STARFest presents Tom Wilson

Discover why Tom Wilson felt like he was in a mystery novel from a young age, with refusals from his parents to answer his questions, and teasing from friends about “looking Indian”. In his book Beautiful Scars, Wilson explains how it took five decades for him to understand who he was.

A visual artist and a veteran of the Canadian music scene, Tom Wilson has been a writer and performer for many years with bands that include Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Junkhouse, and Lee Harvey Osmond.

Wilson was raised in the company of World War II vets, factory workers, and the deeply guarded secrets kept by his parents. At the age of 53 he discovered that his parents were not really his parents—that he was actually 75 per cent Mohawk. By that time, he had built an international music career, become a father, and battled demons and addiction.

With a rare gift for storytelling and an astonishing story to tell, Wilson’s book Beautiful Scars: Steeltown Secrets, Mohawk Skywalkers and The Road Home, presents unflinching honesty and extraordinary compassion about his search for the truth. In this incredible story about family and identity, carefully guarded secrets and profound acts of forgiveness, Wilson writes about growing up as an outsider in two families—the family he lost, and the family who took him in. It’s a story about scars—the ones that hurt us, and the ones that make us who we are.
 

Host Barry Bailey has years of experience in the entertainment industry and is the producer of St. Albert’s Seven Music Fest and the owner of Bailey Books.

This event takes place at the Arden Theatre and includes musical performances by Tom Wilson.

Tickets $15 available from the Library's Customer Service Desk or by calling 780-459-1530. Tickets on sale July 9.

  Get all the details at www.STARFest.ca