Joel Kroeker grew up in Winnipeg, Canada. He learned how to play the guitar in high school, and he eventually went on to study music at the University of Manitoba and the University of Alberta in Edmonton, where he earned a master's in ethnomusicology and popular music studies. Kroeker soon strayed from academia, though, and went on to make a bid as a pop musician. His first album, 1999's Native Bohemian, hit number seven on the Canadian National Campus Radio Chart. After garnering accolades from the Alberta Recording Industry Association (Best New Recording Artist and Film Score of the Year for the documentary #Tokyo Gardens), Kroeker went on to share the stage with musicians like Bruce Cockburn, the Payola$, and Colin Linden.