This will be my first post for Sound Check Ent. (cue the red carpet and confetti throwing gymnasts) and it just so happens to be for my favorite Canadian Country Artist TIM HICKS. First and foremost we want to give a HUGE shout out to “The Good Beer People” Steam Whistle Brewery for allowing us this opportunity through one of their online giveaways (with the added benefit of a dock-side pre-show by the man of the hour himself). So as the story goes we arrived (wife & I) in Bala and discovered what a beautiful part of Ontario Cottage Country the area is and fell in love with the Muskoka for the 2nd time. The first time we were younger with a higher tolerance for alcohol, so our love of the Muskoka was based more on its party appeal than the scenic kind. This time we showed up with booster seats in our trunk and sippy cups in our console, so scenic was right up our alley. We made our way down to the Kee for a few pre-show beverages and some people watching, because when the artist isn’t on stage, who isn’t turning plaid-spotting into a drinking game (for every plaid shirt you see you take a drink…and hit the floor within 30 minutes), or taking bets on who will be bumping boots with who by the end of the night (my wife’s personal favorite). Dockside before the show, Tim hammered out three songs – two hits and one that undoubtedly will be (Stronger Beer, Get By and She Don’t Drink Whiskey Anymore). Between songs Tim gave some narrative and back story to the motivation behind his hit song, Stronger Beer, which started out as what was supposed to be a joke between himself, Jeff Coplan and an American friend in the industry who used to jokingly tell Tim that he smelled like maple syrup. It was probably better than being told he smelled like beaver. The animal… 
After the performance Tim hung out with the winners to sign a few autographs & took some pics with the lucky winners who were all very excited for the show. When we made our way back into the venue Leah Daniels was about to step on stage. Leah is the current CCMA Spotlight Performance Winner that was announced last week (July 12). Leah hit the stage with her intoxicating voice and energetic presence that never seemed to slow for her non stop 45 min set. The strongest song of the night for Leah was “So In Love” followed by a 90′s Medley that hit it out of the park (she rapped to Third Eye Blind) and had the crowd singing along. I am looking forward to seeing another outstanding set from Leah in the near future.
Leah Daniels @ KEE to Bala
And then it was time for the Kee to Bala Headliner for July 19, 2014….TIM HICKS. Tim hit the stage to the sound of rolling thunder and a crowd that was ready to have the doors blown off the joint, (seems some of the windows were already blown out). Tim has recently been nominated for 4 CCMA Awards (Album of the Year, Song Writer of the Year along with Rising Star & CMT Video of the Year) so he had a lot to celebrate and boy did he bring the goods. Tim, backed by his very talented band, started the night off with his latest single “Here Comes The Thunder” which is his 1st single off his soon to be released sophomore album 5:01 being released August 5th. The energy in the Kee was non stop adrenaline and had everyone shouting out the lyrics to what seemed every song Tim sang. With so many great tracks on Throwdown (Stronger Beer, Greasy John Deere Cap, Got A Feeling, Living For the Weekend, Get By & Hell Raisin’ Good Time) the crowd seemed to have every song memorized and wasn’t shy to singing along. The new songs such as “Dust & Bone” along with the slower ballad “She Don’t Drink Whiskey Anymore” both had everyone wanting to hear a bit more of what is in store for us on August 5. My first time seeing Tim live was a year ago downtown Toronto at the First Canadian Place where he played to a lunchtime crowd of about 150 people and then later that month in Arnprior (my home town) at the Arnprior Fair which was another amazing night of music. But the past year has given this Canadian Country Superstar the ability to get the crowd going with a single word. From taking “selfies” with the fans during sets as well as signing beach balls then kicking them into the audience, Tim’s stage presence is flourishing and I can’t wait to see where it takes him.
Tim Hicks @ The Kee To Bala
Both Tim & Leah put on a hell of a show in Bala, with so much history in those walls Tim is sure to leave a mark and will be back to finish blowing the rest of the windows out next summer (we can only hope). Corey Kelly AKA.. @CountryMusicJunkie76
