After more than three decades of touring, recording, and sharing stages with icons ranging from James Brown to Buddy Guy, Trevor Finlay is still chasing the same feeling that first hooked him as a child: stepping onto a stage and connecting with an audience. As he prepares to release his seventh studio album, the Nashville-based blues-rock veteran remains as passionate about songwriting and performing as ever.
Our latest conversation with Finlay arrives shortly after the release of “Shut The Hell Up,” a guitar-driven new single that serves as the first taste of his next chapter. Throughout the interview, he reflects on career-defining moments, lessons learned from performing more than 300 shows a year, and the creative mindset that continues to push him forward.
One of the most revealing stories dates back to elementary school. Long before music became his profession, Finlay discovered the thrill of entertaining through a school talent show magic act. When a trick went wrong and he fled the stage in panic, a teacher famously told him, “The show must go on,” before sending him back out to finish. The standing ovation that followed planted a seed that never left.
Music soon became the natural next step. Guitar lessons quickly turned into an obsession, while a Motley Crüe concert opened his eyes to the power of commanding a crowd.
Much of that ambition eventually led him to Nashville. Since relocating from Ottawa, Finlay has immersed himself in one of the world’s most competitive songwriting communities. The experience taught him not only how to collaborate with other writers but also how to embrace vulnerability in the creative process.
In his conversation with InMusic, Finlay also explores how he has adapted to an industry transformed by streaming and digital distribution. Rather than focusing on challenges, he sees opportunity. Today’s technology allows him to develop songs from start to finish at home, experimenting with arrangements and production ideas before bringing them into the studio.
That approach played a role in the creation of “Shut The Hell Up,” a humorous and relatable track inspired by the universal experience of saying exactly the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time. Co-written with Emmy-nominated songwriter Ray Barnette and produced alongside Michael Klooster of Smash Mouth, the song captures the roots-rock direction of the upcoming album while showcasing Finlay’s sharp wit and self-awareness.
You’ve spent more than three decades performing, recording, and touring. Looking back, what first pushed you toward music as something you wanted to dedicate your life to?
Honestly, I think all I have ever wanted to do was be on stage and performing. One of my first times performing onstage was doing magic at a talent show when I was in Grade 3, I believe. It was to a room full of kids and their parents. It felt like 500 but realistically it was probably closer to 50.
I had bought a book of card tricks and some sleight of hand and I had worked really hard at it. My closing trick was “the rope through the neck” and my hands were sweaty or I was nervous or both, my hand slipped and the trick didn’t work. I remember panicking and running off stage. One of the teachers grabbed my shoulders, leaned down and said “The show must go on!” and pushed me back out. I walked out to a standing ovation and I remember thinking “Wow… I could get used to this!“
A few years later my parents put me into guitar lessons and I took to it right away. I couldn’t name any guitar players, I wasn’t really sure what roles musicians played in a band, but I strummed that guitar for all it was worth. My mom often tells me that she never had to tell me to practice – I would play no matter what kind of mood I was in, but when I was mad my strumming got much more aggressive.
My dad took me to my first concert, which was Motley Crue, and I was mesmerized by how Vince Neil had everyone in the palm of his hand, making everyone do and say whatever he told them to. I distinctly remember thinking “how do I get to do THAT?“
I could go on and on!
Nashville has become your creative home, though you originally come from Ottawa. How has the move to Nashville shaped your career and perspective as an artist?
I’ve learned a lot of lessons after moving here! One of them was how to write with other people, to be open and honest and even a bit vulnerable at times because that’s where some of the best stuff lies to mine from. Like with anything artistic, you learn the rules so that you can choose which ones you want to break.
You learn humility and respect. Even if you come to town with those traits, you’re constantly reminded that you’re surrounded by some of the best of the best. Everywhere you go, someone is a songwriter or musician. Someone told me that you can’t throw a rock without hitting someone better than you, and it never ceases to amaze me how true that is. One of the most valuable lessons that I’ve taken away from living here is perspective.
Growing up I thought things worked one way only to find out there’s a whole other world out there. For instance, I used to think it was difficult to play a night of three one hour sets – an hour on followed by a half hour break. On Lower Broadway, you play 3.5-4 hours non-stop, and there’s no sense in complaining about it because someone on that stage is leaving that gig to go right to another one to do it all again.
You were once playing over 300 shows a year-that’s an insane pace. What did that kind of life on the road teach you about music, about performing, and about yourself?
It is kind of crazy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!
I’ve learned how to keep myself sane on the road by doing little things, like finding good breakfast places and used record stores. I bring my bicycle with me and I find places to ride and gyms that aren’t too expensive. I also know how to pace myself so that I can sing multiple days in a row and not hurt myself.
I also had to learn how to be by myself. A lot of what I do is driving from place to place, eating in restaurants, waiting to play. That’s why I do these things – staying active keeps the mind and mood happy.
Over the years, you’ve shared stages with legends like James Brown, Buddy Guy, Johnny Winter, and Booker T. & the M.G.’s. Which live experiences left the deepest mark on you creatively?
It’s unrealistic but I like to try to take something away from every gig I do because each one is a unique experience in one way or another.
James Brown was a wild experience but not for the reasons you might be thinking. It was a festival in my hometown of Ottawa, every band got their own trailer, and Mr. Brown was there when I got there, wandering around with pink curlers in his hair. I spent a long time on the steps of my trailer trying to gather the fortitude to approach him but the steps are as far as I got. One of the festival organizers noticed me and must have figured out what I was doing because she came up to me and said “Hi Trevor! Do you want to meet him?” I jumped up and said “Yes Please!” She took me over to where he was seated and introduced me as the artist that was going to open for him. He shook my hand, said “God bless you man, God bless you” and that was all I needed. I went onstage that night having been blessed by the Godfather of Soul.
The music industry has shifted dramatically since you started. How have you adapted to the modern streaming era while still maintaining your identity as a blues-rock artist?
That’s the thing! It has changed so much but you adapt and try to figure it out. I know it’s easy to find things to be negative about but there is a world of opportunities that didn’t exist before. There are so many ways to get music out there now and new lanes for creativity.
You’re currently building toward your seventh studio album. How has your approach to making records changed from your earlier releases to where you are now?
Good question -one thing that’s changed is that I can take a song or the idea of a song, sit at home and flesh it all out in front of my computer before involving any other musicians. From feeling to arrangement to chord changes, top to bottom. I’ll use a virtual drummer, but no Al. I like to figure stuff out. I’ve also learned to be open minded but very opinionated. I want the people I work with to give ideas because they’re some of the best at what they do and their ideas will potentially be better than mine, but I’ll know pretty quick.
“Shut the Hell Up” is the new single and it already feels like a statement record. What sparked the song, and what was the moment or frustration that made you say, “This has to be written“?
I have this innate ability to say the exact wrong thing at the wrong time, and I come by it very honestly. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked friends about their partners only to find out they broke up as an example.
Thankfully I’m not the only one with this “gift” – Ray Barnette and I bonded while writing this song by telling stories and trying to outdo one another. We spent a lot of time laughing – probably longer than it took to actually write this song! It was one of those songs that came together quickly and easily.
Sonically, where does “Shut the Hell Up” sit within the larger direction of the upcoming album?
I’d say sonically it hits right on the money. I’m going for a real roots-rock sound with some modern components – looping is a part of my solo acoustic shows and l’ve incorporated some of that into the music.
I want to make a record that I would listen to, that makes me drive a little faster and drum on the steering wheel, makes me work out a little harder, makes me forget about the world for a bit and to discover something new on every listen.
With seven albums now under your belt, what still excites you most about creating and releasing new music at this stage of your career?
I find the whole thing profoundly satisfying. I love to be in the studio with awesome people who aren’t afraid to try things and get a little musically crazy.
I liken the difference between studio and live to painting. When you’re in the studio you can paint as much as you want, use as much color and different colors as you can fit on the canvas but you can also clean up the painting afterwards. Live, those paintings are on a conveyor belt and you do the best recreation you can, then it’s on to the next one. And live you can add a bit to the painting as well that you hadn’t thought of at the time of the initial
I love ’em both and I couldn’t do one and not the other.
As “Shut the Hell Up” kicks off this next era, what can fans expect from the upcoming album and the road ahead for Trevor Finlay?
More of the same! More music, more gigs, more videos – but no matter what I’m doing or where I’m doing it, there a will be smile on my face because I’m having a great time. And you’re more than welcome to join me.
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