Barrhead-area musician overcomes mental health struggles with music

Justin Wiesinger said the past two years dealing with the pandemic have been difficult for everyone, and he hopes it will somehow ease the minds of those who listen to songs from his latest album, Wonderlove.

Wiesinger will debut the album for the first time in its entirety at a concert on June 28 at the Roxy Theater in Barrhead. The show starts at 7 pm Tickets are $16 and can be purchased in advance at www.zez.am/justinwiesinger.

“I think (the album) is really timely for people to be able to hear these songs,” he said. “They’re all cheesy, funny, romantic. It’s a soundtrack for people who’ve had a rough couple of years and need a break and a breath of fresh air.”

Wiesinger, who grew up in St. Albert, said music has always been a part of his life, noting that his mother enrolled him in music lessons starting with the piano since he was two years old.

“I played in church bands through middle school and high school. After high school, I started a pop/punk band (Farewell Apollo),” she said.

And although Wiesinger said the band had some success, playing 30 to 40 shows in about a year and a half, the band disbanded and the members left to pursue other careers.

Wiesinger did the same, taking time off to further his education, receiving his design studies certification in graphic design from MacEwan University and a diploma from NAIT in digital cinema, cinematography, and video production.

While continuing his education, Wiesinger did not give up on his musical aspirations and was still working on his solo musical endeavors.

However, he said that he put aside his solo music career when he met Paul Woida.

“I thought I should take a break from what I was doing and help (Woida) make some videos,” Wiesinger said.

Woida is a contemporary Christian performer and songwriter, but at the time, Wiesinger noticed that he was making a lot of covers and posting them on YouTube.

“I thought if I could help him on his journey, he would come back to me and help me move forward,” he said.

Which happened, but not in the way Wiesinger initially expected. He noted that other Alberta musicians saw the work he was doing for Woida and began reaching out to him to help them with his video work. Before long, due to the volume of requests he was receiving, Wiesinger decided to start his own video production company.

A few years later, Wiesinger also became media director for New Hope Church in Edmonton.

Wiesinger also credits music with helping him through a particularly difficult period in his life.

In his early 20s, for about three or four years, Wiesinger had some mental health issues to the point that it was a major contributing factor in a car accident in which he was seriously injured. He added that for about three or four years, he was hospitalized multiple times due to his mental health problems.

“Music, through songwriting, was a way for me to write down my thoughts and feelings,” Wiesinger said.

He also used his time away from his musical aspirations to write a novel, The Childlike Heist, in which he recounts his younger journey navigating life in a “crazy, messy world of adults.”

But Wiesinger decided to give his solo music career another shot about two years ago.

“COVID made me reevaluate what I was doing,” he said. “He was succeeding in things that didn’t matter to me.”

Wiesinger added that to mentally recharge from his video work, which was in increasing demand during the pandemic, he started jamming with his friend Josh Sahunta, another Edmonton musician and music producer.

“My writing started to pick up and I was getting a lot of inspiration,” he said. “I knew I had to get back in the studio and start recording them.”

Wiesinger said that although he is primarily a solo artist, during the creation of Wonderlove he collaborated with other artists, including Jessa Sky and Bethany Anne, as well as his wife Chelsey, who will also perform with him at the Barrhead concert.

As for what people can expect to hear at the concert on June 28, Wiesinger described their music as pop/rock.

“It has that throwback ’80s feel to it, but it has that kind of modern pop sound,” he said. “It’s a wholesome pop music show that parents don’t have to worry about bringing their kids to.”

It’s also the first time people will have a chance to hear Wonderlove, in its entirety. Wiesinger noted that she has released some of the music on streaming services such as Spotify.

Interwoven between the songs on the album will be songs from Wiesinger’s previous work, including some songs we wrote while he was the music director at Camp Nakamun along with some stories about his mental health journey.

He noted that he is also working on a mental health-themed album called Stuck in Your Head.

Currently, he has about four singles ready for the future album.

“I want the songs to stick in their heads, but I want people who struggle with harmful thoughts and bad self-talk to have some hope and peace.”