Guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Wes Carroll is dedicated to reaching audiences with his original creations. His writing whisks jazz, hip-hop and singer-songwriter into a new kind of froth. He is inspired to write music about social justice themes, surveillance, mental health, climate change and, of course, he writes love songs, too.

Carroll is a seasoned performer, playing in six Victoria Jazz Festivals, freelancing in a variety of styles and holding down a regular trio gig at the Empress Hotel in Victoria from 2016 to 2019. In 2014, he earned a degree in jazz studies from Vancouver Island University and is currently enrolled in the University of Toronto’s master of jazz performance program.

With side-projects that include Wes Plays Wes (a tribute to Wes Montgomery) and the original hip-hop crew Grapefruit Is Impossible, it is clear that when it comes to genres, Carroll does not play favourites.

He has recorded two albums with collective projects: Off Pulse Quartet, Live in Holland (2014) and Grapefruit is Impossible’s Citrus Paradisi (2019). Furthermore, he has recorded two albums as band leader: Off Empire (2018), the Wes Carroll Confabulation’s debut album which peaked at No. 4 in EarShot’s jazz category for national campus and community radio plays; and Elephant in the Sea, the Confabulation’s newly released second album.