- This event has passed.
Wesli
Friday, October 28, 2022 from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM
Event Navigation
Wesli
Friday, October 28
7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Woodstock Town Hall Theatre
About the Band
Wesli is the stage name of Wesley Louissaint, a Haitian-Canadian musician. In 2019, Wesli received a Canadian Juno Award for World Music Album of the Year. One of eight children raised in a home where music was a big part of daily life, it became a second nature to him, a way to escape the misery that surrounded him. Wesli built his first guitar out of an old NGO-provided oil can and nylon shoe lace when he was just eight years old.
Be it in an acoustic formation (guitar, voice and percussion) or with his bigger band, Wesli consistently delivers a rich, festive and uniquely engaging sound. He conquers the heart of his audience through complex musical arrangements and universal messages of hope, truth and peace. Bringing together a wide range of Montreal talents, Wesli’s music unites Haitian voodoo and rara with roots, reggae, Afrobeat, electronic music and hip-hop flavors.
In 2021, Wesli signed with the indie label Cumbancha, who released their first single and video together, the upbeat reggae song “Le Soleil Descend”, on June 11, 2021. That was followed by the release of the single and video “Bontan Ilayéyé,” a fusion of Haitian vodun chants and electronic music featuring African DJ and producer AfrotroniX. Both songs are part of an ambitious two-album project called Tradisyon, which explores the past and the future of Haitian music.
The first volume of this epic work, Tradisyon, which focuses on Haitian roots, acoustic and traditional styles, will be released on CD on October 14, 2022. It will be followed in the coming months by Tradisyon Vol. 2, a stunning exploration of new directions in Haitian music, blending traditional genres with electronic music, Afrobeat, soul, funk, hip-hop and more. While each volume of Tradisyon demonstrates Wesli’s incredible talents as a composer, singer, multi-instrumentalist and producer, taken together Tradisyon and Tradisyon Vol. 2 are an epic body of work.
More about Wesli: wesliband.com