Billy Raffoul

Billy Raffoul is that rare artist who manages to sound both rugged and vulnerable. It’s a gift the Canadian singer/songwriter—who was born in southern Ontario in 1996—revealed on his very first single, 2017’s “Driver.” Over thickly crashing guitars, Raffoul’s sublime voice performs the unlikeliest of dances, leaping deftly between delicate falsetto and husky intensity. The influence of his dad, a veteran musician who exposed him to lots of classic rock, helps explain the vintage feel coursing through his music, in particular the 2020 LP International Hotel, a self-assured debut that nails a sweet spot somewhere between Bruce Springsteen and Jeff Buckley. At the same time, Raffoul is one of those forward-thinking millennials who refuses to be hemmed in by genre in the 21st century. So, while his solo career contains plenty of rock, he has also embraced bold collaborations with EDM producers Kygo and Avicii.