Photographs by Jaimie Milburn
Tyler Hilton genuinely loves Toronto. There’s no insincerity or gimmick in this statement, or any of the statements that he makes about the city, it’s all the truth. It’s no surprise then that Hilton was warmly welcomed back to Toronto at the Hard Luck Bar on Wednesday night, only a few months since he was last in the city during a nostalgic-driven tour with Teddy Geiger and Ryan Cabrera (really!), and for the third/fourth time in as few as twelve months.
“This is like a basement jam session!” exclaimed Hilton shortly into his hour-long acoustic set. The audience composed primarily of females (“primarily” meaning 95%), clung to every word and note singing along or playfully interacting with the musician in between songs. Having had a musical career spanning nearly ten years, Hilton was quick to include fan requests from his varied songbook easily switching gears from California pop tunes to bluesy narratives to Nashville-inspired anthems.
The interesting thing about Hilton is that he is arguably known better as a character he played in the mid-2000s – Chris Keller from One Tree Hill. At the request of a fan Hilton included one of his character’s best known tracks from the show, “Stars Go Blue”, which the crowd ate up. The thing is though, these fans weren’t just here to see Chris Keller, they’re pretty big fans of the real Tyler Hilton too. No one missed a beat when Hilton played songs from his 2012 release Forget The Storm including “Prince of Nothing Charming” and the rousing “Loaded Gun”.
In the end, everything Hilton does on stage is stripped down and humble. He is a charismatic and charming gentleman with the musical chops to prove it time and time again. While a teen-driven teen show gives him a step up, he’s got longevity on his side. Hopefully Toronto and his devoted female fans continue to love him as much as he loves them.
Thanks to Collective Concerts for media access.
