Canadian country singer Michelle Wright is stirring up her holiday spirit sensibilities as she sets out on her Christmas tour.
She’s bringing her ‘I’m Dreaming of a Wright Christmas Tour’ to the Delburne Community Hall on Dec. 9. Doors open at 7 p.m. with showtime at 8 p.m.
Originally from a small town in Ontario, Wright has called Nashville home for about 20 years. Returning to Canada for the Christmas tour every couple of years is a fun time to reconnect with fans and enjoy the frosty, snowy landscapes – for about a month.
“Then we get to return home,” she adds with a laugh, referring to the balmier Tennessee weather. Still, the weeks before Christmas are a delightful time for Wright to be in her homeland – she’s passionate about presenting a show that is rich in traditional tunes of the season while offering up her own interpretations of classic carols plus several originals.
Part of the show is dedicated to some of her hits as well. And with an acoustic record of past hits and cover tunes due later this month, audiences will also have a chance to hear a sampling of that project.
Over the years, Wright has landed some 40 industry awards during her lengthy career, which was launched in the late 1980s with the release of Do Right By Me. She’s notched 25 Top 10 hits in Canada, five gold and two multi-platinum albums, worldwide record sales approaching two million and nearing 1,000,000 units in Canada alone.
Growing up in Merlin, Ontario, Wright heard lots of R&B and Motown hits coming out of Detroit, just 45 minutes away.
“My earliest memories of music are singing in the car, or spending the weekend with my father after my parents separated and watching him put on a rhinestone‐studded suit to perform in,” she says. Her love of Motown has also sparked interest in doing a CD down the road dedicated to that unforgettable style.
A passion for music continued to develop as did a powerful voice – Wright soon found herself drawn to making music and finding it a natural career choice. Back in the mid-1980s, she started out with Marilynn Caswell who was the main country music talent booker at the time.
“Mostly we played cover songs, but I had made a cassette tape of myself singing a Judds song Mama He’s Crazy. So when Marilynn told me that Brian Ferriman, who had a label in Toronto, was looking for a female artist, I sent him the tape.”
That led to a recording and management deal that has lasted more than 25 years. Steve Bogard and Rick Giles wrote seven of the 11 tunes on Do Right By Me, and went on to produce the disc as well. Three of the songs vaulted into the Top 10 including the title track.
Do Right By Me also opened doors in the U.S. as well. Wright relocated to Nashville and a successful career continued to take shape. In 1992 she released Now & Then which spawned the U.S. Top 10 hit Take It Like A Man.
For Me It’s You followed in 1996. Michelle Wright: The Greatest Hits Collection marked the start of the new millennium. Shut Up and Kiss Me followed in 2002, her first Christmas album, A Wright Christmas, was released in 2005 and Everything and More followed in 2006.
Ultimately, for Wright, it’s all about connecting with fans. During her shows, it always feels like she has all the time in the world for her audience and there is no other place she would rather be.
She’s also at a point in her life where things are moving along at a more relaxed pace. Gone are the harried days back in the 1980s before her first record deal when she was performing virtually non-stop on her road to success. These days, Wright has struck a balance between recording, touring and having a happy personal life. But there is of course something special about hitting the stage that never loses it magic.
“When I get on that stage every night, no matter what’s going on in my world, the audience makes me feel like, for right now, I’m okay. For right now, I’m full of joy. I absolutely love this.”
For more information, contact Shelly Nicholson at 403-749-2711 or 403-749-2186 or 403-396-5240 or Ray at 403-749-3813.
editor@reddeerexpress.com
