PETUNIA & THE VIPERS

What People Are Saying

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What People Are Saying *

“Petunia and the mother****ing Vipers. One of the best bands in the world today, of any kind.”

— Phil Alvin (The Blasters)

“Since the turn of this century, the enigmatic Vancouver-based singer/songwriter and his band The Vipers have crafted an original sound based largely on the music of the early previous century. But while they may look the part, they are not precious about it, instead putting all the fire and fury of the original artists into a modern context.”

— Canadian Beats

“He is a total one off, with it being almost impossible to compare him to anyone else…”

— American Roots UK

From the dark, weary, poetic side of the roots world, where lost souls born into the wrong time period go to dwell and dispel their misery in song, comes Petunia & The Vipers—a  complexly influenced country and roots band with a mutable sound whose only constant is a call back to the earliest times of popular music when people like Woody Guthrie and Django Reinheardt were contemporaries, and when rock & roll and country were just forming and their sounds were virtually interchangeable.

— Savingcountrymusic.com

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BIO

PETUNIA the man

Petunia is more than just an entertainer, he’s a modern musical enigma. Imagine that David Lynch and Nick Cave had a hillbilly baby, that yodeled... or Tom Waits meets Elvis at Woody Guthrie’s hobo junction. This is just one way of describing the man known simply as Petunia. He’s an adventure seeker, a poker player, and a mysterious stranger. He’s been referred to as “The Savior of Country Music”, and a man who exists in a different era, bringing the past forth as something new to be celebrated and not forgotten.

Petunia grew up in rural Quebec, in exactly the sort of surroundings that a country musician would find idyllic, with old dilapidated barns, secret forts, and acres of unspoiled land. As an adult, the wandering spirit took a firm hold on his life, so he set out on the road, playing every major street corner across Canada and throughout the NYC subway system, before graduating to full fledged touring musician. When he’s not on the road playing shows, Petunia is also involved in the theatre world; building side projects, writing scores, acting, or collaborating with theatre artists. He currently resides in Vancouver BC, and works with several sets of sidemen across Canada, the US and Europe in addition to his own Vancouver based band, The Vipers. A

restless wanderer, a musical historian, and a quirky yet amazing talent, Petunia is simply a Canadian treasure joining the greats from north of the 49th.

A poem by Al Mader describing Petunia:

Razor sharp hombre
all snake eyes and boxcars
steals a kiss from a raven-haired flapper – slips out the side window of a 1920s speakeasy
Out fleet foots a flat foot
hops a train to
Buddy Bolden’s tombstone
wins some horseflesh playing
high stud – pitches camp
beneath a prairie sky
watched over by a full moon
and a lovesick coyote
howling for mercy...

VIDEOS

UPCOMING SHOWS

Petunia Highlights

  •    Performs 150+ shows annually

  •    Frequently tours throughout Canada, USA, and Europe

  •    Has opened for the likes of Wanda Jackson, Neko Case and the Blasters

  •    Multiple regional California tours with Phil Alvin and Exene Cervenka of the Blasters

  •    15 full length albums recorded to date

  •    6 albums charting to #1 on !Earshot Canadian College charts in the Roots/Blues category

  •    Has performed at 70+ festivals, the likes of Oregon Country Fair, Calgary Folk Music Festival, Vancouver Folk Festival and many more

  •   Starring role in “The Musicianer” pilot episode by Beth Harrington (2018)

  •   Best Music Video in the Director’s Cut Film Festival in Vancouver, BC“The Ballad of Handsome Ned" -(2019)

  •  Best Sci-Fi actor award New Jersey Film festival (2019)

  •  Can perform as a solo, duo, trio, 4pc, 5pc, 6pc, 7pc, 8pc, 9pc