There are some curves in life, some longer or sharper than others. Over the last 17 years, Gary Beals has taken them and put aspects of life’s winding road into his new music. Born October 25 1982, the Toronto-based Scotian-originated singer has been struggling, like other artists, with getting one’s music out there when there are no shows, no clubs and a whole lot of streaming.
Hailing from a church singing background in Cherrybrook Nova Scotia, Beals liked mellow soul like Al Green. His 2004 self titled debut was a slick, polished affair. That was recorded on the heels of Season One of Canadian Idol, when Beals was the 17-year-old runner up. Beals’ debut had solid dance ready cuts like “They Don’t Know.”
In 2009 he released a second disc, “The Rebirth Of Gary Beals,” which featured more polished r&b and dabbled in other styles like the dancehall flavour of “Jump Off.”
Beals has described the conflicts of his sexuality during interviews, and he has enjoyed the liberation of living out for some years, now. He writes and works with other writers on his songs, and has worked with produced instrumental tracks to sing on. Beals plays with multiple bands on stage when there are stages to play, and while there are no shows, he’s been promoting his new music on social media and with interviews. “Bleed My Teeth” was released last October 23, with videos trickling out. “Me For Me” has a couple of videos, one a live band performance shot last year. The “Blood Red Roses” remix has more processed sounding vocals than the original. That song was inspired by a trip to South Africa but the video was of random people dancing was shot in Toronto.
About his adopted city, Beals told BringBackSoulMusic’s Youtube show that while “it’s happening… it could do a whole lot better here,” citing a general lack of resources for Toronto R&B performers.
Through his career, Gary Beals has been nominated for a Juno (Best R&B / Soul) and won an East Coast Music Award among others. He will perform with Maestro Fresh Wes, Tika and Nefe, on February 25, 2021 at the S.A.C. Celebration Series Black History Month concert event hosted by Rudy Blair, Rudy Blair Entertainment: Tickets and S.A.C. Press Kit.
Concert goes live at 7PM (EST) tonight – streaming to multiple platforms!
Logging on to the Livestream tonight:
All you will need to do is enter your name and email address and create a password to access the event here. The latest versions of Chrome or Firefox guarantee the best experience.
On YouTube:
Tune in live on S.A.C.’s YouTube Channel.
On Twitch:
Tune in live on S.A.C.’s Twitch Channel.
