SOUND OF SUPPORT: Galt musician Eric Bolton in tune with his community
Whether it’s volunteering with WRCF or elsewhere, songwriter forever singing praises of Cambridge
Photo credit: Gold House Studios
Strike up a conversation with Eric Bolton and there’s a good chance that the chatter will inevitably — and rather naturally — veer towards music and community.
After all, everyone loves to talk about their passions. In Eric’s case, he has managed to mix business with pleasure. The 37-year-old has been a professional musician, a community builder and a familiar face in Galt since moving to the area from Guelph at a younger age.
His around-the-clock enthusiasm for these subjects is palpable.
“It wasn't until I was a teenager and picked up a guitar that I really realized the power of making music,” Eric said. “From there, it kick-started into something that I haven't been able to ditch yet.”
The singer-songwriter owns a music school and studio — E-Bolt Music — nestled along the Grand River in historic Galt. Additionally, he can regularly be found performing at venues like Langdon Hall, Cambridge Mill, and the Galt Club.
If music is Eric’s world, so too is the community where he lives, and the people and organizations that are part of it.
“I've really loved it here,” said Eric, who recalled being at the dinner table one random evening shortly after moving to Cambridge when it dawned on him that “people here are really nice.”
His love for the place he calls home has spilled over into another one of his passions — volunteerism. Since 2023, Eric has lent his skillset as a volunteer on the Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF)’s Arts Grants Committee.
WRCF’s Arts Grants Fund is an arts-focused grant stream that provides funding to small and mid-sized arts organizations and to bring people together in meaningful ways to participate in and/or experience artistic programming in Waterloo Region.
Eric said he has found the WRCF experience to be a positive one and has enjoyed supporting arts organizations in the region.
“I really admire the team at WRCF. They put so much heart and dedication into making sure everything just runs so smoothly and is accessible. Throughout the whole time working with them, I've been regularly impressed. They make it very fun – while focusing on the outcomes at the same time,” he added.
“The most beautiful thing about being involved with this particular granting stream has been seeing the number of wonderful people who are doing beautiful work in the region. There are organizations I didn’t even know existed. I’ll read their application, and just be like, ‘This is remarkable.’ There are just these people out there doing this stuff because they care, and they see value, and they really want to impact the community around them.”
And Eric volunteers in the community in a variety of ways over and above working with WRCF.
Eric is also the founder of Galt Love, a grassroots movement celebrating his local Cambridge community while promoting cultural growth and supporting nearby small businesses and artists. Galt Love is a social-media initiative where local businesses and social-media users are encouraged to use the hashtag #GaltLove “to push for positivity of the region, and of where we live.”
The project “ended up becoming really effective,” Eric said. “In my mind, it was just, let's spread positive messages about where we live and what's going on here. And it turned into a whole thing. It ended up sparking a lot of local tourism and helping the local economy.”
Eric said the Galt Love project ultimately served as “the perfect setup” for Grand River Pride, which has been supporting the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in Cambridge since 2022. He is the founder, alongside his husband Bryan.
“It was kind of like, this is an obvious next step. Let's be inclusive and beautiful and just love each other,” Eric said of Grand River Pride, slated for June 13 this year. “We've been loving this community. We've been loving the businesses. We've been loving the river running through the town. How about we love each other as individuals and just support one another.”
Two years ago, the organization expanded to offer Ayr Pride in that neighbouring community.
"We deliberately called it Grand River Pride because... we knew that it needed to be broader than just Cambridge," Eric said, adding the social enterprise is working to fund smaller Pride groups and organizations “along the whole Grand River watershed.”
Added Eric: “I look forward to the day when we don't need Pride festivals, but in the meantime, it's great. We see the value and the importance of it.”
As for what motivates his volunteer work, Eric said he learned from his parents at an early age that “you help where you can.” And, as with the bulk of his conversations, it all comes back to music.
“I think music was, for sure, the catalyst for getting involved. Music was what pushed it into overdrive and made me see the power of community and the power of working together,” he said. “I really feel like that then set the tone for my whole career, where it's never without community, and it's never without the arts, and it's never without supporting each other. I think it's just built into the fabric of what it is to be a local artist.”
To keep up to date with Eric, visit ericbolton.ca.
To see a list of WRCF’s current committees, visit wrcf.ca/committees. If you are interested in learning more about future volunteer opportunities with WRCF, you can submit an Expression of Interest form, and we will reach out if a volunteer position becomes available.