Colin Linden

A touring musician for 50 years, Colin Linden’s tale is the stuff of legend, the kind told by the Coen brothers in O Brother Where Art Thou or Inside Llewyn Davis, both of which featured his guitar playing on the soundtracks. As a singer and guitarist, he’s accompanied everyone from Bruce Cockburn (as his producer and touring musician) to Bob Dylan, Greg Allman, Rhiannon Giddens, John Prine and more. He was a member of Blackie & The Rodeo Kings with Stephen Fearing and Tom Wilson and was the main contributor to the music for the television series, Nashville, and subsequent live tours. Along the way, Colin played on over 500 albums and produced 140, and received a 2020 Grammy for producing Keb Mo’s Oklahoma. He has also nabbed a staggering 25 JUNO Award nominations and nine wins. As an 11-year old, Colin met his musical idol, Howlin’ Wolf, at a show in his native Toronto, accompanied by his mom, who took a picture of the two during a conversation before the gig. Wolf told young Colin that it was up to him to carry the torch. All these years later, Colin has indeed been carrying on the tradition of the blues along with that photo.