Nick Gauthier

Nick Gauthier grew up in a musical home in North Rustico, PE. Music was never pushed on him, but he was surrounded by it and at the age of five he began to show an interest in the guitars that were laying around the house. His interest was met with encouragement.  

Interestingly, his first real musical adventure was on the drums. In elementary school, Nick played drums in the school band. He carried this into junior high school and formed his first band. Around this time, he could sometimes be found playing drums in his Dad’s band at the Legion.  

By the time he reached high school, he was starting to take more of an interest in guitar and his career as a drummer started to fade away. He bought a really nice Fender Stratocaster and started to dig in. His most prominent group at this point was called Uprising. 

Gauthier became at regular at Dave Hayden’s Tuesday Night Jams in Rustico and really learned a lot about playing and jamming with others. His guitar skills really started to develop and after high school, he moved to Charlottetown and began playing in Danny Gallant’s band, Big Tilda. He also formed a band with Tian Wigmore, Remi Arsenault, and Richard Knox called The Truth.   

In 2008, he moved to Halifax and for the next three years he toured the country with a band called Faded Blue. In 2011, he returned to PEI for a brief time before he moved to Ottawa, Ontario. 

It took a few months to find his path in Ottawa, but after meeting some of the local artists and musicians, he quickly integrated into the music scene. He spent eleven years in Ottawa, and during that time he played and toured with Lynne Hanson and Amanda Rheaume. 

When he wasn’t busy touring, you could always find him hustling on the pub circuit. He played four or five nights a week for eight years. 

Late into his time in Ottawa, Gauthier formed an original band with ex-Charlottetown resident, Chas Guay. It was very creatively fulfilling, and he truly cherished his time in Drifting Bird, but in 2021, with the pandemic in full swing, he retreated to PEI. 

Since returning home, Nick has become one of the busiest musicians in the PEI music scene. He has kept busy playing with Andrew Waite, Catherine MacLellan, Brad Milligan, Joce Reyome, Gordie MacKeeman and His Rhythm Boys, Craig Fair Productions, and The Love Junkies. 

Last year he was asked to play with Matt Andersen’s Big Bottle of Joy and he’s looking forward to some more dates with that project in summer 2025. Recently, Nick flew to The Netherlands with The Big Bottle of Joy for just long enough to play the Holland International Blues Festival, as direct support for Buddy Guy, and then he flew home. He’s a very talented and dedicated musician with an incredible work ethic. 

If you’d like to catch Nick in action, he’s got a weekly gig at Slaymaker and Nichols in Charlottetown every Friday and Sunday from 2–5 pm.