Friday August 14th started a two day road trip for me. My first stop was to Stirling Ontario to see Deric Ruttan at the 157th Stirling Fair.
Ruttan, from Bracebridge, Ontario, is a multi CCMA, CMAO and Socan award winning singer/songwriter. He has written with, and for some of the best names in both Canadian and American Country Music - Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Paul Brandt, Aaron Pritchett and Jason Blaine to name a few. His lastest song on the radio is David Nail 's "Night's On Fire".
I had the pleasure of first meeting Deric back in 2004 while he was on tour with Paul Brandt. He was, and still is, one of the nicest men you'll ever meet. Deric and his beautiful wife, Margaret, are one of my favourite couples. They have helped so many Canadian songwriters and artists who have moved to Nashville. Deric jokes... "Well, maybe more truth than not... Anyone is welcome down, as long as they bring a tin or two of Tim Horton's." The man loves his coffee!
Deric and his band, Travis Switzer (Bass), Mike Sanyshyn (Violin, Mandolin), Rich DeSilva (Drums) and Kris Ulrich (Guitar) hit the stage and performed many of Ruttan's original tunes, a medley of his hits by other artists and some of his favourite covers. In all, it was a rockin' night in Stirling. The crowd loved him and sang along.
