Biography

Charlie Gannon is recognized as one of the best young guitarists in Victoria, playing a wide range of styles from Celtic to Rock. His playing is highly technical yet sensitive, with inventive harmonies and chord voicings he has learned from many years of playing jazz. He brings new life to the simplest of songs and performs even the most difficult with ease.

Charlie was born in Victoria, BC, and grew up listening to his large extended family play music together. He began his musical journey by taking classical piano lessons at age five, but then switched over to the guitar at age ten. Soon after, he and his friends formed a garage band, Electric Winter, which played many gigs around town. Charlie’s high school, St. Michaels, gave him plenty of opportunity to play music in the Jazz Band, Swing Band, Vocal Jazz Band, Concert Band, and Pit Orchestra. In 2013, he received a scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music five-week program, where his Juno award winning uncle, Oliver Gannon, graduated from in 1969. Charlie has also attended the Tommy Emmanuel guitar camp in both New York and New Orleans, where he got to study finger style acoustic guitar with Tommy and perform for him on stage. Currently, Charlie is the guitar player for the popular fiddle group in Victoria, Coastline. In 2015, they represented Canada at the Aberdeen International Youth Festival and toured all over Scotland, even playing on the historic Culloden battle grounds. A few notable fiddlers Charlie has shared the stage with include Quinn and Qristina Bachand, Ivonne Hernandez, Mari Rankin, Natalie Haas, Alisdair Fraser, Nellie Quinn, and Sarah Tradewell. Charlie is also the guitarist for “The Swing Alongs”: a jazz trio that plays Jazz Standards from the Tin Pan Alley era, featuring tenor saxophone, guitar, and piano. With the company PG Music, Charlie has been going to the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) trade show annually since the age of 13, as well as Musik Messe.