Blessed with the most striking and sonorous baritone voice since Hank Snow left Nova Scotia for fame and fortune, Tom Wilson presented songs and stories from a nearly fifty-year career as a songwriter, guitar-player and singer at Base31’s Sergeants Mess Hall earlier this month

Over the years Mr. Wilson has performed with a large number of bands and has collaborated and written songs with diverse songwriters. At 65 he seems to be at the top of his game.

The large audience was familiar with the material and delighted in songs such as the Junkhouse classic Shine, Lee Harvey Osmonds’ Leave this House, and Blackie and the Rodeo Kings songs such as Boots of Leather and 49 Tons. Wilson sang one of his son Thompson’s songs, and ended the evening with a rocking version of the Dave Dudley country classic, Six Days on the Road.

A gifted raconteur, Mr. Wilson told witty and often poignant stories about everything from his Order of Canada pin, his sobriety, Donna Douglas, to his discovery at age 55 that he had been adopted at birth. 

The story of Mr. Wilson’s discovery of his true ancestry forms the basis of his 2017 memoir, Beautiful Scars. In the book he recounts a childhood where he describes feeling like an outsider in the home he shared with his parents Bunny and George Wilson. George was a World War II Canadian Air Force veteran blinded while serving as a tail gunner in a Lancaster bomber. Bunny comes across as a very funny, if often acerbic, character whom Wilson obviously still holds in very high esteem. 

Mr. Wilson did not know the truth of his birth until after George and Bunny’s death, when he learned that the woman that he knew as his cousin, Jane, was in fact his birth mother. Jane came from Kahnawake Mohawk Territory outside of Montreal and is of Mohawk as well as a French and Irish Canadian ancestry. 

The discovery of his indigenous heritage had a huge impact on Wilson, who has dedicated the past ten years to immersing himself in indigenous culture and working to promote understanding and healing between indigenous and colonial societies through music and art, stories and actions. The message he shares with audiences today is one of tolerance, love, and compassion.

Joining him were an amazingly talented group of musicians. Pianist Jesse O’Brian added many memorable solos, and Mr. Wilson’s son, Thompson, played bass and harmonica, and sang harmony and co-lead vocals on many tunes. Mr. O’Brian has played with a veritable who’s who of Canadian and international musicians, most notably Colin James. Thompson Wilson is a talented songwriter and performer in his own right. 

As a special treat, Quinte’s own Ray Farrugia joined the trio to add some magnificent drumming and percussion. Mr. Farrugia was introduced as Tom Wilson’s oldest friend. He has played in many of Mr. Wilson’s bands including Junkhouse and Lee Harvey Osmond.

Tom Wilson has  a rare ability to connect with audiences using a combination of humour, vulnerability and in-your-face rock and roll bravado. It was fantastic to experience him and his band in such a warm, intimate setting. I hope he returns to the County very soon.