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Calum Graham

 Calum Graham
Acoustic Guitar Retreat, Interlochen College of Creative Arts

About Calum

Born in Fort St. John, British Columbia and currently residing in Victoria, Calum Graham has been building a name for himself across the globe for the last 12 years with his passionate solo acoustic guitar prowess and was named one of the World's Top 30 Guitarists under 30 by Acoustic Guitar Magazine. Calum plays the Acoustic, Baritone, and Harp Guitar in his live set and his original melodies embraces elements of folk, world, soul, blues and jazz – all built upon the foundation of the fingerstyle technique. Graham's musical journey first took flight when he began playing the guitar at the age of 13. 

In the summer of 2010, Graham attended the Canadian Guitar Festival and entered the prestigious Canadian Fingerstyle Guitar Competition. Impressed with his original compositions, the judges awarded Graham with a first place finish; a feat no other teenager has accomplished in the history of the festival. The clip of his winning performance has now generated over 1 million views on YouTube. Shortly afterwards, he was invited to play at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, and again 2 years later at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. 

As Calum Graham's name continued to grow in Alberta and across Canada for his guitar work and musicianship, Graham proved that his talent was not limited to his extraordinary ability to play the guitar. In 2011, Graham won the Canada's Walk of Fame nationwide "A Song For Canada” contest based on his poetic acuteness. His winning poem was used in the song "I'm Here, (A Song For Canada)”. The song was performed by Chantal Kreviazuk and co-written by Graham, Raine Maida (Our Lady Peace) and Stephen Moccio ("I Believe”, 2010 Vancouver Olympics theme song/”Wrecking Ball” - Miley Cyrus)”. "Calum's entry resonated strongly among the judges. His poem celebrates the cultural mosaic that is Canada.  

In the late winter of 2012, and with two albums already under his belt, Graham teamed up with iconic Fingerstyle Guitarist Don Ross. The result was an instrumental acoustic duet album titled, "12:34”. Recorded at famed 'Metalworks Studios' (Toronto, ON), and released through CandyRat Records, the album featured six originals by Graham, three by Ross, and a cover of the OutKast hit song, "Hey Ya!”. Not long after the release of "12:34”, Graham saw a loyal following begin to grow and it wasn!t long before his unique sound started to find a wide and appreciative audience. 

In November of 2013, Graham released a solo instrumental album titled "Phoenix Rising” (CandyRat Records). The title track has already generated over 4 million views on YouTube, with other songs also notching impressive numbers. The success of the album enabled Graham to expand his global fanbase and he soon began touring internationally, both on his own and with the likes of Don Ross and Andy McKee. 

With Graham bringing an innovative sound to the industry, it wasn't long before Canada's top booking agency, The Feldman Agency, also counted themselves a fan of Graham!s music. So much in fact, that in July 2014, they decided to partner Graham with renowned Canadian producer Gavin Brown (Billy Talent, Metric, The Tragically Hip) on his "Sessions X” series. The series was recorded at Toronto's Five-Star "Noble Street Studios” and features Graham alongside a number of acclaimed musicians including; Tears For Fears, Feist, Three Days Grace, Metric, and Ron Sexsmith. In September 2014, Graham teamed up with IMAX composer Steve Wood to write the musical score for 'Humpbacks', an underwater 3D adventure documentary for IMAX and other giant screen theatres. Narrated by acclaimed actor Ewan McGregor, the film is directed by Greg MacGillivray ("The Living Sea”, "Everest”), presented in association with Pacific Life and was released February 13, 2015 to IMAX theatres worldwide. 

In 2016, Graham released his fifth studio album 'Tabula Rasa' which was crowd funded by fans across the globe and produced by world renowned Acoustic Guitarist, Antoine Dufour. Adding an extra dimension to his compositions, the album introduces Graham!s soulful vocals to his audience for the first time. The album was released in March 2016 and features a combination of his exemplary instrumental guitar work punctuated throughout with elements of folk, blues, and pop in his vocal songs with guest performances by Antoine Dufour and Bass Guitar Extraordinaire, Michael Manring. 

In 2019, Graham released his sixth studio album ‘Thread of Creation’ featuring instrumental compositions written for the Acoustic, Baritone and Harp Guitar also featuring guest performances by Antoine Dufour and Michael Manring. Each song on this album is very diverse yet very personal and shows a real maturity, depth, and development in Calum’s songwriting. Calum continues to tour throughout Canada, the US, and Europe, and is currently in the studio recording his seventh studio album and planning to release the new album in the coming months. For more information on shows, releases, and more be sure to subscribe to the Mailing List and follow Calum on social media @calumgrahammusic