It won’t be a status quo kind of year at the Niverville Olde Tyme Country Fair in 2018, but that doesn’t mean you won’t find all the fun and entertainment you’re used to.
Most notably, the traditional country music concert is a full go for Saturday night. This year’s music lineup will be headlined by Canadian country star Chad Brownlee. The Juno Award-nominated Brownlee will play the night of Saturday, June 9 on the Main Street stage.
“He’s always been on our radar,” says Dustin Krahn, Promotion and General Administration Coordinator for the fair. “He has lots of hits. Everybody knows about him.”
Indeed, Brownlee has been a Canadian country music mainstay for most of this decade. His eponymous debut album was released in 2010. He followed that up in 2012 with Love Me or Leave Me, which garnered Brownlee a Juno nomination for Country Album of the Year and a Canadian Country Music Association Award nomination for Male Artist of the Year.
In 2014, Brownlee released The Fighters, which included hit singles “Where the Party At?”, “Fallin’ Over You,” and “Just Because.” Brownlee’s most recent release, Hearts on Fire, came in 2016, earning him two more CCMA nominations and another Juno nomination for Country Music Album of the Year.
Brownlee has a unique history amongst his guitar-toting cohorts. He was an elite hockey player growing up and was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft after playing four years of NCAA hockey for the Minnesota State Mavericks. It wasn’t until injuries cut his hockey career short that he turned his attention to music. Brownlee was among the acts that performed at the Humboldt Broncos tribute concert on April 27 in Saskatoon.
Though Brownlee may be the only NHL draftee performing in Niverville that weekend, he won’t be the only country music favourite on stage Saturday night. Preceding Brownlee will be a couple of local favourites.
David James, out of Winnipeg, is a multiple Manitoba Country Music Association Award nominee. His hit single “Sun Set on It” went Top 20 on Canadian country radio, and his new album, Downtown Kids, was released in late April.
Also taking the stage that night will be local boy Brady Kenneth. Featuring more local talent is a goal for the fair committee, but Krahn says that it’s been a logistical challenge in the past.
“Local is big too,” he says. “We’ve tried to get more local bands. It’s just a challenge getting them on the stage. The stage gets full with all the sound checks and performances.”
This year, the fair committee will be setting up a tent and second stage adjacent to the main stage. The idea is to give local acts more opportunity to perform at their hometown fair as well as give fairgoers more opportunity to grab a beer and enjoy some live music. Organizers see it as bringing a little Festival du Voyageur vibe to Niverville on a hot summer weekend.
“The big tent across the street will feature more local bands and give more opportunity for local acts,” explains Krahn. “We’ve got lots of cover bands. For anyone who sees the fair as all-country, it gives a little diversity.”
The night of Friday, June 8 will see fair favourites The Big City All-Star Band headlining the main stage again. They’ve been regulars in recent years and always bring out a big crowd.
“They are absolute pros,” Krahn says. “They never disappoint.”
There was a big stir on social media earlier this year when the fair committee announced that, due to a couple of rainy weekends in recent years, 2018’s Olde Tyme Country Fair would be operating on a smaller budget. While Krahn maintains that patrons mostly won’t notice these changes on fair weekend, the decisions have been tough for organizers.
Still, Krahn says locals have been understanding. “The reaction has been pretty positive. People still recognize what we are trying to do.”
He adds that organizers will be looking to the skies and hoping for a little luck this June.
“The big thing is to manage the risk,” he explains. “But you have to plan like it’s going to be sunny to have a good fair.”
In addition to the music, the fair will feature a number of other events and activities.
The popular Motocross Spectacular is back this year. Although this well-known and much-beloved act has performed at the fair many times, they’re adding a new element to their show this year: jumps in the evening and after-dark. In addition to being more daring, this new part of the act will have the benefit of avoiding some of the high springtime winds that sometimes show up during on fair weekend. If history is any indication, daytime winds usually subside when the sun goes down.
Local dancers of the Prairie Soul Dance Company will also be performing.
This year, you can catch a live performance of the West Coast Lumberjacks. They’ve been featured on The Bachelor Canada and Canada’s Got Talent.
Also new this year is the Newlywed Game Show, where local engaged couples will be able to complete for a bunch of cool prizes.
The Niverville Olde Tyme Country Fair is launching a new website this year (see below). You can check it out for a complete schedule, as well as to purchase tickets. This year’s fair runs June 8–9.
