by Runs Sept. 14-18th
Keith Mullins got the beat at an early age. The Cape Breton singer-songwriter remembers sitting on a piano bench next to his aunt Flo Sampson (mother of his cousin, Big Pond singer-songwriter Gordie Sampson), and picking up on the tunes she was playing.
What followed was a vibrant musical youth, playing drums with rock and funk acts like Angelo and Carlo Spinazzola, Green Eggs & Jam, the Jimmy Swift Band and Dr. Yellow Fever & the Jive, while Mullins honed his skills studying jazz at St. F.X. University.
As he juggled so many genres, the Latin sound from the Caribbean maintained its special fascination for him.
Music-Chameleon Keith Mullins has been playing music all his life. Raised in Cape Breton, NS where his family played all styles of music from the hits to jazz, from Cape Breton fiddling to country, music runs thick through his blood. Keith is a multiple award winning songwriter with a degree in classical music and has studied with master drummers in West Africa and Cuba. He’s toured the world playing with East Coast’s finest musicians and has worked passionately at the art of music, from creation to performance to production all the while maintaining his focus in the pursuit of forward thinking projects. His album “Localmotive Farm” shares the name with his organic farm in Nova Scotia. His album “The Wood Buffalo Youth Song Project” was a collaborative project where he created a CD that the schools could use for fund-raising. His newest release, “Island Sol”, is a doc./album collaboration between Keith and some stellar Cuban musicians recorded at the famous Egrem Studios in Havana Cuba.
His solo album, Localmotive Farm (2011) won the 2012 ECMA World Album of the Year and his children’s album, The Wood Buffalo Youth Song Project (2011) won the 2012 ECMA Children’s Album of the Year and the 2012 Music Nova Scotia Children’s Album of the Year. Mullins also won the 2012 & 2013 Educator of the Year at the Music Nova Scotia Awards.
