It’s only been 3 and half years since Terri Clark last sold out the Brockville Arts Centre and last night she managed to pack the venue again only this time with no frills or gimmicks just Terri and her guitars and it couldn’t have been better. (on a side note the venue would not allow photo or video so all photos are from Terri’s tour launch in the spring at Casino Rama)
Terri is currently on an ambitious cross-Canada solo tour visiting over 40 different venues in 50 days. Last night’s stop in Brockville was only the seventh stop on the tour which began on the East Coast last week.
Terri can easily be described as Canadian Country Music Royalty as she is by far the most decorated Canadian country artist and is the only Female Canadian member of the Grand Ole Opry.
Just a few hours down the 401 from, Montreal, where Terri was born it’s no question she has a lot of fans in Eastern Ontario. Having sold out a show in Sherbrooke, Quebec the night before and darn near selling out the Brockville show it was clear that Terri was touched by her fans who keep coming out.
The current tour is almost like a gift to her fans, Terri has stripped away the frills, left the band at home and spends 90 minutes a night sitting on a chair at the front of the stage surrounded by only her prized guitars, a lonely microphone stand and a career full of songs and stories. Over those 90 minutes Terri took her audience on a musical journey that spanned her career from the early days in Nashville to her latest album Some Songs which was released in 2014. Terri wasn’t the only celebrity in the house, it turns out that she has a fan in Walter Gretzky, father of Wayne Gretzky. Walter sat beside us and clearly was having a good time as you could see him clapping his hands and once in awhile he’d lean over and tell us he liked a certain song.
It’s been a number of years since I last saw Terri Clark perform live but if anything she’s gotten even stronger on stage. She may be more rooted in the classic country but young artists just starting out should look to the example Terri set or better yet reach out to Terri for advice and guidance, something tells me she’d be humbled if you did.
The last 30 mins, or so, of each show was reserved for a QA with Terri. Audience members were given the opportunity to submit questions ahead of the show and through Twitter (although unlikely any would have been submitted via Twitter in Brockville as phones were not permitted to be used throughout the performance).
Overall it was an enjoyable evening that came with lots of laughs, sing alongs and even some tears. Terri Clark came to impress and that she did. As I said earlier this was show #7 of 40+ so there are still plenty of chances to catch this tour before it wraps up in Western Canada this fall and I suggest you don’t miss it!
To get a feel for what you’ll hear during Terri’s Back to My Roots tour checkout the Mason Jar Session she did with us in Toronto leading up to this tour!
