Q&A: "We're Indigenous and we're country:" Meet sibling duo Brothers Wilde

"I couldn't imagine doing this on my own," says Nolan Wilde, lead singer of Brothers Wilde. For the last five years, he's been performing with his brother, guitarist Ethan Wilde, with an April show at Toronto's legendary Horseshoe Tavern.

The siblings from Kettle and Stony Point First Nation, northeast of Sarnia, Ont., are performing at Revelree Music Festival in Sarnia on Saturday. The lineup that includes The Arkells, Lights and Glorious Sons.

Afternoon Drive's Allison Devereaux spoke with Brothers Wilde ahead of the show.

The following has been edited for length and clarity. 

Allison Devereaux: Nolan, this story starts with you, as lead singer. When did you realize you have a gift?

Nolan Wilde: I realized it was more of a passion than a gift early on, about the age of 10 to 12, singing in the car with my aunts as we go for car rides. Just getting small comments from my family members saying, "Oh, you have a nice voice."

AD: Did you wonder at times if maybe they were just trying to be encouraging out of the goodness of their hearts?

NW: Even today I still think, from my family, they're just being kind out of the kindness of their own heart sometimes. (laughing)

But in high school (Sarnia Collegiate Institute and Technical School), that was singing in front of people who had no background on who I was. It wasn't family members, it wasn't friends. It was just to the public.

20 and 24-year-old Ethan and Nolan Wilde performed at Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto in April. (Meghan Bond Photography)

The high school put on a performance called The Review, it was singing Head Over Boots by John Pardi. It was a very stripped-down song, just me and an acoustic guitar. It was really quiet and I was nervous. I was definitely shaking in my boots.

But as soon as the song ended and I sang the last line, just this uproar of about 300 people. I felt this sense of belonging that I'd never felt before.

AD: Ethan, Nolan is your older brother, and you were actually in the crowd that day?

Ethan Wilde: I was in the crowd for sure. And I get what he says, that roar. There was a real roar and I wanted to be a part of that. I just looked around, at 300 people, just looking at my older brother and I'm like, "Man, that's so cool. I want to do that with him." And I learned how to play guitar.

AD: What are the stories you tell in your songs?

NW: The most common theme in our songs is having a good time. Having a positive outlook even when things seem negative. Our song, Good Day, touches on those experiences and looking at the better things. Our songs are just about nothing but positive vibes, with a few heartbreak songs in there, of course. (laughing)

EW: Roots was the first song we've written. We both wrote it together. It's just about paying homage to where we come from, which is Kettle & Stony Points. That's our reserve that we're from. We're not afraid to show that we're country guys, too. We're Indigenous, and we're country. That's our roots. We're putting them in the ground for people to see. It's just paying homage to who we are, where we come from, and just letting people know, as an introduction. That's why we released that as our first song.

AD: Ethan, would you say you have a sibling rivalry at all?

EW: A sibling rivalry? Yeah, definitely ever since growing up. We've always been into wrestling as young kids, like WWE and we'd have no one to wrestle with so we'd wrestle with each other. Basketball. I pretty much did everything Nolan did, growing up. I would get pretty good at those things, too, so there were some rivalries. But it's all love in the music game here.

AD: Nolan, what do you think being brothers brings to what you're creating?

NW: I think first and foremost it brings a sense of trust. Music is music, but at the end of the day, it is a business, too. I couldn't imagine doing this on my own or with someone who I didn't have that relationship with. We know what each other is thinking, we can read each other's vibe.

Ethan and Nolan Wilde (Meghan Bond Photography)

AD: You're 20 and 24 right now. What is the dream? Where are you hoping to take this?

EW: We just want to continue doing this as long as we can. Playing shows all over the world, touring, opening for being names and possibly being that big name. We want to do it all.

NW: If I was to add anything, to be on a platform that helps inspire young, Indigenous youth who want to write songs, they have songs but are too afraid to get it out there. We want to be someone that people look at and say, "Well, if they can do it, maybe I can do it, too."

Brothers Wilde are performing at Revelree Music Festival in Sarnia on Saturday, July 22nd. 

They're on the Grand Bend beach stage on Sunday, July 23 at 7pm, supporting Celtic rock band Mudmen.