Blog Archives

It’s no secret that we are big fans of the folks over at Open Road Recordings from the behind the scenes people like Ron, Denny, Lindsay, Mitch as well as the amazing roster of talent.     The list of talent that includes the likes of Tim Hicks, Madeline Merlo, River Town Saints, Doc Walker, The Hunter Brothers, Blackjack Billy, The Road Hammers and Dean Brody.  It was a great way to kick off a Friday afternoon during CCMA Week in London.

The dust has finally settled and I almost feel back to normal.  The week long CCMA Hangover has subsided and we have managed to put together some amazing photos from the night.   Both Bill and James did a fantastic job of capturing the nights moments.   Let’s kick things off with what James captured.

Well after spending 3 days hunkered down in what might be the best city in Canada for Country Music we have a little something to share.   We have the 2nd of our CCMA posts with some great shots of the John Deere Green Carpet.  This was our first year having a presence on the carpet with Corey getting a chance to chat with the artists as they walked in.  Be sure to check our video of Corey chatting with everyone HERE.     However, Bill and James were also able to grab some amazing images of the artists making there way into Bud Gardens in London, Ontario.

It was an unusually stormy late summer Saturday night in Kingston and mere moments before the annual CFB Kingston Garrison Family Fun Fest, featuring Abby Stewart and Tim Hicks, was about to kick off the entire venue was evacuated due to a severe thunderstorm. Lucky for us the CFB Kingston Base Gym was a short hundred meter dash in the driving rain away.  A little under an hour later the rain stopped and the stage lights came on….it was showtime!

Tim Hicks has been collecting fans across the great white north over the last 15+ years playing dive bars to arenas. On September 9th Tim releases his 3rd full length album Shake These Walls.  We had a chance to listen to the album and damn, this one is crankin’ it up another notch.   I remember chatting with Tim at Boots and Hearts and him stating that he co-wrote every song on the album which today is a tough sell to labels as they try and usually sneak in a couple outside songs.  It’s so cool to witness that next step for an artists like Hicks.

Tim Hicks will be returning to eastern Ontario for a special performance at CFB Kingston as part of the annual Garrison Family Fun Fest next Saturday September 10!

We will have 3 instalments of Boots and Hearts Images all focusing on individual photographers.  Our 1st instalment is covering the images Mike Highfield captured at Boots & Hearts 2016.

Much of the Sound Check team, myself included, has converged on Burls Creek this weekend for one of the most important events in the history of our organization, Boots and Hearts.

So I have been thinking about this one for awhile and it isn’t easy when you have 35+ artists spanning the course of 4 days of music.   But I have managed to get my The Top 10 Must See Artists at Boots & Hearts this week narrowed down.  These are artists that put on a hell of a show and usually have you begging for more.   

So Tim Hicks has just dropped a new summer smash with Stompin’ Ground.