Tenille Townes blows the roof off of the Winspear Centre in Edmonton last night with a stellar performance.
Lets be honest, as a fan of all kinds of music, I approach the ‘next big thing’ label with apprehension. I’ve seen it attached to many bands no matter the genre and many fail to live up to the expectations that come with that tag. Over the past couple of years I’ve been hearing the buzz about Tenille Townes, a little spitfire singer from Grande Prairie Alberta. That said, I’ve been waiting a while to see Tenille Townes since she started making waves on the country music scene. To paraphrase an oft used cliche, it was well worth the wait. A sold out Winspear crowd was floored with her performance as was I. The hall was filled with people of all ages; kids attending their first concert at the young age of 4 or 5 years old and a few octogenarians were also in attendance. Townes’ appeal is wide and very family friendly.
Being at the Winspear Centre, home to Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, one gets accustomed to hearing strings. Walking into the venue, the video outside is of a recent ESO performance. The hall is built to resonate the classical sounds. But hearing strings prior to Tenille walking onto the stage was different. They added such a unique layer to the start of the night. It was clear that they were sticking around. More on the string quartet later. The musical into was just wrapping up and Tenille Townes walked on stage to thunderous applause. After a blistering run of songs to get the party started, “White Horse,” “Same Road Home” and her latest single “The Last Time” she took a breather to say hello to everyone. “Thanks for being here tonight. I can’t believe I sold out this beautiful venue. Feel free to dance in the aisles, sing at the top of your lungs or if it gets emotional, ask your neighbour for a Kleenex. This is a safe space and I want to you enjoy it as best as you can.”
As good a song writer as Townes is, she’s equally adept at telling stories. I guess the two do go hand in hand. If you’ve seen her before, you know what I’m talking about. But for those first timers such as myself it was nice to hear the story behind many of her songs. A trip to Grand Manan Island in New Brunswick led to “The Jersey On The Wall… I’m Just Asking” which she dedicated, “…to anyone who’s in heart that you’ve lost recently.” A few tissues were required for the patrons but more so for Townes at the reaction she received at the end of the song. “I know of people who have lost someone close to them, one was my best friend who lost her brother. I do what I normally do to deal with stress. I pick up my guitar and write songs.”
The orchestration of the string quartet was a highlight for me. Townes stated, “If I forget any words, it’s just because I’m getting lost in these strings. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always wanted to share a stage with a string quartet. This is my second time ever with a string orchestra. Last night in Calgary and tonight.” Then it was just her, a piano and the strings for one of the most amazing performances I have seen in quite some time. Her vocals on “The Most Beautiful Things” were chill inducing. I am hoping a video of this surfaces somewhere soon. This is one of those moments that you feel blessed to have seen live, but want everyone else to see the magic you just witnessed. And it was even more special given the acoustics and overall ambience of the Winspear Centre. I still get chills thinking about this performance. There were a few tissues taken out for this song as well.
This led into a solo acoustic part of the show where she said, “I just want to pretend we are hanging in my living room,” with “When I Meet My Maker” and “Where You Are” wrapped up the acoustic set. You may recognize this song as the one Air Canada used for the holidays in one of their commercials. “I didn’t know the deal was finalized until my mermere called me to say she heard my voice on the sweetest commercial ever.” Emotional times are now behind us as Townes broke out the gritty electric guitar for Villain In Me transitioned into Back To Life perfectly.
She then asked who was here for their first show. Then invited all the dreamers to the front for the autobiographical song “Girl Who Didn’t Care” which was part of a medley featuring “Holding Out” and a great rocking version of “Come Together.” She kept the party going jumping right into Melissa Ethridge’s “I’m The Only One” and ended the main show with “Somebody’s Daughter” after saying, “The reason we get to do this night after night is because you bought a ticket, so thanks for coming out.” She then came back for an encore with “What A Wonderful World” solo accompanied by the beautiful strings, once again injecting tears and goose bumps to all in attendance. The hallowed halls of the Winspear Centre were adorned with another beautiful rendition of “Hallelujah” a song that I will never get tired of hearing no matter the presenter. And Tenille nailed it flawlessly.
Tenille Townes is not one to take her success for granted. She was weepy after the songs that received the biggest reactions, which were usually the tear jerking ones. Heck, this crusty scribe almost welled up during “The Most Beautiful Things.” There were moments of near full house standing ovations. She doesn’t just seem to be genuine and true, she is the real deal and no flash in the pan.She’s more than the next big thing. She already is a huge star.
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