Leeroy Stagger

Victoria-born songwriter Leeroy Stagger shares his new collection of songs, Pilgrimage, co-produced with Joel Plaskett!

Stagger grew up on Vancouver Island, immersed in rural rhythms and the sublime power of nature, before moving to southern Alberta to write songs while surrounded by the relentless prairies, eventually circling back to his hometown. His first bands were immersed in punk ethics, embedding a strong sense of justice and urgency that continues to fuel his journey as a solo artist. Within a few years of commencing his songwriting pilgrimage, one of Stagger’s songs was used twice on Grey’s Anatomy before he turned 25. It’s no surprise, then, that his songs have won awards, honoring his innate affinity for melody, rhythm and integrity.

During this journey, Stagger embraced sobriety, and guided by ingrained principles of open-heartedness and candor, he continues to write songs that capture moments and memories while captivating listeners, culminating in this newest album.

Pilgrimage is the sound of coming to grips with Stagger’s twisted and strange path, but also the sound of friendships forged in creativity and trust. Stack it all up on a cranky old ¼-inch 8-track tape machine from the 1970s (a Tascam 388), put it in a room full of old friends, and here you have it.

Listening to Stagger’s music, one is privy to intimate flashes; he doesn’t dilute the gritty, dark moments endured in the ebon gloom of the soul. Yet his music lifts, fueled by brutal candor and an unquenchable desire to capture the luminosity lurking on the other side of the shadowed horizon. The songs rove with the acumen of ancient peoples exploring variegated landscapes, goosed along by flashes of old-school punk iconography, kinked chords reminiscent of the harmonies and optimism of the 1960s, and raw, rockin’ rhythms that shake your butt while they stir your mind.

Above all, the music sounds born to soar over those vast, airy prairies where Stagger’s songwriting journey accelerated: open-stringed, open-minded, open-hearted melodies heading toward a wide-open future, bathed in glorious, long light.

He has also built a recording studio, Neighbourhood Recorders, producing songwriting gems by artists such as Mariel Buckley, Tim Easton and Pony Gold, and celebrates fellow songwriters weekly on CKUA’s Dirty Windshields Radio Hour