He sang to millions on YouTube. He died on the streets of Edmonton
CBC
It was just another day at a backyard campfire on Vancouver Island. As usual, Jesse Stewart brought out his mandolin and played a song called Cold Beer.
A neighbour recorded a shaky video of the performance with friends in the background wagging bottles and laughing. That evening, it was uploaded onto Facebook.
By morning, it had more than a million views.
"Jesse was shell-shocked," said his friend, Loryn Reinelt. "Who knows what to do in a situation like that?"
It was 2014. Things started to move fast, and a month later Jesse was featured on an episode of Trailer Park Boys.
"We were really happy for him," said his mom, Michelle Stewart. "We knew he was talented."
Last month, Jesse Stewart, 31, died on the streets of Edmonton. It was likely a drug overdose, his mother said.
By the time of his death, Cold Beer had reached almost 14 million views on YouTube.
Michelle said that in elementary school, teachers noticed that her son was intelligent for his age. By Grade 5, he was already attending a high school computer class.
Jesse was drawn to music early on, and his grandfather paid for private guitar lessons.
He later became obsessed with the Sex Pistols, Michelle said. Inspired by the band's bassist, Sid Vicious, Jesse wore a lock around his neck, tossing away the key. For years, the bolt remained, until it eventually disintegrated.
After Jesse left home, he travelled widely with his dog, Arlo. The two hitchhiked across Canada — twice — sometimes even jumping onto passing freight trains.
"He didn't want to live a boring life, like going to a 9-to-5 job," Michelle said.