Brett Kissel (born May 27, 1990) is a Canadian country music artist signed to Warner Music Canada. 　　Kissel, a fifth generation Albertan, was born and raised in Flat Lake, Alberta with his parents Brenda and Gordon Kissel. He has one older brother Jamison Kissel. Growing up on a cattle ranch in northeastern Alberta (in the Flat Lake region) played a big role in Kissel's music. His family operates a successful cattle ranch with Angus and Speckle Park-cross cattle. Kissel's ranching background garnered him attention in the agricultural and rodeo communities across Canada. 　　The cattle ranch where Kissel grew up - the Wengzynowski North View Ranch - was named after his great, great grandparents Wasyl and Paraska Wengzynowski, and was homesteaded in 1910.The lyrics to Kissel's song "Country in my Blood", released on Warner Music Canada in October, 2013, is a "true depiction of his family's journey to Canada, and the way he was raised in the rural Alberta lifestyle", according to his interview and appearance on the Rick Mercer Report on CBC in March 2015. 　　When Kissel was 6, he received his first guitar. His grandmother, Irene, bought it for him from the Sears catalogue for Christmas 1996. Kissel took lessons only for one year in his hometown of St. Paul. Following that year, he never took formal lessons again. Kissel often attended the Freddie Pelletier Guitar Camp, whom he credits for his guitar playing style. 　　During a chance meeting in 1995, Kissel met Alberta country star, philanthropist, and fundraising auctioneer - Danny Hooper - during a school fundraiser in St. Paul, Alberta. According to multiple interviews, this was Kissel's first public performance, as Hooper called the youngster onstage to perform his local hit "The John Deere Tractor Keys" in front of a sold out audience. This sparked a friendship between Kissel and Hooper that led to their professional management relationship that started in 2005. 　　Kissel was always a fan of Johnny Cash. When Kissel released his first album, he recorded two Johnny Cash songs, "Tennessee Flat Top Box" and "Big River". Kissel wrote a letter to Cash when his wife June Carter Cash died in May 2003. Cash died a few months later on September 12, 2003, the day Kissel released his debut album. Before Kissel went on stage in Glendon, Alberta for his CD release concert, his father handed him a large envelope he had received in the mail earlier that day, containing a signed 8x10 photograph from Johnny Cash. It read: "To Brett, Jesus First, Johnny Cash".