After playing to over 70,000 fans across the country in celebration of their 25th anniversary this past winter, Blue Rodeo are heading back out on the road.
The ‘In Our Nature Tour’ will see the guys play shows from coast to coast with Jan. 9 marking their Red Deer stop at the Centrum.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the show slated for 7:30 p.m.
The band’s latest work, In Our Nature, was released in October but the guys have been previewing a number of new songs live for their fans at the band’s shows earlier in the year.
Fans are also getting an early preview of the new CD through a lyric video for the track New Morning Sun.
“Doing a lot of touring while making this record helped a lot,” says guitarist/vocalist Greg Keelor. “Everybody was getting along and the band was playing well together. It’s a good crop of songs and everyone just played it right and they played it beautifully.”
In the mid-80s Blue Rodeo played the Toronto club scene relentlessly, building a dedicated following that would show up to every show.
The band emerged in the early 1980s as a countrified rock band in the era of hair metal and glossy pop.
But their smash single Try became omni-present on radio across Canada and set in motion a three decade long career of headlining every club, theatre and arena in Canada.
In 1993, when grunge rock was squeezing commercial rock off the radio, they recorded their quietest album, Five Days In July, and scored their biggest hit selling over a half million copies of that one record alone.
Close to three decades of constant touring and legions of loyal fans continue flocking to fill arenas all across the country. With the release of In Our Nature, the band also announced what is estimated to be their 50th tour of Canada. It is a testament to their creativity that the band can endure a lifetime of challenges to continue to make music that Canadians can call their own.
With the addition of guitarist/singer Colin Cripps to the Blue Rodeo line-up, the band is now a seven-piece including Jim Cuddy (vocals/guitar), Greg Keelor (vocals/guitar), Bazil Donovan (bass), Glenn Milchem (drums/vocals), Bob Egan (guitar/pedal steel, mandolin), Mike Boguski (keyboards) and Colin Cripps (guitar/vocals).
Opening for Blue Rodeo on the tour will be Cameron House recording artists The Devin Cuddy Band.
Led by vocalist and pianist Devin Cuddy, the band tips its collective hat to everything swinging from touches of country in the 50s, New Orleans in the 20s and Cab Calloway in the 40s.
editor@reddeerexpress.com
