Artist in Focus: Beamer Wigley with Brotherhood of the Guitar

Rising young country Music Man artist Beamer Wigley started playing guitar when he was just 5 years old, and as he loves to tell his audiences, that was when he first saw Keith Urban in the video “Start A Band” with fellow Ernie Ball player, Brad Paisley. He wrote his first song at the age of 7, and that same year started singing as well, wowing audiences everywhere he went. When he was 9, he took first place at the Vancouver P.N.E. ‘Star Showdown’ in the youth category, against contestants from all across British Columbia. He also performed major roles in numerous stage musicals, as well as the 4th lead roll in the Norman Rockwell movie, A Christmas Tail. At just the age of 11, he was awarded the inaugural Penticton Youth Arts Award for ages 25 and under. It was also then when he became the youngest ever to be signed to an award-winning agency Invictus Entertainment Group.

From the moment Beamer Wigley got his first guitar, he was determined to develop his skills, hoping someday to emulate the talents of his idol, Keith Urban as well as others he has come to admire as well, including Brad Paisley and especially fellow Music Man signature artist, Hunter Hayes. So in November 2015, he was beyond thrilled to be invited into the membership of The Brotherhood Of The Guitar through which he received his endorsement from Ernie Ball Music Man.

His talents have received recognition from several major Canadian Country Music artists for whom he got the opening slot, including 3 times each for both George Canyon and Brett Kissel, as well as Aaron Pritchett and Gord Bamford. He and his band also got to open for Dwight Yoakam, which started as a 20-minute set and ended up becoming a 65-minute on the fly fill-in performance. Artist Granger Smith also had him as part of his Western Canadian Tour. All of this before he reached his 17^th birthday!

Beamer has been writing steadily both on his own and with other songwriters in Nashville and in the past 3 years, he’s been working with legendary Billboard hit songwriter Keith Follese and his wife Adrienne. On July 6th, 2018, he released his third new single “Roller Coaster” which not only got Canadian radio play but was also added to Disney Country Radio in the U.S. That has been followed up with three additional singles including “Crazy Being Crazy” in December 2019, which hit the mid-50’s on the Canadian Country Radio charts. Another single, “Something to Do with a Girl” was released in February 2020 and Beamer has also released his latest album, ‘Could 9 24/7‘.

Q & A

EBMM: When did you first learn how to play the guitar?

BW: I first picked up a guitar when I was 5 years old, it was and still is the most magical feeling on this planet. I was instantly drawn to the guitar and was so fascinated with how versatile it was and how the sky really was the limit. When I was around 12-13 I really started to dive into the guitar even more and really dedicate my time to expanding my knowledge, including amps, pedals, gear, etc… but also feel and dynamics. I would sit for hours listening to the same riff over and over again, picking apart what made it so good or why it made me feel a certain way. So looking at music as a whole from that perspective really transformed my playing.

EBMM: You’ve been around music since a very young age. Did you grow up with a lot of music in your family?

BW: It’s weird, I’m the only musical one in the family. My parents always had music on and they really loved it, but no one really played any instruments or sang. But they did learn when I was a baby, that they could use Santana to get me to fall asleep!

EBMM: When did you realize you wanted to pursue music full-time?

BW: I had my light bulb moment when I was 5. I was watching a Keith Urban music video and I could not keep my eyes off his fingers. He quite literally hypnotized me, and it hasn’t worn off yet because I still want to pick up my guitar first thing every morning.

EBMM: You have had the opportunity to collaborate / play in some legendary moments. What’s been the most influential experience?

BW: Opening for Dwight Yoakam was absolutely incredible, but I don’t think I can pinpoint one thing that’s influenced me the most. It’s sort of a beautiful culmination of all the experiences I’ve had, that really helped shape the artist I am now. Every show, every jam, every co-write has got me to where I am now as I learn more each time. So I’m really thankful for all of them.

EBMM: Can you remember the first time you played an Ernie Ball Music Man instrument? How has your Music Man instrument(s) helped you grow as a musician?

BW: All I remember is bliss. I have genuinely never felt more comfortable on an instrument as I have on EBMM guitars. The first one I ever played, was an Axis Super Sport with the P90’s and I instantly fell in love with it. A lot of tone evolutions later I’ve found myself only wanting to play a Cutlass. But every single Music Man I pick up, whether it’s one of mine, in a store, or it belongs to someone else, it always ends up feeling like home!

EBMM: Tell us a little bit about your music style. How did you go about developing your unique sound?

BW: As a country lead player, my earliest influences are most definitely Keith Urban, Brad Paisley and Hunter Hayes. So that sound has always been the foundation of my own sound. But as I listened to more types of music, I wanted to really fuse it all together. So my sound is really just all the music I’ve heard thrown into some country based single coil tones.

EBMM: What is your process like when creating new music?

BW: It’s never the same process twice which I love. I never know how an idea is going to come to me, or the way I’m going to approach it actually turning it into a song, until I get started. Not having a formula has really let me explore around a lot with new ideas and not close any doors on anything that just sounds cool.

EBMM: What is your favorite track to play live?

BW: My show opener “All Out” which is also the 1st track on my latest record ‘Cloud 9, 24/7’, is without a doubt my favorite to play live. It’s high energy, and really gets the crowd going. Plus the 3-minute outro solo in the live arrangement is too much fun!

EBMM: Are there any artists/bands who inspire you as a musician?

BW: If I listed them all, y’all would be reading for a long time! In one way or another, almost every artist I’ve ever listened to has inspired me. But right now I just can’t get enough of Vulfpeck! I just love their music! And who doesn’t want to listen to Cory Wong’s tones?!

EBMM: What can we expect from you in the near future? Any exciting projects we should look out for?

BW: I just wrapped up recording my next record which I’m so so so excited about!! There’s been a lot of musical changes in my sound, and it was such a cool experience working on this project, and really trying a lot of things I hadn’t even considered doing in the past!

Gear

Beamer relies on his Ernie Ball Music Man Axis Super Sport (with MM90 pickups), his Luke guitar, and more recently, his Cutlass RS in the studio and out on the road.

Watch

Watch the official music video for “Crazy Being Crazy”.

Listen to Beamer Wigley