Blends Folk, Surf Rock, Reggae and Latin 2019 Fraser Valley Music Award Nominee
2018 Western Canadian Music Award Nominee for World Artist of the Year
John Welsh & Los Valientes began with the belief that music has the power to bring people together regardless of language, age or culture. Front man John Welsh became exposed to many cultures at an early age living in Europe, Central America and Japan where he learned to connect with new people using his guitar and knack for learning languages. Blending upbeat rhythms from Latin, reggae, calypso and east coast Canadiana he began performing his unique style at college parties with strong support from the international student community.
Welsh’s first EP “On The Road” charted in the top 50 on the National
Earshot Charts in 2015 and he was soon performing at festivals all over Western Canada. Named in honour of late co-founding member Courage “El Valiente” Eigbike, Los Valientes draw from an eclectic background with members from Montreal, Quebec to Manizales, Colombia. Performing in both English and Spanish John Welsh & Los Valientes win over audiences with a high energy show that emphasizes crowd participation, world rhythms and sing-along choruses. With a global sound that appeals to audiences of many cultures and walks of life the band has been compared to artists such as Michael Franti and Manu Chao.
In 2017 their album "Vamonos Mi Chica" debuted at #2 on the iTunes Canada World Charts and produced two radio singles in Mexico with “Sayulita” and “Me Hace Sentir”. A favourite at summer festivals and outdoor events, the band was nominated for “World Artist of the Year” at the 2018 Western Canadian Music Awards. Also in 2018 the band’s song “ Sayulita” surpassed 600k streams on Spotify and garnered support from listeners all over Latin America. With performances from Edmonton, Alberta to Tijuana, Mexico the band has gained fans of all ages and cultures with their diverse sound and positive message.
“...a natural command of the stage combined with infectious toe-tapping songs that puts one in mind of sunny beaches and happy times. I think we could all use more music from John Welsh in our lives” - Michael Juk, CBC Vancouver Senior Producer
"This Spanish speaking Canadian musician is connecting fans worldwide with his band’s brand of sunny world music” - The Playa Times, Playa Del Carmen, MX
John Welsh & Los Valientes are:
John Welsh - Vocals and Guitar Alan Ruiz-Moreno - Tiple Daniela Carmona - Vocals and Percussion Devin Modugno - Lead Guitar Brandon Clark - Vocals and Bass James Stobbe - Sax, Keys and Accordion Shane Clark - Drums
Courage “El Valiente” Eigbike, Los Valientes draw from an eclectic background with members from Montreal, Quebec to Manizales, Colombia. Performing in both English and Spanish John Welsh & Los Valientes win over audiences with a high energy show that emphasizes crowd participation, world rhythms and sing-along choruses. With a global sound that appeals to audiences of many cultures and walks of life the band has been compared to artists such as Michael Franti and Manu Chao.