The experiences we have in our formative years influence and mold our personalities as we get older. This can be anything from the type of books we read to our hobbies or even the music our parents introduced us to in the car on long road trips.

“I started playing music just as a hobby back when I was little, nothing more than a hobby, messing around with a guitar in my basement,” said Aidan Hough, a folk indie artist and graduate from Fanshawe’s Music Industry Arts (MIA) program.

Hough began his journey from a young age, when music was always present in his surrounding environment. His parents have various music interests that span across multiple genres, which he said helped shape his sound.

“My parents were very diverse. There was a lot of Green Day, and there was a lot of The Lumineers, which was a big one,” said Hough. “They were part of their fan club, so they got gifts in the mail every month and I got to hear some old demo tapes of some of their older stuff, so they were a big influence.”

As he got older, Hough started to take an interest in the fundamentals of the creative process and understand the various components that go into building a song. He dove deeper into the artists that piqued his interest to find answers, with one being British folk singer Ed Sheeran.

“As I grew older, I listened to a lot of Ed Sheeran and I think that his work with the loop pedal is phenomenal. It’s almost like a one-man show, which is freaking cool. Some of the stuff you can do with that, I want to one day be able to do with my stuff on my own,” said Hough.

He then looked into the likes of other artists like Billy Joel and The Beatles which gave him the same level of inspiration to pursue music as a career.

In all of his music, Hough draws from experiences from moments in his life that had a memorable impact. He cites feelings like nostalgia, a song of his which bears the same name, as one of the driving forces behind his creativity.

“A couple of weeks ago, I released my first song called ‘Nostalgia,’ which just came about from like a crappy day at work, and when I started walking home, I thought of the idea of working and how it sucks,” Hough said, laughing. “I liked it better when I was 10 and all I had to worry about was the next Pokémon episode coming out, so that’s what that song was about.”

As an artist, Hough likes to use music as an outlet to be a storyteller who leaves it up to the listener’s discretion to form their own perception and draw conclusions.

“It’s kind of neat though to sort of hear people listen to that song…and each person has a different take,” said Hough. “I’m proud of myself most as an artist and a writer, giving people stories that they almost write themselves, right? I just give them the book and they do the writing.”

Hough will open for Arrow Blackwood at the Aeolian Hall in downtown London on April 26. Tickets are now available for purchase.