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Justin Rutledge

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Justin Rutledge
Born (1979-01-03) January 3, 1979 (age 45)
OriginToronto, Ontario, Canada
GenresAlternative country
OccupationMusician
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • harmonica
Labels
Member ofEarly Winters
Websitejustinrutledge.com

Justin John Rutledge[1] (born January 3, 1979) is a Toronto-based Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter signed to Outside Music.

Rutledge's musical style is often compared to that of American alt-country singer Ryan Adams.[2][3][4]

In 2006, Justin Rutledge was named Toronto singer-songwriter of the year by NOW magazine.[5]

Rutledge has toured Canada, the UK, the United States, and Europe, and has played shows with Kathleen Edwards, Jim Cuddy, Blue Rodeo, Hawksley Workman, Luke Doucet, and Dolly Parton.[6]

His critically acclaimed lyrics are sometimes linked by music writers to his time as a university English major; he was editor-in-chief of a University of Toronto literary journal.[7]

Biography

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Early life

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Rutledge was born and grew up in the Junction neighbourhood of Toronto, a working-class community centred around an intersection of four railway lines. He was raised in an Irish-Catholic family and grew up with aspirations of becoming a writer. To that end, he studied English literature, with a major in modern poetry, at the University of Toronto. He dropped out after three years of school, as his musical career got in the way.[7] Rutledge told Maclean's in an interview that his backup plan would be to finish his university studies in English "if this music thing doesn't work".[8]

No Never Alone (2004–2005)

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No Never Alone is Rutledge's first album. To pay for its recording, he worked as a bartender. Rutledge has remarked that "I would often do a studio session during the day and then head straight to work until 4 or 5 in the morning".[9]

The album earned Rutledge considerable praise, particularly in the UK, where he was compared to Ryan Adams by Comes with a Smile, who also proclaimed that "A major new talent has landed".[10] Additional UK praise came from Uncut magazine, who referred to Rutledge as "a master of gothic understatement",[11] and NME describing the album as "an incredible breakthrough".[12]

After gaining prominence in the UK, No Never Alone was released in Rutledge's native Canada.[2]

Justin Rutledge performing at Vancouver's St. James Community Square

The Devil on a Bench in Stanley Park (2006–2007)

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Rutledge's second album, The Devil on a Bench in Stanley Park, was released through Six Shooter Records on October 6, 2006. The record is actually Rutledge's second attempt at a second album; he spent a year recording his first attempt, tentatively titled In the Fall, before he scrapped it. He was unsatisfied with the album and has explained, "I thought a second album should have just a bit more of an assured sense about it. A second step forward should be a step up the ladder as opposed to just asserting your presence. You're not just saying, "hey, I'm still here". You're saying, "hey I'm here and I've challenged myself and I've hopefully done something that I haven't done already".[13] To challenge himself and create the album he wanted, Rutledge wrote a new batch of songs and recorded them in eight days with his band, opting for a more live recording style.

The Devil on a Bench in Stanley Park was nominated for a Juno Award in the category Roots & Traditional Album of the Year: Solo[14] and received the Galaxie Rising Star Award at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival.

Man Descending (2008)

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Rutledge's third album, Man Descending, was released on April 8, 2008, through Six Shooter Records. The record is named after a 1982 collection of short stories by Guy Vanderhaeghe, also called Man Descending. Rutledge was inspired by a line from Vanderhaeghe's book, "A man descending is propelled by inertia; the only initiative left him is whether or not he decides to enjoy the passing scene." He says of the line, "It really resonated with me. As I continued to read the stories, I realized that all these characters in the book were dealing with the same kind of static or inertia in their lives. I kind of took little threads and wove them into songs".

The album features guest performances by Ron Sexsmith, Jenn Grant, Catherine MacLellan, Hawksley Workman, Melissa McClelland, Joey Wright, and Jim Bryson.

Man Descending was longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize. Other praise for the album in 2008 included the No. 5 spot on Exclaim!'s Wood, Wires & Whiskey top 10[15] and a nomination for Contemporary Album of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards.[16]

According to an interview, "Compared to 2006's The Devil on a Bench in Stanley Park, Rutledge feels Man Descending is a much more patient, intimate and mature album, despite recording it in just three days".[17]

The songs "Alberta Breeze" and "San Sebastian" were written for In the Fall, the album that Rutledge scrapped in 2006, and were rerecorded for Man Descending.

In 2009, Rutledge took part in an interactive documentary series called City Sonic. The series, which featured twenty Toronto artists, had him reflecting on his time performing at the Cameron House.[18]

The Early Widows (2010)

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The Early Widows is Rutledge's fourth album, released May 4, 2010, on Six Shooter Records. Rutledge wrote several songs with a single character in mind from author Michael Ondaatje's novel Divisadero[19] after collaborating with Ondaatje on a theatrical adaptation of the novel. Ondaatje also co-wrote several of the songs,[20] receiving official credit for the single "Be a Man".

The album was produced by Canadian singer-songwriter Hawksley Workman (also credited as a musician on the album) and also features Canadian singer-songwriter Oh Susanna and an additional co-writer credit to Nashville singer-songwriter Darrell Scott.[citation needed]

Valleyheart and subsequent albums (2013–present)

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Valleyheart is Rutledge's fifth album, released February 2013 on his new label, Outside Music. The artist has since released a further four studio albums: Daredevil (2014), East (2016), Passages (2019), and Islands (2021).

Early Winters

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Rutledge is also a member of the band Early Winters, a collaboration with Canadian musician/producer Dan Burns, American musician Zac Rae, and British singer-songwriter Carina Round.[21] The group has released three studio albums to date: Early Winters (2012), Vanishing Act (2014), and I Want to Break Your Heart (2017).

Theatrical work

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In addition to his recording career, Rutledge has also acted on stage, including in productions of Ondaatje's Divisadero and Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice.[22] He also composed music and worked as musical director for a production of Max Frisch's The Arsonists.[22]

Personal life

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Rutledge married designer Sarah Keenleyside, the cohost of HGTV Canada's Backyard Builds, in 2018.[23]

Discography

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Solo

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with Early Winters

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  • Early Winters (2012)
  • Vanishing Act (2014)
  • I Want to Break Your Heart (2017)

Other credits

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References

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  1. ^ "Backseat Honeymoon Blue Is What I Do". ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  2. ^ a b McPherson, David (February 1, 2005). "Justin Rutledge not used to all this Canadian attention". ChartAttack. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved August 25, 2009.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ Liss, Sarah (October 5, 2006). "The Devil on a Bench in Stanley Park". NOW magazine. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
  4. ^ Hunter, Justin (November 9, 2006). "A pact with the devil". Ottawa XPress. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
  5. ^ Payne, Steve (October 2, 2006). "Best of Toronto: music". NOW magazine. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved June 12, 2007.
  6. ^ "Justin Rutledge singing softly"[usurped]. Toronto Sun, October 5, 2006.
  7. ^ a b "Justin Rutledge". PRI's The World. July 1, 2007. Retrieved October 16, 2008.
  8. ^ "One to watch: Justin Rutledge" Archived February 22, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Maclean's, February 22, 2012.
  9. ^ McGuire, Soren (2008). "Justin Rutledge". Americana UK. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved October 16, 2008.
  10. ^ Sheriff, Tom. Justin Rutledge Review. Comes With a Smile Vol. 14
  11. ^ "Justin Rutledge and the Junction Forty - No Neveralone - Review - Uncut.co.uk". uncut.co.uk. Archived from the original on November 6, 2005. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  12. ^ "Archived copy". www.theagencygroup.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2007. Retrieved January 17, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ Munro, Eden (November 1, 2008). "Rutledge courts The Devil on a Bench for his second coming". Vue Weekly. Archived from the original on September 19, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2008.
  14. ^ [1][permanent dead link]
  15. ^ Ash, Amanda (2008). "Wood Wires & Whiskey: Year in Review 2008". Exclaim! (Dec 2008).
  16. ^ "CFMA / PMFC » Nominees 2008". Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
  17. ^ "Justin Rutledge Ascends". Exclaim!, May 2008.
  18. ^ "citysonic.tv". Citysonic.tv. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  19. ^ "Exclusive: Toronto Singer-Songwriter Justin Rutledge Teams Up with Michael Ondaatje for Upcoming Stage Production, Begins Work on Fourth Album". Exclaim!, August 21, 2009.
  20. ^ "Justin Rutledge teams with Michael Ondaatje" Archived July 11, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. The Globe and Mail, April 10, 2010.
  21. ^ "Review: Early Winters, Early Winters". slantmagazine.com. March 14, 2011. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  22. ^ a b "Justin Rutledge revisits his musical past on Valleyheart". msn.ca, February 11, 2013.
  23. ^ "Justin Rutledge is alt-country with a little help from his friends". Hamilton Spectator, March 8, 2019.
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