Yesterday was the final day to catch some free music in Burlington, Ontario as the 37th annual Sound of Music Festival wrapped up with Canadian rock legends Loverboy. My family and I have been attending SOMF for the past 5 years and LOVE bringing the family down to enjoy the weekend. As a family we have made it a point to try to make it every year. This year however I was flying solo and had a chance to spend a couple of days at the event and I have to say I couldn't be happier with the time spent. This is one of those festivals that is so diverse in music it has something for everyone. With so many fantastic artists on the stage this weekend here is what we were able to cover.
For our frequent readers you know I am a country music guy, but I can tell you after seeing parts of the Dear Rouge set via Periscope and having spent a few hours with the duo earlier this week, I would have to say that the Vancouver based duo really set the tone for the rest of the day. I arrived shortly before 7pm and immediately went down to the OLG Stage to catch Sudbury native Andrew Hyatt kick off the Saturday night of country music. (Thursday Night kick off was also had a country flare with Leah Daniels, Deric Ruttan and Chad Brownlee) Thanks to Ray Williams for the pics from Thursday night great job Ray looking forward to working with you more this summer.
Andrew Hyatt had a strong performance, warming up a festival crowd isn't easy and Andrew did manage to get the folks to do a bit of a sing along during his current single . Andrew is a fresh face on the Canadian country scene and hope to have something with him later this summer. Next up to bat on his home field was friend to Sound Check, Tebey. Born and raised in Burlington Tebey spoke of growing up just down the street and spending nearly every summer going to the SOMF. We caught up with the big guy backstage after his set and was really surprised to see all the support from the community. Tebey left Burlington at a pretty young age and currently calls Nashville home. But having the chance to Co-Headline the Saturday night on a stage that he himself use to sit and the watch with his family was just an amazing feeling and you could see it in the performance.
Next up was Canadian country music outlaw. Aaron Pritchett. I had seen Aaron earlier this week with the Outlaw and Outsiders tour at Nashville North. This was his final Ontario date of the tour before heading back to BC where he calls home. The Lets Get Rowdy hit maker kicked things off in fine fashion and really didn't let up.
Aaron brought the party, he brought some of the Outlaws along for the ride and I have to say we at SC are HUGE supporters of Cory Marquardt. To see Aaron so graciously offer up 10 min of set time for the young lion cub to get his feet wet on the Festival stage and let me tell you he wasn't shy. Here's a little clip we managed to grab backstage.
after Cory was done Aaron came back out and played another 2 or 3 songs. With the final track and a hell of a night in the books it was Aaron's big hit Hold My Beer. Big fan of Aaron Pritchett and what he stands behind in this world of Country music. He is a strong supporter of the up and coming artist and we need that in Canada. If you haven't had a chance to get down to the Sounds of Music Festival we strongly suggest to attend next year. We can't wait!
Well if your reading this you must really be bored... So I was born and raised in a small town and have a thirst for good Canadian Whiskey.
