Jeffery Straker is a Canadian folk/roots singer-songwriter, based in Punnichy, Saskatchewan. His piano-based folk/roots musical style has drawn comparisons to

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

, and

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded eleven studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical opera ...

Biography

Early life

Jeffery Straker was raised on a grain farm near Punnichy, Saskatchewan and grew up in a musical household. He started piano lessons with local music teacher Mrs Vicky Young and was subsequently taught by Dawn MacTavish. Further piano studies were pursued with Frank Crumly at the Conservatory of Music,

University of Regina The University of Regina is a public university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchewan as a j ...

in his senior years of high school earning his Licentiate diploma from

Trinity College London Trinity College London (TCL) is an examination board based in London, United Kingdom which offers graded and diploma qualifications across a range of disciplines in the performing arts and English language learning and teaching. Trinity Colleg ...

when he was 19. Straker attended the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

(

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

) earning a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Biology. His third year of university studies was at

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

(

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

Career

Straker independently released his album ''Songs from Highway 15'' in 2006. The folk-pop album contains 10 songs inspired by people and places in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. It was recorded live with engineer Brian Moncarz in Toronto. Canadian singer-songwriter Kat Goldman sang backing vocals on the album. In 2008, Straker released his follow-up album ''Step Right Up'', which included the singles "Hypnotized" and "Somewhere Between". A music video for "Hypnotized" was played on

MuchMore CTV Life Channel is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary. The channel primarily broadcasts factual and reality programming on lifestyle topics such as cooking, home impr ...

Music across Canada. ''Step Right Up'' was re-released on MDM/Universal in 2010. The album was produced by Justin Gray in Toronto and Los Angeles. In 2011, Straker released the album ''under the soles of my shoes'', produced by Dave Thomson in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. The recording was mixed by

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

winning engineer Chad Carlson. Straker released a 9-song studio album, ''Vagabond'', on 2 October 2012. The album was produced by Danny Michel. Piano tracks were recorded at the

Canadian Broadcasting Centre The Canadian Broadcasting Centre, also known as the Toronto Broadcast Centre, is an office and studio complex located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It serves as the main broadcast and master control centre for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporati ...

in Toronto in studio 211, using

Glenn Gould Glenn Herbert Gould (; né Gold; 25 September 19324 October 1982) was a Canadian classical pianist. He was among the most famous and celebrated pianists of the 20th century, renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann Sebastian ...

Steinway & Sons Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in New York City by German piano builder Henry E. Steinway, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth le ...

grand piano.

Fred Penner Frederick Ralph Cornelius Penner (born November 6, 1946) is a Canadian children's entertainer and musician known for the song "The Cat Came Back" and his television series, ''Fred Penner's Place'', which aired on Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...

performed harmonica on the song "Birchbark Canoe". In 2014 the recording ''Live with CBC Radio'' was released. It was recorded by CBC Radio in the Mae Wilson Theatre in

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the List of cities in Saskatchewan, fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina, Saskatchewan, Re ...

, Saskatchewan. In 2015 Jeffery released ''North Star Falling'' produced by Dean Drouillard. The album debuted in the top 10 of the iTunes singer-songwriter charts in its first 2 weeks. In May 2017, Straker released "Dirt Road Confessional", a 12 song recording with roots-folk influenced arrangements and instrumentation. The album was produced in 5 different studios by several producers:

Daniel Ledwell Daniel Ledwell is a Canadian record producer and multi-instrumentalist. Music career In 2008 Ledwell produced his debut solo album, ''Two Over Seven'' in his home studio."", ''Chart'', January 16, 2008. Retrieved January 19, 2014. It was releas ...

(Lake Echo, Nova Scotia); Royal Wood and Lawrence Katz (Los Angeles, California); Dean Drouillard (Toronto, Ontario); Brad Prosko and Murray Pulver (Regina, Saskatchewan); Robyn Dell'Unto (Toronto, Ontario). The album contains 2 songs co-written with Royal Wood and Lawrence Katz, a song co-written with Jay Semko, and a co-write with Karen Kosowski. May 2021 saw the release of the 10-song LP "Just Before Sunrise". Production was by Russell Broom (Calgary AB) who also played guitars and banjo on the recording. Two songs were produced by Royal Wood in Toronto ON. The recording tied for the #2 spot in the "Best Saskatchewan Albums of 2021" ranking Straker was named Roots/Folk Artist of the Year in both the 2020 and 2021 Saskatchewan Music Awards. He tours over 100 shows each year and performed his sold out orchestral debut with the

Regina Symphony Orchestra The Regina Symphony Orchestra (RSO) was founded by Frank Laubach, in Regina, Saskatchewan, as the Regina Orchestral Society in 1908, giving its inaugural concert December 3 of that same year. Becoming the Regina Choral and Orchestral Society in 1 ...

in Regina Saskatchewan, October 2011. He has performed subsequent orchestral concerts of his work with the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra in October 2013 and 2018 and the

Sudbury Symphony Orchestra The Sudbury Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is a Canadian symphony orchestra based Sudbury, Ontario. Incorporated in 1975 as a not-for-profit registered charity, the orchestra performs a season of full orchestra concerts and chamber music concerts at a ...

in 2015. Jeffery was the winner of the international category of the 55th Vina del Mar International Song Festival (Chile) in February 2014 with his song ''Hypnotized''. The singer-pianist is a regular national cast member of the long running telethon

Telemiracle ''Telemiracle'' is an annual telethon organized by the Kinsmen and Kinettes in Saskatchewan, Canada, for the benefit of the Kinsmen Foundation. Initially broadcast on both CTV and CBC affiliates in Saskatchewan, it is now broadcast, commerc ...

produced by the

Kin Canada Kin Canada (formerly the Kinsmen and Kinette Clubs of Canada) is a secular Canada, Canadian non-profit service organization. It promotes Community Service, service, fellowship, Value (personal and cultural), positive values, and national pride. ...

(Kinsmen and Kinettes) of

, Canada. The telethon is broadcast on CTV. At the

20th Canadian Folk Music Awards The 20th Canadian Folk Music Awards were presented from April 3 to 6, 2025, at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Ontario. Nominations were announced in October 2024.Kerry Doole"Abigail Lapell Leads Nominations for 2025 Canadian Folk Music Awards ...

, he won the award for Contemporary Singer of the Year for his album ''Great Big Sky''.Kerry Doole
"Canadian Folk Music Awards Turn 20: Full Winners List"
''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', April 8, 2025.

Discography

* ''Songs from Highway 15'' (2006) * ''Step Right Up'' (2008) * ''under the soles of my shoes'' (2011) * ''Vagabond'' (2012) * "Comin Home for Christmas" – single (2013) * ''Live with CBC Radio'' (2014) * ''North Star Falling'' (2015) * ''Dirt Road Confessional'' (2017) * ''Just Before Sunrise'' (2021) * ''Great Big Sky'' (2024)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Straker, Jeffery 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people 21st-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian pianists 21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters Canadian gay musicians Canadian LGBTQ singer-songwriters Canadian male pianists Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian pop pianists Canadian pop singers Gay singer-songwriters Living people Singers from Saskatchewan Year of birth missing (living people) Canadian Folk Music Award winners