I remember the first time I heard the voice of Rob Lutes and I thought for sure I was hearing John Hiatt. When I realized that it was not John, I wasn’t let down, I was just pleasantly surprised by the depth of Rob’s voice. It comes off as mildly strained, but it is just so darn cool in how he is clearly channelling everything in his being to form and shape each note he is going for.

Rob sings the blues, but it’s a contemporary version that draws upon its rich history, not just the one brand. He really takes you on an emotional rollercoaster and digs deep into all corners of the song so that you experience it the way he does when creating it. Whew! Come and take a ride with the world class roots and soul of Montreal’s Rob Lutes, here from 5-8 pm on Thursday, October 2 as he presents his workshop series called The Stories Behind the Songs. It’s a special evening of musical history, anecdotes and performance! Details and reservations here: web link

Seamus Cowan: We have known each other for quite some time now. Your sound is truly like a fine beverage in that it keeps getting more refined over the years, especially for the connoisseur! Are you sort of at a crossroads of a creative and reflective phase?

Rob Lutes: Yes, I would say that I am at a sort of crossroads. I've released a couple of original albums over the past few years but my focus has been largely on exploring the history of music in North America. I was invited to give online workshops to people who were isolated during the pandemic and I chose to really dig in on my knowledge of popular music history. So I have learned a few hundred songs from the 16th to the 20th centuries, and connected many of the dots in that amazing story. I am still digging and finding gems all the time. That experience really gives context to my own creative world.

Q: There is no doubt in my mind that you have seen and performed with some incredible artists in your time. When you were growing up, who were the artists that you used to go and see and who were the ones that inspired you the most to get on the creative path to performance?

Rob: I grew up outside of Saint John, New Brunswick, so there weren't too many concerts to attend at that time. I did see Dizzy Gillespie and Moe Kaufman as a kid when they came to Saint John, and I was always enthralled with the musicals I saw done by Theatre New Brunswick or the local high school productions, which were very high level. But my listening growing up was on records that belonged to my five older siblings. Then I ended up in Toronto in the late 1980s and early 1990s and started going to see folk acts like Norm Hacking and Mose Scarlett doing really authentic acoustic music in small venues, and I loved the direct experience of that music. I was going to several open stages around town every week and playing covers. And I just got the bug, you know. I knew that you could conjure magic with a voice and guitar and I wanted to figure out how to do it myself.

Q: Living in Montreal is one of the greatest times of my life. I always say that my favourite thing about studying that McGill was living in Montreal. As a musician, it’s such a creative reading ground and such a crossroads at the same time. What have been some of the most inspiring musical things to happen to you in the city?

Rob: There have been so many. But early on, I found a sort of outlet for my exploration of my original music at the Yellow Door Coffeehouse. I think it is Canada's longest continually running coffeehouse, held in a tiny basement in the McGill ghetto. The group of people there was very supportive of me, and I think it really helped me gain the confidence to keep going. It was there I first played my original songs so it was formative. Otherwise, Montreal has given me many concert experiences that have inspired me. Seeing John Hiatt, Bela Fleck, Bill Frisell, and many others at the great Spectrum - a wonderful now defunct venue - was life-changing in the way that it helped me see the potential of connecting and moving an audience. I also played there, opening for Frank Marino, so that was a special moment to get up on that stage.

Q: You definitely seem like a musicologist and a historian, a student of the music. With your upcoming series show, The Stories Behind the Music that you will be presenting October 2, can you tell us a little bit of backstory and what we can expect?

Rob: I will mix original songs with some gems from music history with the stories of their creation and popularity. Sometimes I do two sets, one of my own, and one of historical songs. Either way, the audience will get a bit of my stuff but also an interesting window into the evolution of North American popular music. In the early days most popular music in this part of the world came from Europe - folk music, ballads, classical music, dance music. The earliest settlers brought their musical histories with them, and many of those early songs survive in the collective consciousness. But over the course of years, settlers began to write their own songs reflecting their reality as colonists. And then of course, the overarching story of North American music is the syncretism, or cultural blending, of European with African and indigenous influences that lead to new genres that had not existed before. We're talking ragtime, blues, jazz, country, R&B, rock and roll, hip hop, etc. And there are so many fantastic songs from this long evolution that we still know and love. So I will play songs that the audience will likely remember, but may not have heard in a long time, and tell them history they will not know about the creation and life of the song. It's a lot of fun and I usually end up learning something too, as the audience will have memories or knowledge they can share with me.

Q: I know you’ve been doing this for a long time. As a touring musician and creator, what do you feel is the fire that keeps you going?

Rob: I think I am driven in a way by the authentic experience of music - hearing it, learning it, playing it, performing it for people. My brother says he thinks the world is bereft of authenticity, and when I fall too far into the virtual world, I agree with him. There is an endless amount of stimuli with not enough context or meaning, and if we spend too much time in that world, we can get unmoored from what is really important. I have seen the effects that music has on people. I had a woman come to me after a history of music workshop a couple days ago and say: "Thank you for those songs. I can't remember what happened yesterday, but I was singing along to every word." She was elated. That is the gift of music. It's constant and it kind of holds the past in a safe place. Posted: Sep 29, 2025