As Panhandle Productions rolled their tour buses and equipment semis into the town of Legal, it was a signal for the usually low-key residents to dust off their cowboy hats and strap on party boots. Last Saturday was a day filled with good old-fashioned francophone joie de vivre.
This small town of 1,225 people had won a nail-biting contest sponsored by Panhandle and Travel Alberta, beating out 53 other rural communities for the chance to host one of the hottest shows around – the inaugural Big Valley Jamboree’s Small Town Saturday Night.
As Panhandle technicians unloaded the stage, lights, microphones and amplifiers, spirited volunteers had already spruced up the town, organized activities for the big day and cooked a feast for the charity barbecue.
Centred in the Legal arena, curling club and Centralta Community Centre, the action-packed 10-hour gathering boasted a line-up of Alberta’s strongest country singer/songwriters along with a blowout, high-tech Dean Brody concert, and an abundance of kids’ activities.
Several thousand country fans from surrounding cities and towns made the pilgrimage to enjoy the well-paced, non-stop party. While some fans relaxed listening to the low-key vibe of acoustic guitars, the younger daredevils spent an hour or two spinning tricks on the skateboard park next to the curling club.
The following day after the newly minted jamboree, town councillor Trina Jones said, “We were exhausted, but it was such a great success. We had so much fun putting it on and watching everybody get together for a great day. The whole town pulled it together and we put our whole hearts into the event.”
A stranger pulling into town would have immediately been attracted to the sounds of laughter and giggles coming from 46 Street where parts were blocked off to traffic.
Immediately in front of Legal School, a kids’ activity centre was constructed with the scent of straw bales wafting through the gentle spring breeze. Craft tables, jumpy things, a photo station and a face-painting corner with a 20-foot line-up were the first glimpses of the festival’s carnivalesque ambience.
For the true urban cowboy, two wooden horses were positioned ready for practice lassoing. While TV cowboys make it look easy, hardly anybody who twirled and threw the lasso nabbed the horse’s head on a first try.
But the most popular, mesmerizing activity was the one-legged mechanical bull, a bucking, spinning hunk of metal sheathed with skin and a head. At the afternoon’s half-way point Joel Congo, an Evansburg businessman who owns Mr. Mechanical Bull, estimated riders were mounting the bull at one per minute.
For the two-year-olds hanging on for dear life, the bull moved at a gentle, lulling speed similar to an old-fashioned rocking horse.
“It’s always a blast when people have this kind of fun,” says Congo, pointing to a two-year-old’s splitting grin.
When Nathan Derocher, 14, a Grade 9 student from Lorne Akins junior high in St. Albert mounted the bull, the bucking sharpened. But Derocher was tough and he was hanging on tight.
At a certain point, Congo said, “Let’s kick it up a notch,” and the operator spiked it. In an unexpected spin, the bull whipped the teen around and he landed with a smack on the edge of the padded mat.
Picking himself up and dusting his pants, Derocher laughed saying, “It’s like tubing but in the middle of a field.”
Over at Centralta, master of ceremonies Danny Hooper introduced the Songwriters’ Acoustic Showcase, a warm and gracious hour of entertainment with the intrepid Aaron Lines, Shane Chisholm, Tim Hus, Duane Steele and Samantha King.
Taking turns, they sang a blend of western flavoured and rockin’ country dance songs, travelling tunes, kick-butt numbers, memory songs and romantic ballads.
Although Lines must have sung his big hit Cheaper to Keep Her more times than he cares to count, the mainstream artist performed with the same gusto and fun-loving’ spirit as if the tune was brand new.
Three-time CCMA award winner Shane Chisholm, renowned for his gas can upright bass, pulled out a second instrument that looks like the Stanley Cup complete with hockey stick for a neck and goalie mask in place of the top scroll.
After Chisholm struck a few notes of the Hitchhiking Buddha, the packed auditorium joined in a rousing clap-along.
Once more Hus, who just finished a tour with Stompin’ Tom Connors, gave a solid demonstration of his dry wit and marvellous storytelling gift in Gravel Pit Song. And Duane Steele, singing his lonesome 1996 No. 1 hit Anita Got Married, followed with a certain statesman-like vibe to his songs.
The only female road warrior of the bunch, King sang a couple of kick-butt songs along with The Allovers, a tune she wrote for Keith Urban because she’d had a crush on him for years.
Attending the songwriters’ showcase was Laurie Bland from Morinville. “I really liked the humorous stories and the personal connections they made. The stories told us of where the songs came from. It was nice to hear the personal part.”
Following the showcase was an autograph session with artists signing the typical photographs, CDs and shirts. But Legal’s Maegen Parker, 12, brought in her prize guitar.
For a moment the artists’ faces registered a fraction of a surprise, but they smoothly obliged with big smiles. Later Parker, a fan of Kenny Chesney, shyly admitted, “They’re pretty cool.”
At the evening’s feature concert starring Dean Brody, the acoustic showcase was repeated for the sold-out crowd. But before the concert launched into full swing, Larry Werner, owner of Panhandle Productions, stepped onto the stage to offer Legal his congratulations.
“With a two-minute video and a song about Red Solo Cup, you stole 100,000 hearts (the number of Legal’s online voters),” he said.
As the lights went down, Brody’s four-piece band entered the stage and the music began to play. A fog machine belching smoke created stunning shafts from the multi-coloured moving lights. On the sides of the stage were two super huge screens displaying every pore of the singer’s face.
Brody strolled on the stage wearing a cowboy hat and sandals singing a song from his new album Dirt. After the song was over, he apologized for the sandals – not typical cowboy gear – but he’d twisted an ankle the previous night at a show and was relegated to wearing bandages and sandals.
But a minor injury didn’t slow down Brody or his band from playing hot and hard, and never letting up with singles such as It’s Friday, Trail in Life, Brothers and Canadian Girls.
At times the lyrics were fun, at times soulful, and at times sweet. And what would a country fest be without a few tearjerkers?
By the time Brody played Canadian Girls, his second last song, just about every teenage girl in the arena had run up to the stage pumping fists and shakin’ booties.
Speaking for every red-blooded female in the hall, Sherwood Park’s Shelley Martens said, “He’s fabulous – so sexy. I just wish he’d played longer.”
As his tight band played the last number, Brody bent down and walked across the stage shaking hands with as many fans as possible. This symbolic gesture of connecting with Legal was exactly what the town had set out to do. By shooting a two-minute video, it was reaching out to showcase itself to the world.
This country jamboree has earned the Friends of Legal Society an amount from $80,000 to $90,000 to build a new playground. The groundbreaking ceremony will be held in September.
“Once we reach our target amount, our committee will distribute the remainder to other youth initiatives in the community,” Jones explained.
The word has leaked that Panhandle Productions will once again sponsor the event next year.
Jones added, “I hope another small town gets this opportunity. It’s been fantastic for us.”
