
“Not giving up. That’s what I’m most proud of. I mean, two years ago I was working as a carpenter.”
All musicians have a story. Kellie Loder, Newfoundlander multi-instrumentalist and singer, has a particularly compelling one.
Loder, who grew up playing the drums, guitar, and piano, went into carpentry during the pandemic. “No performances were happening. I love building things and working with my hands. I went into heritage carpentry around downtown St. John’s.”
It was also during that time that they sent in a video to Canada’s Got Talent. They were literally painting a house when they got a call from the show.
“I had my reservations about going on a television show like that,” Loder says, “but at the end of the day it did some really good things for me.”
They made it to the top two, racking up many new fans and compliments from the judges along the way.
“It was a game changer for me, honestly. It ignited a lot of things for me.”
From painting houses two years ago, Loder is now writing and recording songs with Grammy Award-winning, Los Angeles-based producer Gary Wells. He’s worked with Katy Perry, Michael Bublé, Ariana Grande and many more top pop stars.
“I can’t say too much about it yet. I wish I could,” Loder says. “I’m very excited about it but it will be a while before those songs see the light of day.”
Loder, who has focused on Americana, folk and indie pop of late, has been a musician since childhood.
“I felt like it was always a part of me, music,” they say. “I never really chose it, it sort of chose me. I had a very good ear for percussion quite young and I was playing a full drum kit at age 10, playing it at church.”
Loder’s most recent album, Transitions, came out in April. “Creating it was very, very fun for me,” they say. “I loved the process.”
The band got really experimental with the percussion, Loder says. “We hit a knife to the side of a wine glass for one song, on one of the tunes I was banging a road case with a set of pliers.”
Loder has won multiple East Coast Music Awards and cowritten with names such as Alan Doyle and Steven Page. They’ve toured with Serena Ryder, Joel Plaskett and more.
‘I still find it funny when people travel hours to come to my show,” the say. “Like, really? Me? I can’t fully wrap my head around it yet. It’s amazing.”
“I’m very, very lucky, blessed, to make art and live off of that and feed myself with it. I never forget the wonder.”
Loder is playing Alberta stages this summer: August 15 in Calgary, August 16 in Edmonton, and August 17-18 at the Bear Creek Folk Music Festival. Details here.
Loder’s audition for Canada’s Got Talent: