Canadian country singer and songwriter Aaron Halliday will be bringing the ‘little bitty’ sounds of Alan Jackson to the Peter Lougheed Community Centre.
On April 8, the British Columbia Country Music Association (BCCMA) recording artist will pay tribute through the Alan Jackson Experience.
“I have been performing for 30 years now and the better part of those years has been paying tribute to Alan Jackson not because he is my favourite artist, a great singer-songwriter, a superstar or an idol but some of that is what has driven me towards continuing to pay tribute to him,” said Halliday.
“The thing I like and respect most about Alan is his honest, humble and kind personality which is a reflection of myself and makes it easy to want to pay tribute to him.”
Over the last few months, his tour schedule and performances were more confined, like many things, thanks to the pandemic so Halliday is looking forward to setting out on the road across Canada.
“It is very exciting to be back on stage again with the band and the energy that it brings to both myself and the audience. I personally didn’t slow down much throughout the pandemic. (My wife) Sharyn and I just found different ways to keep busy by doing more solo shows in smaller venues, with crowd restrictions we ended up regularly performing two nights at a venue to satisfy the demand for live entertainment. Now that the world is opening up we get to head out on a national tour.”
He got introduced to music at his home in rural Nova Scotia with his musical parents, surrounded by their friends in their living room.
“The desire to become an entertainer took a long time to understand for me. But, when that light went on in my head and I realized the difference between being someone who stands on stage and sings songs and a person who connects with the audience and really entertains that’s when I really started to enjoy what I do.”
When he was starting out in the business, Halliday said that he received the “surreal combination of a sweet compliment and a serious kick in the butt when, while busking on Rideau in Ottawa.”
According to the entertainer, Stompin’ Tom Connors dropped a $20 in his case and told him, “he was too good to be doing things this way and it was time to get off the street.” The singer said that he took that and the strong influences of both Merle Haggard and Alan Jackson, and was determined to take the whole thing a whole lot more seriously.
Now, with more than 20 years of playing under his belt and a 2021 International Singer-songwriters Association Award for ‘entertainer of the year award,’ he said he still has a wide-open road ahead.
He said that Jackson has also inspired me to write his own music and I get to share a portion of that with the audience during my shows as well.
The event will also feature some of Halliday’s own music. Most recently he said he is coming into his own as a writer and solo artist of his own making, in a style that he calls ‘dirt country with a roots and traditional feel.’
Halliday said that when it comes to favourite songs he has several and for many personal reasons, including ‘Drive’, which he wrote for his dad, to songs like ‘Too Much of a Good Thing (is a good thing)’ which reflects on his family life with his wife Sharyn their boys.
Rimbey is the third stop of 31 currently booked across Canada. Music and ticket information can be found at aaronhallidaymusic.com.
