Musical Bio

Todd Phillips is a Canadian singer/songwriter and song publisher whose work blends blues roots, folk storytelling, and the honest reflections of a writer who spent decades studying people before turning his lens inward. After a 30-year career as an award-winning journalist, editor, and marketing copywriter, Phillips shifted his creative focus to songwriting—discovering that capturing emotion in melody and verse was his most demanding craft yet.

Phillips’ musical path began more than a decade ago as the guitarist for the Wannamaker Band, a rough-edged original-music group playing the southern Ontario bar circuit. Most recently, in 2023–2024, he played guitar with Sugar Ranch, a band known for its dynamic blend of covers and a handful of originals. Today, Phillips performs primarily as a solo singer/songwriter, bringing more than 60 original songs to open stages, listening rooms, and community venues throughout the Durham and Kawartha regions.

As a publisher songwriter and collaborator, Phillips has worked closely with Juno-nominated artist Glenn Marais, earning two songwriting credits on Marais’ latest release, JOOK: The Story of the Blues. He is also a co-writer of JOOK, Glenn Marais’ award-winning musical, which received the 2023 Tom Hendry Award from the Playwrights Guild of Canada—one of the nation’s highest honours for new theatrical writing.

A father of five, Phillips writes from a place of depth and lived experience. His songs explore resilience, mental health, fatherhood, aging, heartbreak, and the quiet humour in everyday life. Drawing influence from Delta blues, Pink Floyd, Neil Young, and modern folk storytellers, his music balances grit, atmosphere, and emotional honesty.

Continuing to write for himself and for other artists, Phillips remains dedicated to crafting songs that resonate—songs shaped by empathy, truth, and the belief that music connects us in ways nothing else can.