Guitarist / singer-songwriter Justin Saladino was born and raised in Montréal. Early on, he began taking guitar lessons from his uncle and by age 9 was starting bands, playing tunes by artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Led Zeppelin. At 11 years of age, Terry DiMonte of C.H.O.M. FM invited Justin to perform live on air, where a solo-instrumental version of Jimi Hendrix’s Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) made waves.
Later, with two cousins, Justin formed the band Runaway Slide. The group had a successful run performing at major blues festivals in Québec & Ontario, also, opening for Frank Marino in Omaha, Nebraska at the Playing with Fire festival. In 2008 they received the award for “Upcoming Band of the Year” at the 5th edition of the Quebec Blues Awards.
After leaving Runaway Slide he ventured on his own with the Justin Saladino Band. Some of the highlights that followed were a summer of festivals that included a hometown appearance alongside Paul Deslauriers and Jack de Keyzer’s “Guitar Explosion” at the Montreal International Jazz Festival and the Orillia Blues & Jazz Festival, Farnham Blues Festival, Trois-Rivières en Blues & Victoriaville Blues Festival. Throughout the years, Justin has had the honour of sharing the stage with artists such as Victor Wainwright, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Steve Strongman, Frank Marino, and many others. In 2012, he returned to the Jazz Fest stage debuting the Justin Saladino Band’s debut EP: “Sometimes Called the Blues.”
In 2016, the Justin Saladino Band launched an all-original EP “No Worries.” With members A.J. Aboud (Drums), Gabriel Forget (Bass), and Felix Blackburn (Guitar), the band brought their widely influenced funk/blues sound around Quebec and Ontario, performing at: the Montreal International Jazz Festival, Tremblant International Blues Festival, Rogers Cup, Trois-Rivière en Blues, and Limestone Blues Festival in 2016.
