DEVIN CUDDY

Devin Cuddy has always made music his way, and some might argue, the hard way. As the son of one of Canada’s most beloved singer/songwriters, Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy, country rock has been the soundtrack to Devin’s entire life—he was born the same week Blue Rodeo began recording its 1987 debut album, Outskirts. But from the moment Devin was drawn to playing music, he was determined to get as close as possible to the sources of all the sounds he loved, whether they were made by rock and roll’s founding fathers, the Grand Ole Opry’s honky tonk heroes, or Jelly Roll Morton and the kings of jazz.

Mastering those styles was only taking things halfway, though. The most important lesson Devin learned from his dad was that the way a musician truly develops their craft is in front of audiences. From his home base at the Cameron House, the Queen Street West club that has long been the epicenter of Toronto’s roots rock scene, Cuddy has done just that on almost a nightly basis. At the same time, he has helped cultivate a growing contingent of like-minded young musicians to slowly but consistently spread the word coast to coast.