Growing up in rural Huntsville, ON, gave the younger version of Hawksley Workman plenty of time to release his imagination and dream bigger and more eccentrically than city kids distracted by the bells and whistles of urban living. From recording his first albums in the basement of his friend’s recently deceased grandmother’s house to “re-imagining” his dark 2001 Christmas album a decade after its post-9/11 debut, Workman has defied traditional ways of creating music. He consistently demonstrates an expansive imagination, creating music that effortlessly oscillates between torchy romanticism, tender honesty and brash, cheeky rock’n’roll bravado. Workman has always had a strong cabaret streak; as much as theatrical flair and showmanship is essential both to Workman’s muse and his appeal, he’s also a versatile musician, a skilled drummer and lead singer (as he exhibited behind the kit for Canadian indie supergroup The Mounties). His production resumé boasts formidable artists such as Tegan & Sara, Serena Ryder and Great Big Sea. Workman offers a most irreverent, unpredictable chapter in the story of Canada’s most fearlessly whimsical musical minds.

Biography by Elizabeth Chorney Booth