There is a particular kind of conversation that only happens in a barber’s chair or under the soft hum of a salon’s blow dryer. Unhurried. Honest. A little bit magical. You sit down a stranger and, somewhere between the first snip and the mirror reveal, something real gets said. Vancouver singer-songwriter CampfireBob has been paying attention to those moments his entire life — and on his new single “Hairdressers (I Have Known),” he finally turns that attention into song.
The track is warm, unhurried, and deeply personal — a quality that has come to define CampfireBob’s best work. Born in the mountain regions of Quebec and now rooted in Vancouver, he has spent decades writing songs that find the profound hiding inside the everyday. “Hairdressers (I Have Known)” might be his most intimate offering yet: a tribute to the stylists, barbers, and home hair cutters whose offhand advice has helped him navigate the peaks and valleys of a life richly lived.
“The quality of their advice is second to none. It is a lifeblood of humanity.”
A Song Born from Real Relationships
CampfireBob is quick to point out that this isn’t a novelty song or a quirky concept. It comes from a genuine place of gratitude. “This song is for you,” he says, addressing hairdressers worldwide. “You bring comfort and care to people in direct and supportive ways.” The song is dedicated to Sashi — a name that carries the weight of a specific, cherished relationship — and that personal anchor gives the track its emotional gravity.
It is a reminder that the people who touch our lives most meaningfully are not always the ones standing on stages or behind podiums. Sometimes they are the ones standing behind us, scissors in hand, asking how we’ve really been. CampfireBob has always understood that songs don’t need grand subjects to carry great meaning. A hairdresser. A conversation. A dedication. That’s enough.
Crafted with Care at Blue Light Studios
Produced by CampfireBob alongside longtime collaborator Kaj Falch-Nielsen at Blue Light Studios in Vancouver, the track has a sound that mirrors its subject: textured, human, and quietly assured. Falch-Nielsen’s production sensibility brings a layered warmth to the arrangement without ever crowding the storytelling at its heart. The two have built a creative chemistry that allows CampfireBob’s voice — both literal and artistic — to sit comfortably at the centre of every track they make together.
For listeners already familiar with CampfireBob’s back catalogue — ranging from folk-influenced acoustic work to collaborations with Swedish producer Mice Elf and Kenyan poet and activist Emrick Fe — this new single feels like a natural arrival point. His sound has always been described as “eclectic pop rock, singer-songwriter, and socially aware,” and “Hairdressers (I Have Known)” embodies all three in a single, unhurried listen.
“CampfireBob’s music recognises hope and action as choices, and sees the interconnectedness of all life.”
Music That Stands for Something
CampfireBob has never been an artist who separates his music from his values. His live shows have raised funds for mental health, healthcare provider support, literacy, and nutrition programs. His collaborations stretch across continents — including ongoing work with Emrick Fe, who continues to create under conditions of political unrest and social protest in Kenya. That global awareness runs quietly through everything CampfireBob makes.
“Hairdressers (I Have Known)” carries that same spirit. It supports inclusion and diversity. It finds humanity in a gesture most of us take for granted. And it asks us to slow down long enough to recognise the people who help us feel like ourselves again — one haircut at a time.
A Long Road to This Moment
CampfireBob’s journey to this song began long before he ever walked into a salon. He picked up his first guitar at nine years old — a nylon-string toy from a toy store, because he didn’t yet know music shops existed. The first chord he ever heard was an F major seventh, and by his own description, it changed his life. He started playing solo shows in his early teens, learned rhythm guitar in bar bands, studied jazz and Celtic music, and eventually found his way to the eclectic, socially aware sound he inhabits today.
That self-taught quality never left him. There is something in CampfireBob’s music that feels genuinely discovered rather than manufactured — like he is always finding the song rather than building it. “Hairdressers (I Have Known)” has that quality in abundance. It sounds like something that needed to exist, and finally does.
“Hairdressers (I Have Known)” is available now. Stream it on SoundCloud, explore the full discography at campfirebob.ca, and follow along on YouTube, Bandcamp, and Vimeo for more from one of Canada’s most quietly essential independent voices.
Listen & Connect
Website: https://campfirebob.ca/
Discography: https://archive.org/details/@cfb4u_audio
Bandcamp: https://campfirebob.bandcamp.com/
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-412823652
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@CFB4U
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/campfirebob
