Brett Kissel

An award-winning country artist based out of northeastern Alberta, Brett Kissel wasted little time in kick-starting his music career, releasing his debut album at the age of 12. Since then, he has gone on to issue a handful of acclaimed records like Started with a Song (2013) and Pick Me Up (2015), both of which went gold in Canada. His fourth effort, 2020's Now or Never, saw Kissel introduce elements of pop into his winning blend of traditional and Canadian country.
Drawing on a tireless work ethic derived from years of working on his family's ranch in Flat Lake, Kissel received his first guitar at the age of six, and made his first public performance just a few years later. He released Keepin' It Country in 2003, followed by a trio of additional independent LPs -- By Request (2004), Tried and True: A Canadian Tribute (2006), and My Roots Run Deep (2008) -- before inking a deal with Warner Music Canada in 2013. His major-label debut, Started with a Song, arrived that same year and earned the up-and-coming star his first Juno nomination. His sixth studio long-player, 2015's Pick Me Up, debuted at number seven on the Canadian Albums chart, and he brought home a Canadian Country Music Association award, multiple Association of Country Music in Alberta Awards, and landed another Juno nomination. 2017's We Were That Song produced four Top Ten singles, including the gold-certified title cut, and took home a Juno Award for Country Album of the Year. Now or Never, Kissel's fourth studio full-length, arrived in 2020 and included his first American single, "Drink About Me." After racking up an impressive four Canadian Country Music Awards, Kissel kicked of 2021 with "Make a Life, Not a Living," the first single from his fifth album, What Is Life? ~ James Christopher Monger