{{Short description|Canadian singer-songwriter}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}} {{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians --> | name = Luke Doucet | image = Luke Doucet 2015.jpg | caption = Doucet performing in 2015. | background = solo_singer | landscape = | birth_name = | alias = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1973|06|09}} | birth_place = Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada | origin = Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | death_date = | spouse = {{marriage|Melissa McClelland|2006}} | instrument = Vocals, guitar, piano, drums | genre = Indie rock, folk rock, alternative country | occupation = Musician, songwriter, producer | years_active = 2001–present | label = Six Shooter | associated_acts = Acoustically Inclined, Melissa McClelland, Veal, Whitehorse | website = {{URL|https://www.whitehorsemusic.ca/}} }}
'''Luke Doucet''' (born June 9, 1973) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He has written and performed as a solo artist and as a member of the indie rock band Veal and the folk rock band Whitehorse.
In 2006 and 2011, Doucet was nominated for Juno Awards in the Adult Alternative Album of the Year category for his albums, ''Broken (And Other Rogue States)'' and ''Steel City Trawler''.
==Early life== Doucet was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and raised in Manitoba. His parents divorced when he was young. When he was 11 years old, Doucet travelled solo from Winnipeg to Nova Scotia and at 13, he took a Greyhound bus from Winnipeg to Vancouver, British Columbia.<ref name=volmers>[https://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/music/string-theory-guitarist-luke-doucet-to-explore-and-experiment-at-national-music-centre-residency "String theory: Guitarist Luke Doucet to explore and experiment at National Music Centre residency"]. Eric Volmers, ''Calgary Herald'' January 6, 2017</ref>
Doucet had planned to become a lawyer before deciding to focus on guitar. He got his first guitar later that same year,<ref name="MasonStewart" /> and played in a blues band with his dad when he was 15.<ref>Havranek, Carrie [http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2006/06/4-to-watch-luke-doucet.html "4 to Watch: Luke Doucet"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303171605/http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2006/06/4-to-watch-luke-doucet.html |date=March 3, 2016 }}. June 1, 2006</ref> He played in bands throughout high school.
==Career== Doucet joined the folk music group Acoustically Inclined shortly after the band from Winnipeg released its 1991 album ''Are You Inclined?''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-bialas/whitehorse-power-couple-l_b_2469784.html|title=Whitehorse-Power Couple: Luke Doucet, Melissa McClelland Will Steal Your Heart|last=Bialas|first=Michael|date=January 14, 2013|website=Huffington Post|language=en-US|access-date=May 3, 2018}}</ref> He moved to Vancouver at 19 and joined Sarah McLachlan's band.<ref name=volmers />
===Veal=== In 1994, Doucet became the front man for Vancouver rock band Veal.<ref name="MasonStewart">Mason, Stewart . [http://www.allmusic.com/artist/luke-doucet-mn0000264727/biography "Luke Doucet Biography"]. ''AllMusic''.</ref> Along with Doucet, Veal consisted of bassist Nik Kozub and drummer Chang. Howard Redekopp and Barry Mirochnick had also played bass in the band. Veal released three albums, ''Hot Loser'' in 1996, ''Tilt O'Whirl'' in 1999 and ''The Embattled Hearts'' in 2003.<ref>Carruthers, Sean. "[http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-embattled-hearts-r651884/review The Embattled Hearts]", Allmusic. Retrieved March 31, 2012.</ref> In 1999, Doucet signed with music promoter Shauna de Cartier, who shortly after formed Six Shooter Records.<ref>[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/how-to-be-a-force-in-the-canadian-music-scene-the-story-of-little-six-shooter-records/article7234032/ "How to be a force in the Canadian music scene: The story of little Six Shooter Records"]. Brad Wheeler, ''The Globe and Mail'', January 13, 2013</ref> The band is now defunct.
===Solo career=== In 2001, Doucet released his first album, ''Aloha, Manitoba''.<ref>Wagner, Vit. [https://www.proquest.com/docview/438286089 "A return to rootsy roots; B.C.-based Luke Doucet in town for four gigs"]. ''Toronto Star'' – Toronto, Ont. May 31, 2001, Page: J.05</ref> The album consists of songs written for Veal that his band-mates felt were "too soft".<ref name="MasonStewart" />
A departure from his work with Veal, ''Aloha, Manitoba'' has a mellower, more folk-influenced sound. Bazil Donovan, Barry Mirochnick, Lloyd Peterson, Christine Fellows, Sky Onosson, and Gilles Fournier performed on the record.<ref>''Aloha, Manitoba'' liner notes</ref> ''Aloha, Manitoba'' was the first official release for Toronto record label, Six Shooter Records, with a catalogue number of SIX01. Doucet is still with the label, and has released all of his solo albums with Six Shooter.
In 2004, Doucet released ''Outlaws: Live and Unreleased'', a collection of mostly live songs and two unreleased studio recordings. Most of the album was recorded in February 2004 at the Rivoli in Toronto, Ontario.<ref>[http://thevarsity.ca/2004/01/26/luke-goes-live/ "Luke goes live"]. ''The Varsity'', January 26, 2004. By Lukas Kus</ref> In 2005, Doucet released his sophomore studio album, ''Broken (And Other Rogue States)''. A break-up album, ''Broken'' focused on the heartbreak of a failed relationship. ''Broken'' was nominated in 2006 for a Juno Award in the Adult Alternative Album of the Year category. The ''Fokestar EP'' was released as a digital-only EP in 2006. It contains five songs, two of which ("Long Haul Driver" and "Bombs Away") are early versions of songs that would be re-recorded for Doucet's next album, ''Blood's Too Rich''. thumb|Doucet performing at the 2007 NXNE festival In 2007, Doucet moved to Nashville where he wrote ''Blood's Too Rich''.<ref>Devlin, Mike [http://canada.com.dose.ca/topics/entertainment/story.html?id=eca1a80c-8159-45ea-af74-c40776190cc1 "Luke Doucet delves deep on new album"]{{dead link|date=December 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. January 11, 2008</ref> Despite being excited about living in such a musical city, Doucet was homesick and "longed to be back in Canada".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.straight.com/article-126911/luke-doucet-at-home-on-the-highway |title=Luke Doucet at home on the highway | Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly |publisher=Straight.com |date=January 2, 2008 |accessdate=April 3, 2015}}</ref> Six Shooter released ''Blood's Too Rich'' on January 8, 2008, in Canada, and on June 24, 2008, in the United States. While Doucet's earlier albums are simply billed as ‘by Luke Doucet', ''Blood's Too Rich'' is credited to both Luke Doucet and The White Falcon. Doucet wanted to express how important the band had been to his creative process. He worked with them so closely and for so long that they became much more than just hired musicians.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ash |first=Amanda |url=http://www.exclaim.ca/musicreviews/generalreview.aspx?csid1=118&csid2=852&fid1=29555 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120804174138/http://www.exclaim.ca/musicreviews/generalreview.aspx?csid1=118&csid2=852&fid1=29555 |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 4, 2012 |title=Luke Doucet & the White Falcon Blood's Too Rich |publisher=Exclaim.ca |date=January 28, 2008 |accessdate=April 3, 2015 }}</ref> The name ''The White Falcon'' refers to Doucet's reissue Gretsch White Falcon guitar.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/comment/columnists/article/357032 |title=Rock is in Doucet's blood | Toronto Star |work=Thestar.com |date=March 27, 2008 |accessdate=April 3, 2015}}</ref>
In promotion of ''Blood's Too Rich'', Doucet toured across Canada and the United States with Blue Rodeo, toured Europe twice with Oh Susanna and Melissa McClelland, and toured across Canada supporting James Blunt. In February 2009, Doucet headlined a Canadian tour with opener Amelia Curran.
''Blood's Too Rich'' was listed on "best of 2008" lists, including a mention from the Independent (UK),<ref>{{Cite news | last = Coleman | first = Nick | author-link = | author2-link = | title = The best Rock, folk & jazz albums of 2008 | newspaper = The Independent | pages = | date = December 28, 2008 | url =https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/nick-coleman-the-best-rock-folk--jazz-albums-of-2008-1213417.html | location=London}}</ref> and a spot on Nick Hornby's 2008 top 10 favourite songs (for ''Cleveland'') in the ''New York Times''.<ref>{{cite news | last = Hornby | first = Nick | authorlink = | title = Living With Music: A Playlist by Nick Hornby | newspaper = The New York Times | publisher = | date = October 29, 2008 | url = http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/living-with-music-a-playlist-by-nick-hornby/ | doi = | accessdate = November 30, 2009}}</ref>
Doucet also got the number one spot on a Toronto Star list of "unforgettable recordings, performances, and moments in 2008"<ref>{{Cite news | last = Quill | first = Greg | author-link = | author2-link = | title = A year of many highs and a few lows | newspaper = The Toronto Star | pages = | date = December 28, 2008 | url = https://www.thestar.com/article/558685 }}</ref> and ''Blood's Too Rich'' won the 2008 Canadian Folk Music Award for "Contemporary Album of the Year".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090129100725/http://canadianfolkmusicawards.ca/awards-night/winners-2008/ "Winners"] Canadian Folk Music Awards website</ref>
In 2010, Doucet released his album ''Steel City Trawler'', also credited to Luke Doucet and the White Falcon. The album was produced by Andrew Sloan.<ref>[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/with-new-cd-luke-doucet-is-off-and-running/article1378799/ With new CD, Luke Doucet is off and running"]. Brad Wheeler. ''The Globe and Mail'', September 1, 2010</ref> The album appeared on the !Earshot National Top 50 Chart.<ref>[http://www.earshot-online.com/charts/index.cfm?intChartTypeID=101&dWeekOfID=2010-10-26 "The National Top 50 For the Week Ending: Tuesday, October 26, 2010"]. ''!Earshot''.</ref> A small comic book by David Collier is included with the album.<ref>[http://www.metronews.ca/news/2010/09/03/luke-doucet-pens-a-tribute-to-ontarios-steel-city.html "Luke Doucet pens a tribute to Ontario's steel city"]. ''Metro News'', Graham Rockingham Metro Canada Published on Fri September 3, 2010</ref>
===Production work=== Doucet has produced all of his solo records and has worked with several other artists as a producer. His production credits include Melissa McClelland's albums ''Stranded in Suburbia'' (2004), ''Thumbelina's One Night Stand'' (2006), and ''Victoria Day'' (2009); three albums by NQ Arbuckle, including ''Hanging the Battle-Scarred Pinata'' (2002),<ref>Wagner, Vit. [https://www.proquest.com/docview/438765587 "Luke Doucet pulls some strings; Quartet joins singer tomorrow First- ever show in a church"]. ''Toronto Star'' – Toronto, Ont. January 13, 2005, page G.03</ref> ''The Last Supper in a Cheap Town'' (2005), and ''XOK'' (2008); ''Hoserista'' (2000) by Captain Tractor; Rose Cousins' 2009 album ''The Send Off''; and Tanya Coghlin's ''Astral Is Annie''. Doucet also co-produced the first two albums by his band Veal, ''Hot Loser'' (1996) and ''Tilt O'Whirl'' (1999).
===Session and touring work for other artists=== Doucet has appeared as a guest musician on albums by Sarah McLachlan, Chantal Kreviazuk, Oh Susanna,<ref>Wagner, Vit. [https://www.proquest.com/docview/438656596 "Oh Susanna brings out the band; Vancouver native turns to rock New album adds audible punch"]. ''Toronto Star'' – Toronto, Ont. December 11, 2003, page: G.02</ref><ref>[https://www.proquest.com/docview/438237838 "Singer creates spare, haunting sounds"]. Pop Reviews ''Toronto Star'' – Toronto, Ont. January 13, 2001, Page: 13</ref> Veda Hille, Melissa McClelland, Delerium, John Bottomley, Maren Ord, Captain Tractor, Mae Moore, Major Maker, and Lindy Vopnfjörd. Doucet recorded with Bryan Adams and Kathleen Edwards on a song produced by Colin Cripps in 2009 that had a limited release. He also toured the United States and Europe with Blue Rodeo in 2011, replacing Greg Keelor when he was ill. In 2026, Doucet filled in for Adams' guitarist Keith Scott while Scott recovered from surgery.
==Personal life== Luke Doucet married Melissa McClelland on June 24, 2006. The couple announced their marriage on the CBC program ''Sounds Like Canada'' on June 23. McClelland and Doucet have since put their respective solo careers on hold, and now record and perform as the musical duo Whitehorse.<ref name=exclaim>[http://exclaim.ca/News/luke_doucet_melissa_mcclelland_find_their_sound_as_whitehorse Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland Find Their Sound as Whitehorse] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008051623/http://exclaim.ca/News/luke_doucet_melissa_mcclelland_find_their_sound_as_whitehorse |date=October 8, 2012 }}. ''Exclaim!'', August 29, 2011.</ref><ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-bialas/whitehorse-power-couple-l_b_2469784.html "Whitehorse-Power Couple: Luke Doucet, Melissa McClelland Will Steal Your Heart"]. ''Huffington Post'', By Michael Bialas January 14, 2013</ref>
Doucet has one daughter, Chloe, who is also a musician; she has performed with Doucet on albums and in live performances.
==Discography== ===Studio albums=== * ''Aloha, Manitoba'' (Six Shooter Records, 2001) * ''Broken (And Other Rogue States)'' (Six Shooter Records, 2005) * ''Blood's Too Rich'' (Six Shooter Records, 2008) * ''Steel City Trawler'' (Six Shooter Records, 2010)
===Veal=== * ''Hot Loser'' (Divine Industries, 1996) * ''Tilt O'Whirl'' (Released on Square Dog Records, 1999 and re-released by Six Shooter Records, 2000) * ''The Embattled Hearts'' (Six Shooter Records, 2003)
===Whitehorse=== * ''Whitehorse'' (Six Shooter Records, 2011) * ''The Fate of the World Depends on This Kiss'' (Six Shooter Records, 2012) * ''Leave No Bridge Unburned'' (Six Shooter Records, 2015) * ''Panther in the Dollhouse'' (Six Shooter Records, 2017)
==References== {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
==External links== <!-- please, no fansites. we have a Google directory link. see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:EL -->
* {{IMDb name|0239762}}
{{Luke Doucet}} {{Whitehorse}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doucet, Luke}} Category:1973 births Category:Living people Category:Canadian indie rock musicians Category:Canadian record producers Category:Canadian rock guitarists Category:Canadian male guitarists Category:Canadian rock singers Category:Canadian people of Acadian descent Category:Musicians from Halifax, Nova Scotia Category:Singers from Vancouver Category:Six Shooter Records artists Category:Canadian Folk Music Award winners Category:20th-century Canadian guitarists Category:20th-century Canadian male singers Category:21st-century Canadian guitarists Category:21st-century Canadian male singers Category:Canadian male singer-songwriters Category:20th-century Canadian singer-songwriters Category:21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters Category:Singers from Nova Scotia