Pavlo

Pavlo Simtikidis, who records under the name Pavlo, is a Toronto-born guitarist with Greek heritage whose style merges flamenco, Latin pop, jazz, and Mediterranean folk traditions. He entered the world in 1969 into a household of Greek immigrants and took up the guitar near the age of ten. His first release, a self-titled album issued in 1998, attained gold certification. The 2001 follow-up Fantasia proved equally successful and brought a Juno Award nomination in the Best Instrumental Album category. Additional well-received recordings arrived in the form of 2002’s I Feel Love Again, 2006’s Irresistible, and 2008’s Mediterranean Nights.

In 2009 he joined forces with Rik Emmett of Triumph and guitarist Oscar Lopez on the album Trifecta, which earned him a second Juno nomination for Instrumental Album of the Year. Six String Blvd appeared two years afterward, while 2015 brought Guitarrados, a project recorded with Remigio Pereira. His 2016 concert album Live in Kastoria documented a performance in the Greek town that had been his parents’ birthplace.