Country music fans in the Estevan area will get to hear some of Canada’s most well-known talents perform their songs later this month.
The Hit After Hit tour will be at Affinity Place on May 11. Veteran musicians George Canyon, Doc Walker and Charlie Major, along with newcomer Manny Blu, will take to the stage in what Canyon compared to a country music kitchen party.
Blu will usually start the show, and then Canyon, Major and Walker will alternate throughout the rest of the night.
Canyon said it’s been great performing with the other musicians. He’s been on stage with Walker and Major before, but this is the first time he has toured with his fellow veteran country musicians.
“I couldn’t be more happy,” said Canyon. “It’s just amazing how well it’s gelled together.”
As for Blu, this is the first time Canyon has encountered him, and he’s pleased with how Blu has served as the opening act.
“He has a young band with some guys who are down in Nashville,” said Canyon. “They’re really good kids. Very eager to learn. So they’re getting mentored very well by all of the artists.”
Many of the concerts have been in more intimate settings than Affinity Place; in fact, Affinity will likely be one of the largest venues on the tour.
They have been to theatres, bars, concert rooms and hotels in the early stages of the tour.
Crowds have been fantastic, he said, because they have sold out virtually every show so far.
Canyon isn’t a stranger to local music fans. He performed at the St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation’s Festival of Trees in 2014. And while there is a difference between a Christmas gala event and a cabaret-style concert, Canyon said he’s going to treat them the same, because he wants people to have fun during the concerts.
“I love playing at Affinity Place. The fans are fantastic. That’s really the big thing for us is the fans. They get to celebrate music.”
Canyon believes fans love to hear all of the different country music hits over the course of the evening.
“I can’t believe the songs that I get to sit and listen to,” he said. “And I get to actually sing with them. I do a duet with Charlie and a duet with Doc, and basically I play along with them and sing some backup.”
It means there’s a non-stop collection of hits for fans to enjoy and sing along with. And so the different musicians have to decide which songs to play, because they have all produced some well-known songs in their careers.
Canyone’s most recent album, South Side of Heaven, was released in 2018, and he’s pleased with the response.
“It’s been out for a while now, but it went over really well. I have the greatest fans in the world, and they definitely tell me what they like,” Canyon said.
He has a new project that he’s working on now, with a new single, Out of this Town, that’s been out for a few weeks. A few other songs have already been recorded.
“We’re going to be releasing music pretty constantly over the next 24 months. We have social media singles, which is the first time we’re doing that.”
Canyon is a videographer and a photographer, and so he has co-directed many of his music videos in the past. But he did the video for Out of this Town on his own. It took a lot more work, but he was able to have fun and be creative.
“We’re getting lots of good responses from the fans, and that’s what it’s for. Videos now are meant for social media and to engage the fans and have some fun, and that’s what we did with it.”
Social media has given musicians a platform to reach the fans in a quicker fashion. He says he could write a song in the morning, record it in the afternoon and have it up on social media that night.
He added that he wouldn’t do it, because it wouldn’t be very good, but there are opportunities to have a bridge to get music instantly to the fans, and to receive their feedback.
“A lot of times, you do stuff hoping the fans will like it, but now you’re getting feedback, you can hear it right away, and make decisions from there.”
Tickets are still available for the concert. There will be tables and standing areas on the floor, which will be open to just adults. And there will be seating for fans of all ages in the arena bowl and the private boxes.
