Scott Roos
Special to the Herald
It’s all happening, Prince Albert. On Friday, June 3, award winning, Canadian country music superstar Brett Kissel will be bringing his “SHOWTIME” tour to the Art Hauser Centre.
Kissel has performed in Prince Albert several times and is looking forward to returning. This time, he’ll be bringing a big stage, arena style production in tow.
“(We’ve got) big production. Just beautiful production,” said Kissel, whose new album “What is Life” was recently named Country Album of the Year at the 2022 Juno Awards.
There’s a general sense in Kissel’s tone that he’s graduated to larger venues and he’s looking forward to it.
“All the songs that I’ve released in the last five years either need to be played outdoors or in an arena.”
Throughout the pandemic, Kissel was able to continue performing, being one of the first artists in the country to adopt the drive-in concert model. But, like so many of his peers, as much as performing in this manner was good for the souls of both audience and performer alike, it still just wasn’t the same.
“Playing to windshields and honking horns was an extraordinary experience,” he said. “You could see people partying in the tailgates but to get an opportunity now to reach down and touch someone’s hand and party with them and maybe have a beer backstage with somebody at the meet n greet. It’s that thing.”
Kissel has clearly missed what he called his “connection” to his fans and also the “camaraderie” that comes with being able to spend extended periods of time with his touring band.
“This (concert and tour) is going to be as therapeutic for me and (the fans) as I think it could be for anybody else in the crowd who needs a wonderful distraction to come out and just enjoy and forget about their troubles for a little while and just have a great time,” said Kissel.
Kissel released his critically acclaimed record “What is Life” in 2021. It’s an introspective record dealing with themes of family, relationships and the meaning of life in general. It was bookended by the singles “Make a life, Not a Living” and “Night in the Life” garnering Juno award nominations in the categories of “Country Album of the Year” and “Single of the Year”. In the meantime, he’s recently released a new single entitled “Ain’t the Same” which featured guest vocals by 98 Degrees. It’ll serve as the lead-off single for a forthcoming full length album coming out later this year.
It’s a very positive time right now in the Brett Kissel camp. He radiates positivity as he talks about his excitement about the “SHOWTIME” tour as well as the new album. Essentially Kissel is feeling what many are feeling right now with the relaxing of restrictions and life seemingly returning to some sense of “normalcy” in the wake of what was, at times, a soul crushing pandemic.
“I’ve never been more excited about new music. I’ve never been more excited about my growing family, my amazing group of friends. It’s a pretty special season right now. I think the pendulum has swung back a bit more in my favour because over the course of the pandemic there were a lot of dark days for many of us. But as far as I’m concerned the pendulum has definitely swung over to the positive side,” concludes Kissel.
Tickets for Kissel’s Prince Albert show have been for sale since March 25th and can be purchased at SaskTix.ca. Platinum selling, CCMA Award winner Jade Eagleson will join as a very special guest. The concert will take place at the Art Hauser Centre on June 3rd.