Canadian rising star Crystal Shawanda put on an electrifying
performance opening for Reba McEntire on March 22nd in Red Deer.
Shawanda's show included her latest rock influenced chart topping
tune, My Roots Are Showing, then a real crowd pleaser,
her tender ballad, You Can Let Go. The
rising star also gave us a sneak peek of a new single from her
upcoming album, "Beautiful Day" which was very well accepted
by the fans. In my opinion Crystal's opening act was far too
short and the singer had so much more to showcase. But during
the short but very sweet set she proved she is definitely on her way
to a bright long lived career. In fact,
I
can see a few CCMA nominations coming her way this fall!
7 piece band of musicians
and three flirting chorus girls
exploded onto the stage with their
hit, Cowboy Town.
The 2007 album release is also the name
chosen for their
latest tour that is bringing Kix &
Ronnie to smaller
venues across Canada and the US.
What a thrill it was to
have such a big name act perform
at the Centrium rather than the
usual long drive fans
have to endure
into
Calgary or Edmonton.
"So this is Red Deer huh?" Kix screamed,
"You girls aren't afraid to rock a little are ya!" teasing
with the obvious set up for, Rock My World,
(Little
Country Girl).
And...there's much more Live
Show coverage with
front row photos, as well!
Help Support Country
Music
Canadian Style
We're Taking You On
Tour North of the
Border with
Your Favorite Country
Artists.
Codie Prevost
Named
Entertainer of the Year
The Saskatchewan Country Music Association held their
annual music awards weekend in Regina, Saskatchewan
April 16th -18th where Codie
Prevost
claimed the coveted
“Entertainer of the Year” and
“Male Vocalist of the Year” awards for 2010. This is
the second consecutive year Prevost received this honour at the
awards gala.
Terri Clark's Mother
Loses Battle
Terri Clark's mother
Linda, died Sunday, April 4th after a long battle with pancreatic
cancer. A statement taken from Terri's website reads; "Terri's
mother passed away at 8:40pm last night (Sunday). She is finally at
peace and out of pain, our hearts are broken and we will miss her
terribly." Terri Clark has always given her mother credit for
being her biggest inspiration and especially her current album
released in 2009, "The Long Way Home."
Canadian Summer Festivals
Rolling out the Red Carpet for
Music's Biggest Stars
Craven Country Jamboree 2010
This Is Just The Beginning
By: Ron Keessar
Saskatchewan’s claim to
fame just might be the Craven Country Music Jamboree, which runs
July 15th through the 18th this year and
boasts another winning kick off and fan party favorite, Neal McCoy
in the beer gardens Thursday night!
Friday’s 1 p.m. act has
yet to be announced with The Higgins filling the 2 p.m. spot.
Following are these featured acts, comedy duo, William & Ree, Eric
Church, The Oak Ridge Boys, Miranda Lambert and an exciting newcomer
to Canadian music fans, Jason Aldean, as the headlining closing act.
On
Saturday at 1 p.m. the
show re-opens but the opening act is yet to be announced. Crystal
Shawanda along with country icon Charley Pride, Diamond Rio, and a
repeat performance from Williams & Ree. Emerson Drive and
Martina McBride are also on the roster this day.
A trip over to the beer
gardens Sunday will feature Collin Raye with a 10 a.m. start.
Then at 1 p.m. the big stage will begin with a showcase of CKRM 2010
talent contest winners followed by, David Nail, Luke Bryan, Kevin
Costner and Modern West alongside superstar Kenny Chesney who will
be closing the 2010 jamboree!
Starting with the 18th
Annual Big Valley Jamboree set to kick off on
July 29th, Canadian
Country Music Fans are ready! Main Stage headliners Keith
Urban and Miranda Lambert have been previously announced and now,
they will be joined by four-time CMA “Female Vocalist of the Year”
Martina McBride! McBride’s big voice and soprano range have been
entertaining audiences around the world since her debut album in
1992. Her 2009 album Shine is still riding high on the charts.
Martina will be the Main Stage headliner on Saturday, July
31.McBride’s big voice and soprano range have been entertaining
audiences around the world since her debut album in 1992. Her 2009
album Shine is still riding high on the charts. Martina will be the
Main Stage headliner on Saturday, July 31.
With only three months into the New Year,
some of Canada’s most popular country music festivals have already
made exciting announcements for their lineups which will include
some of the biggest names in the industry. Here is a short
list of what is guaranteed to fill any musical appetite. Stay
tuned, as new acts become available, you can be sure New Country
Star will keep you posted.
Alberta’s award winning Big Valley
Jamboree held in Camrose will be back for its 18th year
despite the tragedy which took place during last years event, and
was covered here on New Country Star and Canadian Country Star,
courtesy of Ron Keessar who was present for event coverage.
The festivities will take place July 29th-August
1st starting with award winning Chris Cagle headlining
the Thursday night kick off party in the Molson Saloon with more yet
to be announced.
Friday’s main stage performers will
include Chad Brownlee, Jack Ingram, The Oak Ridge Boys, Canadian
hero’s, Doc Walker and rising star, Miranda Lambert as closing
headliner.
Saturday, the main stage will welcome, The
Traveling Mabels and piano superstar Ronnie Milsap. Last year
Kevin Costner and Modern West was next to perform but never got to
showcase because of the tornadic stage collapse. Costner kept his
promise to return and will bring his unique style of country music
to this years event. Country music Goddess, and four time CMA
‘Female Artist of The Year’ Martina McBride will close the evenings
performances.
Sunday, the jamboree ends with artists, Jo
Hikk, Canadian songbird, Crystal Shawanda, Tracy Lawrence and the
Australian boy wonder, Keith Urban as our closing headliner.
The outdoor Molson Saloon will feature
nightly entertainment that will run into the wee hours with some of
Canada’s finest rising stars. A short list of confirmed
performers includes, the Grambo Brothers, Kory Wlos, A.J Woodworth,
Aaron Jake Goodvin and Shane Chisholm.
A
sell out crowd of over five thousand fans packed the Red Deer Centrium to welcome country superstar Alan Jackson and his
multi-talented 8 piece band, The Stray Horns, to the stage on
January 22nd.
The lanky 6’ something entertainer was dressed in his typical
fashion…. torn at the knees faded blue jeans, pearl grey embroidered
western shirt and dusty white felt Stetson hat. He shuffled
his way to center stage, casually nodding and tipping his hat while
flashing that awe shucks humble squinty eyed grin.
The crowd went crazy as Jackson exploded into, Gone Country,
Livin’ On Love and Summer Time Blues. Then AJ
quickly tamed the rowdy bunch through heartfelt hits, Like Red On
A Rose and Small Town Southern Man, changing the closing
verse of ‘southern man’ to 'Alberta man' which thrilled this
Canadian AJ lovin' crowd!
A
man of few words, Alan Jackson usually lets his songs do the
talking, but when he quipped, “Sure is cold outside….but ya'll got
it hot in here tonight” he got the full attention of the cowgirls in
the audience, and they were giddy enough to let him know it was
Friday night, and that they, along with the rest of the house had
come to party!
The fun part of the evening had to be during the Tom T. Hall penned
tune, Little Bitty, where the house camera men projected
images of a few lucky youngsters in the crowd onto the jumbo trons,
capturing their reactions once they saw themselves as screen stars
of the show as well!
The 51 year old superstar continued to crank out the hits, with his
such crowd pleasing hits as, Here In the Real World,
Remember When, Drive, Good Time and Where Were
You, When The World Stopped Turning.
The singer songwriter has recorded so many number one hits over his
long running 21 year career, which includes an amazing 11 studio
albums off Arista Nashville, and it was pretty hard to cram them all
into a ninety minute concert, but the party anthems, It’s 5
O’Clock Somewhere and Chattahoochee really brought the
sing along fans to their feet. Some fans were even enjoying a
fast two step out in the isles!
In a special moment reserved until the end of the show, Jackson
sang, Where I Come From, which his road crew must have been
super busy preparing for the moment they pulled into town earlier
that morning. Red Deer’s favorite haunts, hideaways and points
of interest were captured on film and projected onto the big
screens, and of course, the house erupted every time a shot was
shown with anything to do with the fan favorites, Calgary Flames
hockey team!
The showman left the stage for a brief moment allowing the crowd to
get really worked up and returned to encore with, Mercury Blues.
Alan allowed the band to keep playing an extra long instrumental
chorus while he did what is rarely seen in the country industry,
hand slapping and signing autographs on stage. Making his show
what could very well be the biggest & best concert at the Centrium
in quite a few years and for quite a few to come!
Alan has a brand new album that will hit stores March 30th titled
"Freight Train" which promises to be another guaranteed hit.
Also, don't forget that Cracker Barrel, Old Time Country Stores now
has the 'Alan Jackson Collection' which includes an exclusive
special CD release, as well as other cool AJ collectables.
Among them, an exact replica of his Alan's own personal cowboy hat!
...Hmmm' gotta get me one of those!
For more on Alan and his current tour, visit www.alanjackson.com
The concert opener was Canada’s own, King George, (Canyon) who got
things fired up by opening with, Drinkin’ Thinkin'.
George Canyon has fast become one of Canada’s truest traditional
country superstars backed by his rugged Marlboro Man good looks,
like Jackson, this square jawed ole’ country boy also knows how to
throw a party. Many may remember how we tuned in each week
watching George climb the musical ladder on the second season of
Nashville Star during the 2004 season, only to be runner up too… Ah
what was his name and where and what is he doing now? Oh well, we
have seen it many times where winning these types of award shows
doesn’t always mean instant success and for then runner up George
Canyon, his success is living proof. He has gone on to
record five studio albums after his second place win and earned
multiple awards including two time winner at the Juno's and twice
earning Male Artist of the Year at the CCMA's (Canadian Country
Music Awards)....Stunning isn't it?
The 39 year old star has a new single out boasting a clever play on
words, that’s racing up the charts here in Alberta titled,
Betty's Buns, which he performed for the audience this night,
and threw in the Johnny Cash classic, Ring of Fire
complete with the deep down baritone vocals that really earned a new
respect for Canyon from a lot of country music fans!
During his heartfelt ballad, I Want You To Live, the stage
lights drew dim and purple neon filled the air while the video
monitors moved the crowd featuring our images of our Canadian
troops. In closing, George dedicated the song and honored all
of our troops stating, “God Bless our military in Canada and the US”
which drew an instant standing ovation!
If you ever get the chance to witness George Canyon Live in Canada
or in the U.S., get your tickets fast as this is one top notch
entertainer and a quick sell-out who will not disappoint!
In
Canada and It's Just Like We were There!... Oh, We Were!
Story By: Ron Keessar
The province of Alberta was
blessed recently with four sold out concerts featuring superstar,
Keith Urban, two nights in Calgary and two in Edmonton Canada!
New Country Star's, Canadian correspondent, Ron Keessar, attended
Urban's first show on Friday, September 18th, at the Pengrowth
Saddledome in Calgary.
Urban and his awesome five piece
opened with, Hit The Ground Running and quickly tore into,
Days Go By, then attempted to calm the 17,000 plus audience
members with, Stupid Boy.
"Is it happening Calgary? Nice
to be back!" Keith yelled in his thick Australian accent, which of
course brought mass approval and applause.
The thing about a Keith Urban concert is, he
throws so many surprises at you, that you just never know what to
expect next. Yes, his walking through the crowd getting
back-slapped while picking his guitar is getting rather dangerous
now that he's a mega star but still he does it. And the stage
itself, was phenomenal. Obviously this Auzzie Boy's got some
big bucks and he's certainly laying down some serious change on
lighting, brilliant musicians and how about those 5 king Kong
video-trons responsible for bringing the ever changing action so
close, that
even those in nose bleed seating would be
pleased.
The 41 year old multi-award winner is back on the road with his
'Escape Together' world tour promoting his 6th US studio album
titled, 'Defying Gravity' and featuring some of it's great tracks, 'Sweet
Thing', 'Kiss A Girl' and his latest, 'Only You Can
Love Me This Way'.
Keith reinforced the fact that not
only is he an accomplished guitar 'wiz' but an incredible songwriter
and it's those great songs that seem to hit home with his Canadian
fans, who kept most of the Saddledome on their feet for the entire two hour concert.
One real highlight
for every fan present, was Keith grabbing a tennis racquet,
autographing four or five tennis balls, then smacking them out
into the crowd, at which point he called Lady Antebellum onto the stage for
an a cappella performance of the Eagles tune, 'Seven Bridges Road,'
and with pitch
perfect harmonies, WOW!
Urban's opening act from Nashville,
Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood of the popular group,
Lady Antebellum certainly earned a new legion of Canadian fans, our own staff
included!
This soon to be 'Big Canadian
Music News' trio
exploded onto the stage with, 'Lookin' For A Good Time' and
it was quickly apparent the moment they stepped foot on stage, this
high energy act, came to party!
The 35 minute set contained all
the hits from their debut self titled album and some rock
classics like, 'Boys Of Summer' (Don Henley) and John Mellencamp's
rant, 'Hurts So Good', plus their own crowd pleaser, 'Need You
Now' the lead single from Lady A's next album.
To Close the show, the trio
stepped out of view and then returned wearing Calgary
Flames hockey jerseys, which of course brought mass approval, and an
encore performance of, 'Love Don't Live Here'.
Win
an Autographed CD From
Shane Yellowbird
Billy Currington
Live On Stage In Canada Just Before
Heavy Winds Caused the Stage To Collapse!
Photo By: Ron Keessar
Tragedy in Canada
1 Killed and 75 Injured In Stage Collapse
The Associated Press reported
1 woman was killed and some 75 were
injured in the stage collapse
at the Annual Big Valley Jamboree 2009
Country Music Festival in Alberta.
New Country Star's own reporter,
Ron Keessar, was in
attendance to bring us his annual coverage
of the event and yesterday we spoke with
Ron live from Alberta who gave us
his account of the tragedy first hand.
Our prayers are with
everyone involved, and we will
continue to follow this story.
New Country Star spoke with staff
photojournalist, Ron Keessar, who was
on the scene in Alberta covering the
annual Big Valley Jamboree, when
Country
music mega-star Brad Paisley brought his ‘Paisley Party Tour’ to the
Pengrowth Saddledome, February 21st in Calgary, and Canadian Country
Star was there in the front row, so you could be too!.
Hands down,
this show could win ‘tour of the year’ judging by the incredible multi
level stage Paisley's road crew sets up night after night. The
lighting and visual affects were second to none and the gazillion ear
piercing volts driving through the amplifiers were crisp and clean.
This was
honky-turbo-tonk, high octane musical bliss from a dude that owns more
Fender paisley colored Telecasters than anyone in the biz today, and
has the lightning finger-picken’ talent to make most guitar slingin’
wannabes drop to their knees. Paisley RAWKS!
Brad opened
his spectacular show in the dark at the end of a long catwalk
that reached out through the centre of the dome floor with his 2003
hit, ‘Mud On The Tires’, and was met with a barrage of
screaming well wishers.
With
adrenalin now in high gear, or should we say Fifth Gear,
Paisley immediately ripped into, ‘The World’ and just to make
sure everyone jumped out of their seats, he along with his rockin’
band mate, Gary Hooker, exchanged a few screaming guitar licks
shoulder to shoulder during O’Canada. This brought the house to
a frenzy!
Huge video-trons
hung high at both sides of the stage, displayed the handsome 36 year
old larger than life, while the massive screen behind the band
projected clips of his videos and featured a very comical clip of
country legends Bill Anderson and Little Jimmy Dickens doing their
Guitar Hero impersonations throughout the chart topping Paisley hit, ‘Celebrity’.
The star
was thoroughly enjoying the Saturday night party and in true BP style,
took time out to get in a cheap shot proclaiming, “It’s the middle of
February and we’re not afraid to come up to God’s frozen people.”
In his own words, “Anyone can come up here (Canada) in the middle of
July….it takes special courage to come up here in the middle of
February, so when Kenny (Chesney) & Keith (Urban) come up in July tell
them wimps Deirks and I said hi!" The reaction was deafening!!
It was now
time to tame the crowd and perform a few acoustic ballads.
Paisley showcased, ‘I’m Still a Guy’ and ‘Letter to Me’,
both #1 hits. Then in an instant, strapped on his baby
blue metal flake guitar and exploded into, ‘Start A Band’ along
with Keith Urban's likeness on the big screen performing his vocal
part and the place went ballistic!
Then it was
time to really impress us with his finger pickin’ skills. Brad
tore into the instrumental, ‘Turf’s Up’… a weird tune, but in a
catchy cool way, filled with ear piercing echo, reverb and tremolo
that had some twistin’ in the isles. The only way to describe
this one, it was like hillbilly psycho-tonk meets the Ventures.
At one
point in the show, the lights went down and Brad appeared seated high
on the top tier of the stage with his acoustic guitar and started to
play the opening chords to ‘Whiskey Lullaby’. When it came time
for Alison Krauss to sing her part, there she was sitting on the
opposite side of the stage…..was she really there in the flesh?
The fans seemed to think so judging by the Dome’s shocking response.
But in reality, it was modern technology producing her
image and voice accompaniment. But it sure fooled a lot in
the house!
The
celebration continued with monster hits, ‘When I Get Where I’m
Going,’ ‘Online’ and the party anthem, ‘Alcohol’
that brought out the show's opening acts Dierks Bentley and
Crystal Shawanda, singing along to the chorus and closing the two hour
perfect Paisley party with the humorous tune ‘Ticks’.
Paisley’s
recent CD titled, ‘Play’ was released in November of last year
and features 15 incredible tracks, ten among them are instrumentals
and really showcase Brad’s amazing talent as a songwriter and axe
player.
It was
recently announced that Brad leads the pack with 6 ACM nominations
including ‘Male Entertainer’. The awards will be telecast live from
the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada Sunday April 5th
at 8pm ET/PT on CBS.
Dierks
Bentley was a great choice as warming act for the tour, and really
knows how to work a crowd. Party animals tore out of their
chairs the moment he hit the stage running to the catwalk that was
situated stage left. Dierks dropped down on his knees hand
slapping all that were waiting for a hand shake or high-five from the
explosive entertainer. Bentley bounced around the stage
more like a rock star than a country artist, which added to his
energetic show. With a lot of hits to cram into his 45 minute
set, idle chit chat was not on the bill for the evening. He
simply impressed and included crowd favorites like, ‘Lot Of Leavin’
Left To Do’, ‘Come A Little Closer’, ‘Settle For A
Slowdown’, ‘Feel That Fire,’ and of course his 2003
breakthrough hit, ‘What Was I Thinking,’ co-written by Canadian
writing pal, Deric Ruttan.
Dierks
closed with, ‘Free And Easy (Down The Road I Go)' leaving
fans wanting more, and proving that he could easily headline a show of
this size on his own.
Canadian
songbird Crystal Shawanda from Wikwemikong, Ontario, now living in
Nashville, was truly a sight to witness live. She was
asked to join the Canadian leg of the tour, opening for Brad Paisley,
which will undoubtedly bring her a whole host of new fans!
Shawanda is a breath of fresh air to country music with her tear
jerking ballads, ‘You Can Let Go’ and ‘What Do I Have To Do,’
from her debut album titled, ‘Dawn Of A New Day’.
Crystal
proved her party side and got the crowd on their feet, with her recent
radio release, ‘My Roots Are Showing’ which is quickly racing
up the charts here in Canada.
Petite,
with a voice to impress and an emotional delivery which sends her
tunes straight to the heart. Guaranteed, it won’t be long before
Shawanda will be headlining her own tour, and we can't wait!
Country music’s
Big Dog Daddy, Toby Keith, took
his ‘Biggest & Baddest’ show to
Calgary Alberta Canada on
Thursday October 9th literally rocking the
Pengrowth
Saddledomeinto to oblivion!
The concert started off with a
huge video display projecting an advisement for Keith's movie,
‘Beer For My Horses’
and the moment the big man appeared on screen the Canadian
crowd went ballistic.
Keith
exploded onto the stage with, ‘She’s A Hottie’ and instantly brought the full
house to their feet.
This was an all out country
fused rock show. In usual Toby style, the show featured pyrotechnics, confetti bombs,
and a 4-piece horn section backing a six piece band of musicians,
including
Mica
Roberts, one
of the newest talents on Toby's label, Show Dog Records.“It’s great, great, great...
to be back in Canada” proclaimed Keith, and the crowd welcomed him with thunderous applause! Then in
his thick southern drawl, Keith reminded the crowd of his new movie before
tearing into his chart topping hit, I Wanna Talk About Me.
The 47 year old country
superstar really knew how to get a reaction from this party crowd. Simple
statements like, “There’s a lot of hot chicks here in Calgary” or “Where
are all the whiskey girls” got the crowd roaring. But
Keith got the biggest crowd reaction, when he commented, “We’re here in
the capital of cowboy country in Calgary!"
Toby Keith has so
many radio hits in his career catalog, but picking the right mix
came easy, as fans embraced them all. The audience could be
heard singing along to each one of TK's hits, one after another.
Then holding a red Solo cup high in the air, Keith toasted the
crowd,
“Lets’ get drunk
and be somebody” he yelled….the perfect intro to the bar room
favorite.
It was easy to see Keith very
much enjoyed the warm welcome of this Canadian crowd,
but the fact that this was his last night on Canadian soil had him
savoring every minute.
The showman is not only out on the road promoting his
new movie, but also his latest CD titled, ‘That Don’t Make Me A
Bad Guy’, due October 28th. The CD
contains 11 new tracks including the tender ballad, ‘She Never
Cried In Front Of Me’ that is racing up the charts.
After a long rousing encore, Toby appeared on stage
with an awesome guitar custom painted with the Canadian flag. The
singer/songwriter said a few kind words in regards to our military
and chose the ultimate patriotic American redneck rant, closing with
‘Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue’ from his 2002 ‘Unleashed’
album.
The
Opening Acts...
Performing six dates on Toby’s Canadian tour, were
rising stars; Jessie Farrell and Aaron Pritchett, both from British
Columbia.
Farrell last performed at the Saddledome opening for
Martina Mcbride and once again proved she can handle the larger
concert venues. The spunky redhead opened with her fun lovin’ tune,
‘Lets Talk About Love’ from her debut 07’ album, ‘Nothing Fancy’.
With only one album under her belt she may not have a
lot of recorded material so the reason for the short 20 minute
set.
Aaron Pritchett warmed the crowd for Toby and was
obviously thrilled to be part of the tour. The country hunk really
made a lasting impression with the fans opening with his current
party anthem, ‘Lets Get Rowdy’.
Aaron released his fifth studio album this past
September titled, ‘Thankful’, and showcased a few that were well
received, especially by the ladies in the crowd!
By the
end of the smokin’ set, Aaron turned up the volume closing with the
sing a long bar room favorite, ‘Hold My Beer’ that had most out of
their seats and dancing in the isles. Aaron’s stage presence is
becoming more polished as his career grows to greater heights and he
is truly a
“must see
live” performer.
Canadian
Country Music Awards
It's a Beautiful Life !
Doc Walker
Stomps 'em All
At
the
CCMA’S
By Ron Keessar
The boy’s from Manitoba finally did it and
on home turf to boot!!
The hot trio walked away with five out of
the eight awards that were up for
grabs on the much anticipated
televised Canadian Country Music Awards
held at the MTS Center in
Winnipeg, Manitoba Monday September 8th.
Leaving a well worn path to the stage,Chris
Thorsteinson, Dave Wasyliw
and Murray Pulver graciously accepted the
crystal for, Fans Choice, Album of
The Year (Beautiful Life), Group
of The Year, Single of The Year (Beautiful Life)
CMT Video of The
Year, (Beautiful Life).
Jessie Farrell
was excited to win her 1st CCMA, taking home the hardware
for
Rising Star
Award and the coveted, Female Artist of The Year. Johnny Reid
won the Male
Artist of The year and returned his gratitude later in
the program
performing his straight from the heart hit, ‘Thank You’.
The evening was filled with star studded
entertainment starting off with Canadian
country queen Terri Clark kicking the show
off in high gear with her
performance of ‘In My
Next Life’.
Other artists whose stars shone bright in
the limelight live on stage included;
Kellie Pickler, Paul Brandt,
George Canyon, Dierks Bentley with
Sarah Buxton and newcomer Crystal Shawanda (featured here on CCS).
Later in the program Gord Bamford sang his
smokin’ hot tune, ‘Blame It On
That Red Dress’ while the
crowd bounced around huge red beach balls.
The program could not have ended on a
higher note including Canadian rock icon,
Randy Bachman from the
legendary ‘Guess Who’ and BTO fame to close the show.
Randy,
also a Winnipeg born native, rocked the house joined by Beverly Mahood and
Deric Ruttan closing with the picturesque tune, ‘Prairie
Town’.
