Kevin Warren is coming home.
The Mission musician, who now lives in Montreal, is travelling through Western Canada on a tour with Jacques Kuba Séguin’s Litania Projekt.
That tour stops in Mission on June 27. The group will perform in Fraser River Heritage Park beginning at 7 p.m.
Warren became involved with the tour because “Jacques is a great composer/arranger/trumpet player and friend of mine.”
They began working together in another one of his bands, called Oddlot, in 2006 while Warren was at McGill University.
He said the show will be a great mix of classical and eastern European-influenced jazz music.
Warren has always loved music. He went to school at Mission Central and then spent three years at Mission Secondary before transferring to the Langley Fine Arts School.
“That’s kind of what led me to playing more music,” said Warren.
Teachers there encouraged him to apply to McGill University and he has been in Montreal ever since.
As a child, Warren played piano as his mother had one at home. He began to teach himself how to play.
Before long, he made the move to drums.
“I was really into grunge music, heavier music, and that attracted me to the drums.”
He began to take drum lessons in Abbotsford with teacher Eran Vooys.
“He’s not too much older than me, but it was fun to be 12 years old and have a guy who was like 20ish come hang out and have fun playing drums.”
He says that “music kind of chose me, in a weird sort of way.”
After McGill University, his career began gradually.
He was working in restaurants and playing the odd gig now and then but then he decided to try being a musician full time.
“I just got to the point where I took a chance and quit everything I was doing and said I was going to dive off the deep end. The phone kept ringing and I kept getting gigs and it’s been like that ever since.”
He has had an opportunity to travel to many areas, including Australia on tours with different groups.
“Every gig leads to another gig. If you do it and people are happy, and you play good music, it always continues.”
The June 27 show in Mission is a by-donation event.
For more about Warren and his music, visit his website at kevinwarrendrums.com.