You never really know what's going to happen to you. Take Canadian-born musician Garrett Kato. Now  living in Byron Bay, Kato came to Australia to visit his brother. Having just finished an album, he wanted to "relax and take his mind off things." He then met a special female someone and is now the happy father of a one-year-old child.
The fortuitous turn of events didn't stop with finding love. While playing a gig in Byron Bay, Garrett was noticed by no other than Australian singer songwriter Pete Murray. It was the start of a friendship that changed Garrett's career. 
"It was pretty much just a luck thing, you know, that you'd meet someone and they are similar in a lot of ways. The same musical tastes as you and you get along really well. So it was really lucky," says Garrett, who will be opening for Murray on his current Yours Acoustically tour.
"I was playing at a place called the Treehouse and he just happened to be there. So it was one of those chance meetings, kind of lucky things, and then we became friends after that. We kept in each other's ear about what we were doing with music and things and just hanging out and this tour came up and he said, 'Do you want to jump on it?'"
Murray was also responsible for putting Kato in touch with producer Anthony Lycenko, who produced Kato's latest release, this year's That Low and Lonesome Sound. 
"That changed everything for me because all of a sudden I had a contact in Australia who I could do some recordings with, and produce things," Garrett says. "It really did change the whole entire direction of my career."
Touring with Murray is also putting Kato in front of a whole new audience.
"The exposure has been insane," Kato says. "I've seen my social media growing faster than I've ever seen it grow and merchandise sales have been really good and everything's been sold out. If the show isn't sold out it's on the brink of selling out, you know. It's pretty extraordinary that someone has this command over human beings to come and watch him play music, it's just amazing."
Saying it's a privilege to be on the tour, Kato puts a lot of pressure on himself to go out and deliver during his set.
"I feel like it's an opportunity that just doesn't come around that often, you know.  If someone's going to take a hold of an opportunity and get the most out of it you really want to be at your 100 per cent. So that was pretty much my mindset going in and it's been getting some great results. Especially in the theatre venues, it's just been magic there I think. Some of the shows have been the best shows I've ever played, so it's definitely been a pretty overwhelming experience."
He puts this success down to the level of attention people are able to offer during the intimate shows.
"When I can see a whole group of people really focusing in on something that I love and I'm trying to channel it and give it to them, it's honestly the best experience. It's like this cathartic, this real almost spiritual kind of feeling that you get when you are on stage in front of focused people, when you can hear a pin drop. There is something happening there. I've never experienced it until this tour and it's like a drug; you just want to get as much of it as you can."
Garrett Kato
With: Pete Murray
Where: Canberra Theatre Playhouse
When: 8pm Friday,   November 28
Tickets: $45.50+bf from canberratheatrecentre.com.au.