Canadian recording artist brings Rock to Heroes Walk and Roll

Chris Strei will be performing live, Saturday October 5, at the Lansdowne Heroes Walk and Roll in Brant Park.

In 2023, Chris Strei donated this custom made guitar as a raffle prize at the Heroes Walk and Roll.

Brantford, ON - Identified with the sounds and heart of great country, blues and folk music, Brantford-born Chris Strei has opened for Canadian rock band The Trews, finished Top 25 in Canada's Premiere Singing Competition 'THE SHOT', and has had his music compared to the likes Chris Stapleton, Tom Petty, Doc Walker, and the Tragically Hip.

Drawing from personal experience, Chris creates lyrics that share relatable stories, often from a reflective point of view weighing the experiences of adversity. In March 2022, he released a single, "Annabella," a reflective tribute and vow to his late daughter.

“She was born March 14, 2020,” he said. “We found out just before Christmas 2019 that there were abnormalities in the ultrasound.”

He said the diagnosis was hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a birth defect that affects normal blood flow through the heart, and a condition called trisomy 18, or Edwards syndrome, which resulted in cysts on her brain.

Click the image to watch Chris Strei perform "Annabella" in Tailgate Talent Show

“We got two days with her,” Chris shared of the brief time the couple had with their daughter at McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton.

The song tells the story of the family's experience expecting, meeting, saying farewell to Annabella, and leaving the hospital as the first COVID lockdown began. The song concludes with a reflection from Strei about getting sober and moving forward.

Chris has previously played at the Lansdowne Charity Motorcycle Ride event, and in 2023 donated a custom built guitar that was raffled off to raise funds for Lansdowne Children's Centre Foundation.

@ImChrisStrei shares,

"I'm so excited to support Lansdowne Children's Centre Foundation whenever I have the opportunity. Annabella would have greatly benefited from their work in our community. It would be great for my friends and family to get involved with this year's Heroes Walk & Roll. To lead the way of support, I'm donating a 3 hour performance to this year's event."

Thank you Chris!!! 💚