SPOTlight Toronto Artist: Justin Rutledge (click for video)

March 11th, 2008 posted by robb

Oh Justin Rutledge, an alt-country singer/songwriter taking the country by storm. He’s a well mannered, humble guy with a piercing stare and stark resemblance to a young Elvis that’ll make your hair stand on end. And that’s before he even hits the stage.

I was lucky enough to catch him a few times over the past few months, some here and some in nearby town. His mellow “sway” songs (as he likes to call him) cast a mellancholy spell on the crowd as he performs. When I saw him at the Horseshoe, he put on a 2+ hr set, going well past 2AM. Here I was thinking it’d be done by midnight like most acoustic shows. He has a devoted following of fans young and old, thanks to his timless country roots, but with a modern twist to keep him relevant.

His sophmore album, The Devil on the Bench in Stanley Park, pilots the listener into his world of love songs, yearning woes, haunting darkness, and drinking. One can’t mistake his token whiskey drinking sunday afternoon songs; it’s as if we’re sitting with Lucinda, Emmylou or Willie in Texas. Then I look out at the 6-foot snowbanks and remember where I am!

If you haven’t yet seen Justin Rutledge around in the city, do so before it’s too late. I reckon, it may already be.. he frequents the Horsehoe, Dakota Tavern.. if you’re lucky he may pop up at the Cameron House, where he paid he dues cutting through a weekly residency.

Horshoe Tavern, 12.09.07

Lee’s Palace, 06.07.07

-ROBB

Got a local artist we should SPOTlight?

Email: robb@SPOTtheGroove.com

Section: Articles