He has travelled the world, played in hundreds of venues, recorded two CD’s — he’s just released a third— and hob-knobbed with some pretty big names in the music industry. Blues-rock guitarist Jimmy Bowskill is only 16. Indeed, the musician, singer, songwriter has impressed the best of the best. Colin James calls him “the best natural singer I’ve ever heard.” On tour with his band at the age of 14, Bowskill got rave reviews for his guitar technique and strong vocals at Ukraine’s Koktebel Jazz and Blues Festival. “For my show I do a little bit of everything and cover all the genres. Right now, I’m still rooted in the blues-rock genre but that could change with time. My latest album is a rock album,” he said. Bowskill was “discovered” at age 11, playing his guitar on the street outside Jeff Healey’s Club in Toronto. He remembers that day well. “I was busking outside and Jeff invited me on stage to play. It was just awesome. Since then I’ve been all over the world, I’ve played Europe, Ukraine, France, Japan, Mexico, all over. I have this favourite place in Puerto Escondido, Mexico, a little surf town, that I love to play in. I’m going back there again this year.” Even though he has a white-hot career going for himself right now, Bowskill is keeping up with his Grade 11 school studies. “My teachers help me out. They give me work to do on the road,” he said. “They’re very supportive and give me a break on my assignments so I can catch up later. Really, they’ve been just great.” Jimmy has actually kept an 82% average, putting him on the honor roll, while recording and touring his latest album. After he performed on stage with Healey, the music world opened up to him. Recording his first CD was an effort supported by the Toronto blues community. Since then, he’s opened for and shared the stage with Dickey Betts, Garth Hudson, ZZ Top, Deep Purple and The Sam Roberts Band. In 2005, he received a Juno nomination for Best Blues Album of the Year and a Canadian Indie Award for Favourite Blues Artist. His third, self-titled album has 11 tracks on it with the first single, Diamond Ring rising on the Canadian Rock Radio Charts! Reviews: One of the most spectacular performances (at Ukraine’s Koktebel Jazz & Blues Festival) was by the 14-year-old Canadian boy wonder Jimmy Bowskill and his band. The opening chords showed that the boy is not simply a wunderkind but an exceptionally brilliant phenomenon in the world of Blues and Rock. His incredible guitar technique and his strong free-flowing vocal skills, along with his volcanic temperament, blew the audience away. -The Koktebel Resistance, UKRAINE You did your country proud!!! – Rene Leblanc, Canadian Pavilion, World Exposition, JAPAN "Jimmy Bowskill was on the right side of the stage and Healey was in the middle. It was kind of like seeing Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe getting to play on the same line at once" - The Night Scrawler, The Toronto Sun “This boy has everything it takes. Oh Lord, no kidding, the voice he’s got and the way he plays, he’s already there. I’ve never seen a kid like this sing like this before. That’s the truth!” – Hubert Sumlin “Jimmy and his band are a powerfully cohesive unit that would be a tough act to follow on any festival stage and one that would have them swinging from the rafters in any blues club down south” – Al Kirkaldy, The Peterborough Examiner