Wesli (Wesley Louissaint) was born in 1980 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to a poor family of seven children. His musical adventures began when he sang alongside his mother in the gospel choir of the local church. Blessed with that early love of music, he built his first guitar at the age of eight from an old oil can and nylon fishing line. 

The sounds of Wesli’s childhood––from evangelical gospel to reggae, Afrobeat, funk and, of course, the diverse roots music of Haiti––continually influence his compositions, which blend traditional Haitian rhythms and lyrics with a wide range styles. Based in Montreal since the early 2000s, his adventuring continues, while keeping his musical identity firmly anchored in his roots and Haitian cultural heritage. Today, he is one of Haiti’s most inspiring and celebrated musical ambassadors, and in 2019, won the JUNO Award for World Music Album of the Year.