David Wilkie

David moved from California to Canada in his teens, eventually settling in the beautiful ranching country in the Rocky Mountain foothills of southern Alberta. He helped out during calving season and at brandings at the historic Tongue Creek Ranch, which was founded and run by the Guinness company out of Ireland. At the same time, Wilkie was always playing music in a band, and for six years, was the music director and radio programmer for a 50,000 watt country radio station in Alberta. There, he was exposed to an extensive repertoire of western music, had his own cowboy radio show, and visited often with country and cowboy music greats, including Roy Rogers. When he left radio to play music full time, he hooked up with Canadian legend Ian Tyson for four years of concert dates and recordings. In 1984 or so, he formed The Great Western Orchestra (GWO) and produced three albums, one released on the Sony label (formerly CBS), and the following two independently released with  Stewart MacDougall on Wilkie’s own label, Centerfire Music.

While working on various musical projects over the last ten years, David Wilkie has devoted time to one of his favourite passions – the seeking out of Celtic origins of traditional cowboy music. The result has been the release of seven highly successful Cowboy Celtic CDs. The ‘Celtic and cowboy’ musical marriage on these recordings has struck a chord with music lovers on both sides of the ocean. As one reviewer put it, “This is more than music. It’s theatre and imagery and history and storytelling and more, all wrapped up in sagebrush and tartan.”

Cowboy Celtic has toured Scotland several times, and has played all over North America and in Ecuador and Peru. Using arrangements done by the incredibly talented Claude Lapalme, they have also peformed with the Red Deer Symphony, the Kamloops Symphony, and the Symphony of the Kootenays in Cranbrook.

Wilkie has produced several albums for other artists, both in Canada and the U.S., and has composed the musical scores for numerous short films and documentaries. He played mandolin and mandocello on Maria Muldaur’s Granny-nominated CD Richland Woman. With his songwriting talents and sense of humour, he became a favourite of national CBC radio fans many years ago, regularly composing amusing songs on current events for various national radio programs. Wilkie is better known and respected as a serious song writer, and his songs “Wind in the Wire” and “Cowboy Boogie,” co-written with GWO partner Stewart MacDougall, were recorded by Ian Tyson and also by Randy Travis on the Warner Western record label. Travis also featured the GWO’s music on his ABC TV special “Wind in the Wire,” and an animated film of the GWO song “Cactus Swing” was produced by Canada’s prestigious National Film Board. The group also performed to sold-out audiences with the world renowned Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.

In addition to his seven Cowboy Celtic CDs and his three Great Western Orchestra CDs, Wilkie has two solo albums to his credit and an acclaimed release with the Cold Club (an off-the-wall group that also includes renowned blues guitarist Amos Garrett, jazz violinist Karl Roth and Chilean guitar wizard Oscar Lopez).

David Wilkie has toured in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, England, Ireland, Scotland, Ecuador, Peru and all over the United States and Canada.