Folk musician Stephen Hardy Palmer will bring a variety of music genres to the stage when he performs at the Sooke Coffeehouse on Jan. 19.
Palmer was born at the beginning of the swing era and always remembers the radio being on at home. He was raised on gospel, country, and the blues.
Hearing Oscar Peterson ignited the flame for music in Palmer’s life. Also influential to him was the Kingston Trio with its acoustic and banjo arrangements. Those old time influences made him a good fit for the psychedelic folk rock bands touring and playing from the UK invasion of the 1960s.
Palmer’s first band was in 1966 at high school. It had a Wilson Picket and Otis Redding sound.
His next band, The Warp Factor, got to open locally for Led Zepplin. During that time, he was able to hang out with The Who, The Cream, The Guess Who and other big names bands travelling in the area.
In the 1980s, he attended Capilano College to study voice and arranging. He became a solo performer when he returned home to take care of his mother.
Palmer has seen a lot of road in 40 years and is now based in Moose Jaw, Sask. All that lived experience allows him to sing with authority about life and its simple pleasures, he said.
Palmer has four albums to his credit with a fifth on the way.
The Sooke Folk Coffeehouse is held at Holy Trinity Church, 1962 Murray Rd., in Sooke. Doors open at 7 p.m., with an open stage at 7:30 p.m. Palmer performs at 9 p.m.
The coffeehouse is sponsored by the Sooke Folk Music Society.
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