Fort Erie Roots Rocker René Huard Unveils New Single “Tail Waggin'” Ahead Of Album, Gently Used
Fort Erie, Ontario blues and roots rocker René Huard has released his new single “Tail Waggin’,” out now and giving fans their first taste of his forthcoming album, Gently Used, arriving November 5, 2026.
The song traces back to an old bit of guitar-world folklore. René Huard explains: “Based on an anecdotal urban legend, jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery replied to a journalist’s question, ‘Do you find time to practice guitar while you’re touring?’ Wes quipped, ‘I just open the guitar case every once and a while, and toss a chunk steak in.’ Ding-a-ling-a-ling, went the Pavlovian songwriter bell in my brain. Life on the road, wearisome, tedious, sometimes perilous! Didn’t B.B. King run into a burning building to save Lucille? Guitar man’s best friend, sharp teeth and strings that bend.”
The accompanying video, produced by Jim Casson, brings that story to life, threading a wry sense of humour through the very real grind of life on the road, and the bond between a travelling musician and the instrument that keeps him company through it.
“Tail Waggin'” leads into ‘Gently Used’, an eleven-track collection written and performed by René Huard on vocals, guitar and harmonica, produced by longtime collaborator Rick Taylor, who also contributes guitar and vocals. The record follows with two additional singles, with video: “Brand New Low,” out October 5, and the title track, “Gently Used,” out November 5.
On the road, and recording studio, Huard is backed by the Project band, featuring Rick Taylor on guitar and vocals, Jeff Muir on bass and Peter Griffin on drums, with special guest contributions to the record from: Chris Airyes and Thomas Nelson on vocals, Alistair Robertson on saxophone and Ed Roth on keys. The band has built solid grassroots following across the Niagara Region, playing summer festivals including the Canal Bank Blues Shuffle in Thorold and Donnelly’s.
Huard’s musical roots run four decades deep from his early days fronting the Meteors, who opened for blues heavyweights James Cotton, Long John Baldry and the Downchild Blues Band, and appeared at the first-ever Ottawa Blues Festival. He’s also known to Canadian audiences as the former host of the television series Antique Hunter and Antique Style.
His previous album, Blues Calling, produced by Jack de Keyzer, climbed into the Top 20 on the Roots Music Report and held the number eleven spot for several months. Its lead single, “Hard Times,” found its way to Holger Petersen’s CBC Blues Radio Show, along with U.S. and international podcasts and campus radio playlists.
With ‘Gently Used’, René Huard adds another chapter to a career built on the road, in the clubs, and among the musicians who shaped him, proof that four decades in, the songs are still coming, and the guitar case is staying open for more than just steak.
Hi, Rene! Good to meet you! Care to introduce yourself to the readers for those not familiar with your music?
Hello, and thank you, let’s do the up to date 5-Ws then. A year and a half back, recruiting the touring band to support my 2024 release BLUES CALLING, re-connected with old friend Rick Taylor, he filled the guitar chair in the newly minted 4-piece. After a good many post rehearsal and local gigs in Niagara Region in 2025, discussions about songwriting, the new music business, we decided to move forward creatively and have him produce, what would become GENTLY USED.
We share much common ground in our musical journey, veteran performers’ of 1960 – 70’s folk, blues, rock & soul. Raised in the South Coast of Niagara we share influences, working class parentage, absorbing Motown, Gospel, and seminal FM Rock on Buffalo radio. We speak the same language, yet, I have much to learn, as Grey Owl, ( Rick’s nickname ), sprung a classic groove on the rhythm section in studio, ( Peter Griffin drums, Jeff Muir bass ). The “ flat tire “ shuffle, on MIZRAE, well, you’re not going to hear that every day. From 16 original songs we demoed, pared down to 11, the recording, LIVE off the floor bed tracks, ensured we got that essential feel. Then, we let the songs dictate the production approach, divergent in style, Latin Romantic Rock on OLD FLAME, to, Reggae on SALT ‘ n ‘ PEPPA, in the mix, bold guitar driven, blues rocker BRAND NEW LOW. It all hangs together with subtle continuity. We agreed at the onset, this is a songwriter’s record. It’s encouraging to see both, GENTLY USED & BLUES CALLING, going over very well in venues we play, getting requested!
“Tail Waggin’ grew from a legendary Wes Montgomery story. Why did that anecdote resonate with you, and what does it say about the relationship between a musician and their instrument?
The guitar, or, whatever instrument one chooses to master, ironically, becomes your master, a demanding whelp, that must have your attention.
The more you give to it, the more it becomes an extension of you, a symbiotic relationship of sorts, neither party complete without the other, ( Dr. RWJ Huard, PHD ). Picture Jimi Hendrix, asleep, cradling his axe, B.B. King dashing into a burning club to save Lucille. When Jack De Keyzer shared the Wes Montgomery story with me, ( when working on BLUES CALLING ), it struck a chord, the universality of it resonated, guitar, the first instrument I gravitated to in my early teens. A time of emotional confusion, awkwardness, damn if that Kent acoustic didn’t save me, a beacon leading into safe harbour of songwriting, a tool to express my soul in ways I am grateful for to this day.
On another level, at times, locked into a lengthy tour, detached from the familiar comforts of hearth & home, a decent steak…. pick up the guitar = feel better, it’s at home in my hands and vice versa. I do give REX, ( my Ibanez Artstar ), a fair bit of lead in the song, am I walk’n the dog, or is that Howlin Wolf dragging’ me round the block?
You’ve spent more than four decades on the road. Looking back, what’s the biggest lesson touring has taught you that you never could have learned anywhere else?
School of rock, expect the unexpected on the road, build awareness into your process. When one is in perpetual motion, it’s exiting on many levels, also
disconcerting, detached from the grounding of the mundane familiar. Travel is a virtual moving feast of juicy input, the trick is, value it, the gift of alternative perspective. It does help to adopt a military bivouac mentality, to enjoy the playing, you need to eat, sleep, and keep the engines purring, or at least, get you through those gigs, when nothing goes according to plan. Survival skills: Avoid the after party, don’t be an arse, those you meet on the way up, you’ll meet again. Impossible to nutshell this, I’ve learned more from my mistakes than my success. Given a do-over, work a lot harder in-between shows, put my all into being 100% prepared, leave it all on stage, your fans are worth more than gold. Embrace gratitude!
The album is called Gently Used. What does that title say about where you are in your life and career today?
I have endured debilitating chronic back pain, forced to give up performing, disabled, lost years experimenting with pain management.
Eventually through dedicated regimen of swimming, stretching/physio, diet & exercise, anti-inflammatory supplements, naturopathic abatement of root cause of osteoarthritic pain, I am now, much better. It has been a test of my resolve to prioritize wellness, so I could, get to play again.
Older, wiser, the sharp corners of my youthful naiveté, worn away like a beach stone, comfortable in the hand, less likely to be injurious to myself or others. Though suffering is not the only route, for me, had to go through it, not around it. Capable, reliable, possibly indispensable, experienced survivor, garnered knowledge worth sharing, through my chosen art from, the song. Gently Used, not, Used Up.
You’ve played with blues legends, hosted television, and built a long career on your own terms. What keeps you excited to write and record new music after all these years?
Commitment to life-long learning. I have not arrived, if you think you have, it’s over. I choose to remain a work in progress, René Huard Project.