For Kyle Stephens, hitting the road as the lead singer of Nanaimo’s Wise Youngblood was a dream come true.
“It’s been a journey to say the least…..there’s been highs and lows,” says Stephens.
The former Nanaimo Idol winner turned his passion into his career, forming the band in 2015 and hitting the road with the hard-rocking outfit soon after.
“We toured across the country for years there and we became pretty close friends ever since,” says Stephens.
“So it’s pretty amazing, we’ve made some good traction on some of our songs.”
Wise Youngblood had big plans entering 2020, but like so many in the music industry they were shelved due to COVID-19.
“We had a huge tour lined up, planned to go on our first run down in the states and we even had talks about Europe,” says Stephens.
“Then that curveball COVID hit.”
The band did have a chance to record before the pandemic and at the end of last year released a single called Caroline. It proved to be a hit, landing the band on Spotify’s Top 100 New Classic Rock chart for North America.
“I didn’t know we made that list, it kind of just popped up in my notifications for our Facebook page,” says Stephens.
“I was a bit shocked and pretty thrilled and it gets the gears in motion again.”
With live music expected to make a comeback this year, Stephens hopes to get the band back together and on the road.
“We have a few things coming up, I don’t know if we’re going to venture too far off the island this year,” says Stephens.
“If there’s some shows in our neighbourhood we’re definitely there to rip up a stage for sure.”
To keep up to date with the band, visit their website.
Cole Sorenson
