Wilkes

My shows tend to be more intimate and laid back. I strive to make it feel like we’ve brought the guests into our living room for a relaxing evening around the fire.

For all original material sets , I take time in between songs to casually talk about the stories behind the songs and interact with the audience in a way that feels conversational and engaging. The number one piece of feedback I get most often is something along the lines of, “I love how the room felt so inviting and intimate.” My shows feel like an evening hanging out with friends.

The set has a very similar vibe for cover song shows. I don’t play cover songs like the typical artist. I approach other people’s songs the same way as I do my own. The bones of the original version are in there but change chords, alter tempos and make arrangement changes to make the song more of my own. You will recognize the song and still be able to sing along but I play them in a way that it will feel both familiar and brand new. Check out my covers of “Brown Eyed Girl” (Van Morrison) and “Happy” (Pharrell) for examples. Both are available on all streaming platforms. I play a selection of covers from all eras and genres but perform them in a way that they sound like they could live on the same record. I try to pick songs that make you think, “oh yea! I forgot about this one. I love this song!” I typically still do a mixture with a few original songs thrown in the mix as well.

My acoustic playing style is very signature and my vocals are unique. I sing in a four octave range and utilize all of that range to keep the set from getting too monotonous or repetitive. I also use kick and snare stomp pads when I play solo, to give the set more depth than just an acoustic and a vocal.

I most often play solo, with a percussionist, or with a percussionist and auxiliary instrument like a steel guitar or vibey electric guitar. The price varies depending on band size but I have the ability to scale all the way up to a full band. The same vibe remains on tact regardless.

I’m WILKES. I’m a story teller who speaks mostly through melody. I produce my own records because I’m an entrepreneur and it’s good business. Some say I’m country. Some say I’m rock. Others swear up and down that I’m pop. Looking back on those last three sentences, maybe I’m a little bit, Dr. Seuss.  I was the front man of a pop/rock band (High Flight Society), I slung my hair and held the bass in a hard rock band (Disciple), I’ve strummed acoustic and sang background vocals for a country music trailblazer (Sam Hunt), and I now fall somewhere in between. I sang my heart out and showcased my catlike reflexes on The Voice Season 14. I’ve been doing this a long dang time. I could write a full-blown Tolkien-length novel series about my experiences in the music industry; however, we will call all that the back story. Welcome to the beginning.

"I really really like you WILKES. You're special man. You have something. You don't try to do it. You just are it. There's something really powerful about you. Your range is ridiculous. It's just very rare. You're very special." - Alicia Keys

"WILKES has that rough around the edges kind of thing that's hard to come by. - Blake Shelton

"It's a combination of all the stuff you do. Your presence, the way you do it, how you do it. I'm just a huge fan." - Adam Levine

"You're one of the best singers I've ever heard. I'm in love with your voice." - Stevie Mackey 
(Vocal coach - Jennifer Lopez, Selena Gomez, Lenny Kravitz, etc)

I bring and setup my own sound system at no extra cost for small to medium size room solo sets, solo with percussion, and solo with percussion auxiliary instrument sets. Full band may a require extra fee for sound system rental or for you to provide the sound system. We will work together on keeping that cost as low as possible.