Brandon-born drummer Chris Sutherland dead at 58

Chris (Suds) Sutherland, a Brandon-born drummer who was the driving force behind many top artists in the music industry, has died at 58.

Sutherland is widely praised throughout North America as a talented percussionist with an extensive discography.

He performed with such Canadian music legends as Kim Mitchell, Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, the band Streetheart and many others.

Chris brought presence and “plow” when he played, Tina Faye said about her husband.

“He was a really unique musical force,” Faye said in a phone interview Wednesday. “It’s like he’s just bringing everything along with him, like a snowplow … It’s steady and it’s strong and it feels good when you’re playing along with that.”

Faye and Sutherland were in Detroit last weekend when Sutherland died suddenly and unexpectedly in the couple’s hotel room. First responders were unable to resuscitate him and no cause of death has been released.

Faye, a classically trained musician who studied music at Brandon University, had been with Sutherland for seven years and the two got married in September 2022.

The pair had been touring across the United States since September 2024 for the musical production of “The Notebook,” with Faye as the musical director and Sutherland as the percussionist.

“We’ve driven through almost every corner of America, it’s been pretty amazing,” Faye said. “We’ve been a pretty amazing team doing all of that.”

Earlier this month, Sutherland was unexpectedly called to perform in Vancouver alongside Kim Mitchell for the first time in more than a year, as the group’s regular drummer had an emergency, Faye said.

“(It’s) extra crazy because he like literally had not touched a drum kit in a year because he was only playing percussion,” she said.

“He was a real gem. Anybody that knew him, knew him, and they knew what a spectacularly beautiful human he was.”

In his most recent interview with the Sun from March 2021, Sutherland said he was disappointed that the pandemic had cancelled his performance with Streetheart in Brandon.

He told the Sun he hoped to perform a homecoming show in Brandon one day.

Even though Sutherland hadn’t returned to Brandon to perform for many years, his kind-hearted legacy lives on in the city.

Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett remembers how well-respected Sutherland was when the two of them went to Valleyview Centennial School.

“He was a very respected drummer,” Fawcett said Wednesday. “I don’t remember him not being a drummer. Even as a kid he was a serious drummer.”

Fawcett said he remembers how cool Sutherland was for being a rock drummer as a kid.

“It was cool, he was cool, but it was just this guy. It was always just Chris,” Fawcett said.

Fawcett said the city is proud of Sutherland and his musical influence lives on.

“No one in a band in Brandon wouldn’t know him,” he said. “I take great joy in seeing the life he lived.”

Sutherland is survived by his wife and their rescue dog, Lucy. He was an animal lover throughout his life and donations can be made to Dogs and Cats of the Dominican Republic in lieu of flowers.

» rgerrard@brandonsun.com