When St. Albert country singer Aaron Goodvin, 31, formally moved to Nashville five years ago, he was determined to build a successful singer-songwriter career.
Accounting for the huge numbers flooding to Music City every year, some privately wondered if his dream would deflate.
For anyone doubting his can-do spirit, Goodvin is successfully rising above the pack. He opened for Johnny Reid’s tour in March, released a self-titled album in April and will perform at Big Valley Jamboree’s main stage on Friday.
One of the largest music festivals on the continent, BVJ regularly attracts the biggest stars. This year’s heavyweights are Dierks Bentley, Blake Shelton and Carrie Underwood
On his Facebook page, Goodvin expressed his joy at the invitation to BVJ.
“I have been there almost every year since I started in the music business. Safe to say I played all the stages, but never the Big One. Thank you in advance Big Valley for embracing me and letting me grace the biggest Canadian country music festival in Canada with my story and songs.”
The band is flying in Thursday with cousin Tyson Goodvin on bass, drummer Kasey Todd, guitarist Chris Luebeck and keyboardist Adam Saxe.
For his one-hour set, Goodvin will focus on the songs that tell the story of his life.
One song he always goes back to is Don’t Never Let Go, a number that details one of his toughest times.
“It’s a song about a girl I knew in Alberta and we had a toxic relationship. It was one thing I didn’t need in my life, but it was the thing that sent me here. I packed up my bags after the relationship was over and moved to Nashville,” said Goodvin in a telephone interview from his home.
“God puts you through certain things and keeps you on the right track. It was a hard lesson, but I needed to go through it to get where I am.”
The 12-track album has songs that date back four years. So far the biggest hit has been the single Knock on Wood, on steady rotation across Canadian radio stations.
Prior to the album release, Goodvin received name recognition as a songwriter. Luke Bryant recorded Crash My Party; Cole Swindell did Dozen Roses and Jon Pardi ate up Trash a Hotel Room.
But it was second meeting with Johnny Reid last year that put Goodvin’s career on fresh legs.
“I had first met Johnny at the Rainmaker Rodeo (2005). We hung out backstage and talked about music. He was the most humble dude in the entire world.”
After the rodeo, both men parted ways. Last year through the Nashville network, Goodvin and his producer Bart Butler met Reid.
Miraculously Reid remembered the former St. Albert singer-songwriter and took him under his wing.
“We sat with him for two hours and chatted about where I wanted to go with my career. At the end, he said, ‘We’ve got to do something.’”
Reid assisted Goodvin in making contacts and pushing a deal through.
“But he’s one guy I can’t seem to get a song on his record,” laughed Goodvin. “Really, we have a cool relationship. We don’t need songs to keep it going. We’re friends.”
