Steve Kozak has performed his style of upbeat, foot-tapping blues for 30-some years throughout B.C.
He’s toured just about every blues festival in Western Canada, except the one in his own backyard.
Now, Kozak is finally getting his chance to play at the 15th annual Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival, and he’s kicking off the mid-August show on main stage.
“I’m really glad that they’ve invited a Burnaby boy to be part of it,” said Kozak with a chuckle. “I’ve been watching it since its inception and it’s one I’ve always wanted to do.
“In previous years, they had Burnaby Blues Week and they had bands playing at local pubs leading up to it – I got to do that for a few years, but to get to be on the main stage this year is a real thrill for me.”
The lifelong Burnaby resident was raised on blues, hearing classic tunes as well as blues-inspired rock ‘n’ roll that hooked him on the rhythmic style. It wasn’t look before he got his own guitar and started playing in high school.
“My mom and her friends listened to some blues stuff and I had some older cousins that did that kind of got me exposed to it early on,” he said. “That’s what I took a liking to and I started playing that music.”
Kozak’s first taste of the genre came from musicians like high-energy blues rocker Johnny Winter, English hard rock quartet Led Zeppelin and early material from Fleetwood Mac.
“I’d hear some of those songs that were on the more bluesy side and really liked that stuff,” he said. “Then I started to delve into it a bit more and discovered Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon – the guys that actually wrote those songs.”
In 1977, Kozak had the good fortune to meet Waters after a performance by the legendary blues man at the Old Roller Rink in North Vancouver, around the time Kozak started playing guitar.
“He said, ‘There’s not enough young guys playing blues anymore, so you keep at it. It’ll be hard, but just keep chipping away.’ I sort of made a promise to myself and to him at that time,” he recalled with a chuckle.
That promise has led to more than three decades onstage, several albums – live and in studio – and some national recognition for his music.
“In 2013, the Toronto Blues Society awarded me New Artist of the Year – it took me 30 years to become new again,” he said with a laugh. “But that was great, it was really an honour.”
But perhaps the biggest honour for Kozak is to share the stage in Burnaby alongside the likes of Toronto rock band Big Sugar, New Brunswick blues guitarist Matt Andersen, and American soul singer Bettye LaVette. He’s set to bring some of his prized guitars along to mark the occasion.
“I use a ’62 reissue Stratocaster – that one’s from 1984, so it’s one of the last of the Fullerton, California plant, U.S.-made ones,” he said. “And I’ve got a 1962 Gibson ES 330 that I play, I really like that guitar.
“I’ll probably bring the Strat to the festival just because of the big stage. The other one, it’s a great guitar, but it’s a hollow body and it’s a little more susceptible to the heat outside.”
Kozak credits the longevity of the Burnaby festival to the range of people young and old who come out to Deer Lake Park year after year.
“Generally, the blues crowd is more of a middle-aged crowd, but I think it appeals to a wide variety of people,” he said. “It would be nice to see more younger people getting into it, and that’s the great thing about a festival like this – it gives exposure to more people.”
The Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival is on Saturday, Aug. 9., with Kozak taking the stage shortly after 1 p.m.
For more information and tickets ($50 each, $65 the day of the show), visit burnabybluesfestival.com. To hear some of Kozak’s tunes, visit stevekozakmusic.com.
