RCMP officer performs at Longhorn Pub tonight

Jonathan Williams is back where he belongs.

For the first time in 20 years, Williams will be on stage in front of a live audience, doing what he loves best.

Williams was working his way to a career in music in his younger years and had his own a band on Vancouver Island, performing with bands like Colin James, Trooper, 54-40 and others.

But then, as often happens in life, Williams' direction took a turn.

He married and had plans to start a family.

“Being a rock star was not going to cut it,” he said. “If I had been signed by a label and on my way, but no.”

After bouncing from job to job, Williams sought out something with more purpose to fill the void left by music, so he applied to become a member of the RCMP.

When his first-born was just six weeks old, Williams headed to the RCMP training depot.

He would serve with the police force for 14 years, but the stress and strain of the job brought with it PTSD.

He is still a member of the Armstrong detachment, but has been on medical leave since January 2021.

“I was having these meltdowns, not violent ones or anything. I was crying uncontrollably,” Williams said.

Then, when he and his wife separated, Williams decided on the advice of his therapist to once again seek out his first love.

“A few days later, I picked it up again,” he said. “Music is a universal language, so I was able to channel that pain and anxiety into music,” he says.

Williams is performing at the Longhorn Pub tonight, from 8 p.m. to midnight. No tickets are required and there's no cover change.

Williams will perform mainly cover songs – “But I do have two original songs that we will perform. Signs has been my most successful release as it has made it to international radio and reached No. 17 on the Canadian Independent Country Countdown,” he says.