Sometimes the stars align and things just seem to be perfect and nothing can knock that feeling away. Well last Thursday night in Toronto all the country stars you could think of showed up and played one of the best venues in the city in support of the relief efforts for Fort McMurray. It was honestly one of the coolest and intimate experiences I have had in a long time. Along with raising just over $17,000 for the cause. #Country4FortMac With a line up that included Jason Blaine, Tim Hicks, Cold Creek County, Autumn Hill, Meghan Patrick, Madelin Merlo, Wes Mack, Cory Marquardt, Dani Strong, The James Barker Band and Andrew Hyatt all hitting the SAME Stage over the course of the evening.
Talking with a few of the concert goer’s they all felt this event was very special. Great cause and something completely unique. Having a chance to see 11 of Canada’s top country artists take the same stage in an acoustic setting was pretty amazing.
Here are some fantastic pics from through out the night from our Mike Highfield & Bill Woodcock.
Madeline Merlo kicked off the night with an amazing 3 song set…
Following Miss Merlo was the 2015 Boots & Hearts Emerging Artists Winner James Barker Band.
Following the JBB was Sudbury native Andrew Hyatt.
We took a quick intermission to let all the amazing fans know how important the funds we raised were that night. After the quick break we kicked things off with Tim Hicks.
Following Tim was rising Country Superstar. I think I can say Superstar cause I totally think she is gonna be huge Meghan Patrick.
Following up Meghan was a young lady that I have personally fallen for musically. I love the rasp of her voice and her energy on stage is just so fantastic. Dani Strong put on a hell of a performance on Thursday June 9th.
Following up Dani was Cory Marquardt and this guy had the crowd pumped up with a SOLID 3 song set.
Autumn Hill was next up and both Mike & Tareya were on point and delivered a hell of a performance to the fantastic fans.
Time for another quick break which allowed a few folks a chance to grab a few more beverages before we got to final acts of the night. And those final 3 acts kicked off with Jason Blaine who made the trek from Nashville to be part of this once in a lifetime type event. And boy did he deliver.
Next up was BC’s Wes Mack. And when you put a guitar in this guys hands look out. Incredible performance.
And to wrap up a night that a lot of people will be talking about for a long time was Cold Creek County.
It was a hell of a night for #Country4FortMac and we raised just over $17,000 in one night. We want to thank the folks over at the Phoenix Concert Theatre, KX 94.7 & KX 96 along with Live Nation. And a HUGE Thanks to Angel D’Andrea and the fine folks at the Red Cross for being there to support of the efforts.
There was a pile of effort put into this one and I personally want raise a glass and cheers all those involved. You know who you are. Thanks so much for taking the time to help put this one together.
Corey Kelly / @CoreyKelly76