Nova Scotia’s own, Willie Stratton has been playing guitar since the age of 12, and writing songs shortly thereafter. His previous releases have ranged from folk to roots to indie rock, so it comes as no surprise that he has landed firmly in the alt-country genre. It’s a shift that his fans are sure to embrace – an old-time country vibe with strong contemporary lyrics and a smooth baritone vocal.
Willie has unveiled his new single, “The Way She Holds Me”, a gritty, dark Americana track. The title evokes a sweet love song, but as it goes on you realize it’s about a doomed relationship.
Check out the lyric video for “The Way She Holds Me”below, and find out more about Willie via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Hey there, I’m Willie Stratton. I’m a song singer and guitar picker from Nova Scotia!
Tell us a bit about your music and writing style.
I definitely like to keep it rootsy, I find having a connection to the past and all the things I like about old music while mixing it with all the things I like about new music kind of lets me play with something that feels like it exists outside of time. To me, that’s where the sweet spot is!
How have you been keeping creative during the Pandemic?
I’ve been recording like crazy, doing lots of demos, and putting out a single that I’m really excited about. Working on another one now too!
If you were asked to suggest only one of your songs for someone to hear, which would it be?
It would definitely be The Way She Holds Me, I feel like it wraps up all of my different influences into one thing that makes sense, it’s like a 3-minute party that all my musical heroes were invited to (in my mind, at least)
Canadian Beats is all about Canadian music, so who are your current favourite Canadian bands/ artists?
I’ve been listening to a ton of Stompin Tom lately, but as far as current stuff I love Les Hay Babies, Bloodshot Bill, Garrett Mason, Keith Hallett, Les Deuxluxes, there are too many more to mention!