Country music stars coming together to honour Dick Damron
Posted 5 months ago
RICHARD MACKENZIE
Globe Staff
On his website, Bentley’s Dick Damron is described as ‘Canada’s Legendary Country Music Gentleman Outlaw.’ For all those reasons and more, EPS Entertainment, in association with The Producers Limited, have put together Countrifyed – A Tribute Concert for Dick Damron.
The concert, which will take place at the Deerfoot Inn and Casino’s Chrome Showroom in Calgary on Oct. 3 at 7 p.m., is also being filmed for TV, to appear at a later date.
Damron will be joined on stage by fellow country music legends Charley Pride, Ronnie Prophet, Carroll Baker, George Hamilton IV, The Good Brothers, Gary Fjellgaard, Glory Anne Carriere, Joan Kennedy, Michelle Wright, Patricia Conroy, Julian Austin and Beverley Mahood, among others.
The artists will take the audience through a musical journey of Damron’s life. Brett Wilson, star of CBC’s reality show Dragon’s Den, will be Master of Ceremonies.
Damron said he was contacted in March about the concert and is pleased about the way it’s coming together.
“I’m quite excited about the idea,” he said in an interview with the Globe last week. “I didn’t want it to become a circus. What it’s turning out to be is they have some wonderful people and guests coming and it’s being promoted as what it is. It’s not just a lot of big hype.”
In talking about the all-star line-up who is scheduled to appear, Damron said the significance is that he, at some point in his illustrious career, has had some connection to the artists.
“A lot of them are people who have done my material and almost everyone on there I’ve done shows with them or toured with them,” he said. “Like Joan Kennedy, Joan and I opened for Waylon Jennings on a tour. And I have worked with Ronnie Prophet many times. I did his TV show when he used to have that network show.”
Damron said he wasn’t involved with bringing the line-up together and he is grateful to the producers for assembling such an amazing group.
“They’ve done a wonderful job,” he said. “And they told me, all of them responded very positively. There was no negotiating or dragging of feet, they’re on there because they want to be. That’s what really keeps the spirit and will translate into a great live and TV show.”
While he couldn’t release any of the details of how the concert will run, Damron said he is, again, pleased with the format of the show.
He also noted that the evening will represent somewhat of a reunion for him and that is something he is looking forward to.
“A lot of those people, I haven’t seen for years,” he said, referring not only to the performers but also to others who will be in attendance. “I received e-mails from people who are coming from B.C., Ontario, Montana, Washington state, people are coming from all over. I didn’t want to be involved in all the work of putting it together but I’m glad they’re keeping me apprised of it all so I have the feel of the momentum and excitement that is building. It should be a fantastic night”
-sports@lacombeglobe.com
