It was a chilly Monday evening in Ottawa and Canadian country music took over at Algonquin Commons theatre. The event was part of Algonquin College Students Association’s AC Day 1, the official orientation for students starting at the school in January.

OWEN BARNEY

Owen Barney kicked things off this Monday night at the Algonquin Commons Theatre in front of a smaller crowd, but that didn’t faze him! He had no problem performing his crooney country to the group of quiet, but attentive listeners.

This young performer, at just 17 years old, offered a sound that I would best describe as somewhere between Hunter Hayes and Eric Church. Confident up on stage, and not afraid to face a little adversity (even playing the last half of his set down a guitar string) Barney put on a great show.

Barney offered a great mix of originals and covers to keep the crowd engaged and wanting more. Barney’s EP should be available in Spring 2019, and two songs you should really watch out for are “Letting Go” and “Home”.

JASON BENOIT

As a few more people filed in for the second half of this weeknight concert, Jason Benoit got ready to hit the stage. He came out ready to rock and jumped right into things. Accompanied by an incredibly skilled guitarist, a drummer who didn’t stop smiling and bassist who oozed bad-boy charm, Benoit was ready to wow the crowd gathered for him.

Benoit got right into it with his energetic mashup of popular country songs including “Buy Me a Boat” by Chris Janson, “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” by Luke Bryan, “Springsteen” by Eric Church, “I Like it, I Love it” by Tim McGraw and many more.  Once he had people off the back wall and not afraid to tap their toes, Benoit dove into some of his own hits including “Gone Long Gone”, and my personal favourite “Waves”, which sends me right back to my maritime roots.

Pausing in the middle of his set to give the band a bit of a break, Benoit performed two songs with just himself and his guitar. First singing “Friends in Low Places” by Garth Brooks (and yes, catching me belting out oasssiiiss when he turned the mic to the crowd….), followed by “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver, he was able to get the whole crowd singing, clapping, and bopping along. No easy feat when the atmosphere started off reminiscent of an awkward high school dance.

Although an amazing show, it was not without its hiccups. About halfway through the show, a very loud metronome track came on and started to count the beat in between songs. And this didn’t happen once, but twice. Benoit played it of like a professional and wasn’t afraid to make a joke at his own expense, saying “they have it in case we forget how to count to four”. To me though, it is moments like these that make attending a live show worthwhile. It shows it is real and the interaction with the artist is half the fun!

And to put the cherry on an already amazing night, Benoit singled out the youngest fan in the audience to come backstage for a photo. Without drawing much attention, security quietly grabbed the young boy and his family and escorted them backstage. When I met up with them outside, they were giddy and full of excitement about what had just had happened. This is what it means to be an incredible artist, you make us Canadians look good!

If you want to know more, find Barney here and Benoit here.