreation Centre – Victoria, BC
- Oct 18 – Cobblestone Music Venue – Cobblestone, BC
- Oct 31 – Marsh Lake – Yukon
- Nov 1 – Old Firehall – Whitehorse, Yukon
- Nov 21 – Hermann’s Jazz Club – Victoria, BC
Whether performing solo or backed by a powerhouse band, Isaak’s shows are rooted in the blues tradition—one part celebration, one part confession, all heart. “I’m not trying to reinvent the blues,” he says. “I’m just doing what it’s always done—telling stories, sharing truths, and keeping the fire burning.”
Hi Brandon! Good to meet you! Care to introduce yourself to the readers for those not familiar with your music?
I was born in Whitehorse, Yukon, on a polar bear farm. In 2000, I moved to Vancouver, where I played with Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne as well as The twisters. I went out on my own in 2011 and have released 7 solo albums. We (wife/manager) now live on Vancouver Island out in the woods, and we could not be happier. The music scene is strong, and the nature is overwhelming.
You describe this as your most “straight-up blues record”—what did you feel you had to strip away or lean into to get there?
Making a blues record seems elusive and hard to do. Quite often, you end up hearing mostly rock-infused blues. Too much distortion on guitars, close-mic drums bashing at full tilt, bass player overplaying and peddling the 1 song after song. I realize there is room for all styles of blues, and reinventing it is a good thing, too, but my goal was a real blues record, and I think I’m pretty close. I love understated guitar solos that are about feeling and soul, not showing off your wanking exercises.
This is your first time fully producing and engineering an album yourself. What did that independence reveal to you about your sound or process?
It was so fun and rewarding to produce and engineer this album myself. I found the whole process quicker, cleaner, and overall better takes as I could work at my pace and lay down a track at 3 in the morning if I felt it. I used mostly ribbon mic’s and tried to mic the drums with minimal mic’s for a roomy sound. Drums tell the story of the studio, and my story is organic, honest, understated, and humble. I like to keep it simple.
Some of the themes—love, sex, death, even murder—walk a fine line. How do you decide how far to push the darkness in your storytelling?
Real life is real life; if you can watch it on the news, you can hear it on a record. I find that when themes and lyrics get dark, humour helps equalize the song. I don’t always add humour as you hear in my song (What’s This World Coming To). I like to push the listener a bit, either with sex themes or hard life and even death.
You say you’re not reinventing the blues—just keeping the fire burning. In a world full of change, what keeps that fire alive for you?
I love the blues and, like a shark, I feel it’s perfectly evolved into a sleek, aerodynamic force of nature. By simply keeping the themes current, we get the full effect of a highly evolved art form ready to move our souls. I’m doing just that; classic music played by the best musicians and singing about the world we live in today.