Rehearsals are underway for one of the biggest moments of any young musician’s career: James Vickers and his band are about to head out on their very first tour.
“It’s a little daunting. I get a little nervous thinking about it sometimes,” said Vickers.
Vickers has been building a fan base on the local Nanaimo scene. Now, at age 15, he’s just released his first album with gigs to follow in Indigenous communities around British Columbia, including some with deep family roots.
“We really wanted to go back to Bella Bella. James has never been there before,” said his father, Noel Vickers. “That’s where his great-grandfather came from.”
Noel is more than just a supportive parent. He’s the tour manager, promoter – a guy who wears many hats.
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“I’m the roadie, I’m the driver because he’s only 15. If anyone told me my most exciting, fulfilling chapter in my life would come in my sixties, I’d say ‘I don’t think so’, but here I am.”
It’s hard to believe that it’s been just five short years since James first started playing guitar.
“I went into the music scene, I didn’t have any expectations and if you don’t have any expectations, you can’t really let yourself down,” he explained.
Now the James Vickers Band is set to roll into Bella Bella, Prince Rupert and Hazelton on this tour, a taste of what’s to come once he finishes high school.
“Once he graduates, I’m pretty sure he is going to want to follow in the greats’ footsteps,” said Noel Vickers. “He wants to be out on the road touring with his band, and I support him 100 per cent.”
And while he’s out there on this tour, maybe some other kids with incredible talent might catch what he’s doing on stage and see that anything’s possible.
“I’m blessed to have wonderful people around me and wonderful musicians to work with,” James said.
“It’s just all excitement, especially what we’re doing and where we’re going, I’m really excited for it. It means tons. It means the world to me.”
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