Despite delivering heavy rain on Saturday Mother Nature failed to dampen the spirits of fans at Festival Country de Lotbinière

After managing to avoid a washout on Friday night Mother Nature struck again with force on Saturday. With moderate to heavy rain much of the day the question that was on everyone’s mind was would country fans in Quebec still come out in the rain…?

The answer, yes! Although the numbers were definitely down from the dryer Friday night large numbers still came through the gates to party in the rain and a stellar lineup of Canadian country artists were determined to keep the party going regardless of what mother nature had planned.

The night started out with Veronique Labbe. Labbe brought some local francophone country flavour to the day’s lineup. Unfortunately I arrived on site only minutes after her set ended. Her reputation speaks for itself in Quebec where she is a staple in the summer festival lineups including a number of nights at Festival Western St-Tite this September which also includes Jess Moskaluke, Brett Kissel and our own Danny Sylvestre.

Boots and Hearts Emerging Artist Showcase winner Jade Eagleson took to the stage next and quickly showed the crowd that if they were going to stand in the rain, so was he. He grabbed his mic and stand and walked to the middle of the catwalk and there he remained for the majority of his set. Jade has a great sound that will really resonate with those who prefer the classic country style of country music. If you like artists like Brother’s Osborne and Randy Travis then Jade Eagleson is right up your alley. He started his show with Brothers Osborne’s hit “Ain’t My Fault” and immediately won over the crowd. Worth noting that out of all the stars to take the main stage at the festival this weekend Jade was the ONLY one wearing a cowboy hat. Jade is a huge fan of Shania Twain so no Jade Eagleson set is complete without a tribute to his idol, Shania Twain and last night was no different. Standing on the catwalk in the pouring rain Jade delivered his most heartfelt rendition of “Any Mine of Mine”.  After a short break he returned to the stage sans cowboy hat, a white Randy Travis shirt replacing his trademark black shirt and capped off his show with a cover of Garth Brooks’ “Friends In Low Places”. We spoke to Jade earlier in the day on Saturday, watch for that interview coming this week. Editor’s Note: we have just learned that Jade Eagleson has WON the CMAO for Rising Star!!

Two time CMAO Group of the Year Cold Creek County took the stage next. Frontman, Josh Lester thanked the crowd for having them and paid tribute to Granger Smith, for whom they were originally slated to open on Saturday night. He told the crowd that the band’s thoughts go out to Granger and his family during this difficult time but “we hope we can cross paths again in the future”. The next hour, or so, was filled with Cold Creek County’s greatest hits. Their name was especially fitting last night because the beer was cold and parts of the festival grounds were starting to resemble a creek. The rain didn’t slow the band down and it didn’t stop the crowds from enjoying the show. Many were just happy to have festival season and warm weather back in Quebec after a long brutal winter. Both Cold Creek County and Jade Eagleson are up for awards at tonight’s CMAO Awards in Ottawa.

While Cold Creek County was rocking the stage I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with an artist I’ve been a fan of for a very long time, even before I became a fan of country music. That artist was Dallas Smith. Dallas and I talked everything from Default to Dean Brody and everything in between, you can catch our interview later this week. Dallas wasted no time taking his set into high gear when he exploded onto the stage. Yet another artist that didn’t seem to be bothered by the rain running, jumping and singing in the rain for the large part of his set. Even his band members frequently came out into the rain and the crowd loved every second of it! Many years ago I was a fan of a rock band called Default. About 5 years ago Dallas Smith came to play at our hometown fall fair in Spencerville, we were there watching the show when he started to sing “Wasting My Time”…I remember thinking man that’s an impressive cover. But then I remembered that the front man for Default was named Dallas too…and then it hit me that this was the same Dallas Smith. Last night the same thing happened again only it was my wife, who was listening to the show from backstage as Dallas started singing that song, texted me saying that’s not a Dallas Smith song, that’s Default. I texted back “Google: Lead singer of Default”, it never gets old.

Dallas Smith was a late addition to the festival, being added only a week ago after tragedy struck for Granger Smith and his family forcing him to cancel his tour dates. Dallas acknowledged this in our interview and again during his performance. He paused and told the crowd that he wanted to pay tribute to Granger. “From one Smith to another Smith” he said before performing Granger Smith’s aptly titled single: Heaven Bound Balloons. It was a grippingly touching moment for everyone in attendance. I think it goes without saying that everyone’s hearts go out to Granger and his family during this difficult time, no parent should ever have to say goodbye to their child…this was a sentiment that was echoed to me by fans throughout the weekend. Granger, Quebec loves you and when you’re ready I have no doubt they’ll welcome you with open arms! Watch Dallas’ performance of Heaven Bound Balloons here:

What a night, what a weekend. It was one of the wettest, muddiest festivals I’ve ever attended but I loved every minute of it and I didn’t hear a single complaint from any of the fans in attendance. Happy 5th Anniversary Festival Country de Lotbinière, it was our pleasure to party with you once again this year! We’re already looking forward to your 6th Anniversary in 2020! Be sure to watch our official page for full updates as they are announced: https://www.soundcheckentertainment.ca/countrylotbiniere

I want to give a special shoutout to our photographer Ron Pettitt, Ron was in the trenches all weekend desperately trying to get us these incredible photos while trying to keep his camera gear from getting destroyed by the rain…the good news is he got the shots and his camera still works! Do yourself a favour and check out his Instagram for more wicked concert photography: https://www.instagram.com/ronpettittmusic/

Also huge shout out to Tom at our partner Hidden Beats, Tom has been helping us out with the video side of things and provided me with the camera gear so I could film my interviews throughout the weekend. You can checkout some of their work here: https://hidden-beats.com/

Once again a huge shout out to Tourisme Lotbinière – Tourisme Chaudière-Appalaches, they provided us with the second hotel room which is amazing. This gives our photographer a place to work on his photos each night so that we have incredible images to share the next day. There’s something for everyone in Lotbinière, Chaudière-Appalaches. See what the region has to offer here: https://lotbiniere.chaudiereappalaches.com/en/

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