It was a great start to the day with the first full day of Ram Rodeo action in the rodeo ring. The stands were full and everyone had a blast. Weather was moving in for the evening but it didn't seem to deter the fans that were busy streaming into the venue to get a spot close to the stage.
The music kicked off with one of our favourite emerging artists, Kingston's own Abby Stewart. Based on the fan reaction to Abby's set we're pretty sure her fan base grew a few notches. Keep an eye on this one, big things are coming soon.
Our friend Erik Dylan returned to the stage for his encore performance and based on the lineup for his meet and greet after his performance we'd think it's safe to say that his fan base grew a few notches as well, looks like Canada loves Erik Dylan. I guess that means that we'll have to get him back up here again sometime soon!
The rain started to fall slightly during Erik's set, nothing the crowd couldn't handle though. The fans continued to fill the park for the evening's headline acts Brett Kissel and Emerson Drive and they wouldn't be disappointed.
Brett Kissel took to the stage and immediately told the crowd "some of the best concerts he'd ever been to took place in the rain", we couldn't agree more even the iconic Woodstock had to deal with rain it makes for a really memorable show! The great thing about outdoor festivals is the unpredictable nature of the weather. We were watching the radar all night, for safety reasons, and a few times it looked like much of the heavy rain would miss us but a slight shift in the storm's path took it right over top of us. Luckily the thunderstorms held off long enough for us to get most of Emerson Drive's set in.
Brett Kissel, being a true cowboy from Alberta, was right at home at the Spencerville Stampede even the rain didn't stop him from putting on a top notch show. Sure the stage provided him with enough cover to stay moderately dry but what's a Brett Kissel show without him taking the time to come down from the stage to get a bit closer to his fans? Pouring rain and all Brett came down and took the time to take a few selfies with the crowd.
Brett recently released a new single, "Airwaves", which will be the lead single off of his upcoming album. The song has been his most successful single to date and the crowd reaction to his performance of the song was, as one person called it "electric". Brett even channeled a bit of Garth Brooks in his performance with a killer performance of "Baton Rouge". Nothing was off limits for Brett from rock to pop to a rising cover of Walk the Moon's "Shut Up and Dance" the party was in full swing for the full 75 minutes that Brett was on stage, in his own words "I could play all night" and I have no doubt that the crowd would've been right there with him no matter what the weather. After his show Brett met with his fans who gladly lined up in the pouring rain for almost an hour to get a chance to meet him, Brett wouldn't cut off the crowd until the last fan in line
If you missed Brett last night do yourself a favour and check him out in 2 weeks when he comes back to the Ottawa area to headline at the Navan Fair with our good friend Brea Lawrenson opening up for him.
Emerson Drive capped off the night with an incredible performance, unfortunately their show had to be cut short by a couple of songs for safety reasons due to thunderstorms that were threatening the area although the electric crowd may very well have cancelled out any charge from a lightning strike, they seemed ready for anything. Even after the show was stopped many remained just in case there was the slightest of chance that the boys would return.
In all day 2 was another perfect day, even mother nature couldn't put a damper on the fun. Day 3 kicks off in just over an hour with another full day of rodeo action and then music from Ottawa's Blackwell Band starts the final party of the weekend as they open the show for Leah Daniels, Cory Marquardt and our headliners Autumn Hill. And to celebrate a successful weekend and the perfect weather we are offering everyone who holds a rodeo ticket free admission to the concert tonight and everyone who already has a ticket to the concert can bring a friend for FREE...don't have your tickets yet? ALL concert tickets are 2 for 1 so what are you waiting for load the family in the car and head on down to Spencerville and enjoy a perfect day! See you at the Stampede! www.spencervillestampede.com
Field Service Tech by day, Live Music Nut by night! My family and I call the Thousand Islands region of Ontario home. I'm a blogger, social media geek, tech, and live music fanatic. I founded Sound Check Entertainment in 2010 to help promote festivals and emerging artists from across Canada and the world! I now act as festivals liaison, manage media relations and, of course, cover events in the National Capital region. I'm also a diehard Habs fan but Sens fans fear not; as long as they aren't playing against my Habs I cheer just as loud for the Sens.
