Dallas Smith becoming a Medicine Hat regular

When Dallas Smith takes the stage at the Canalta Centre next month it will be his fourth performance here in fewer than three years. His fifth will come when he returns aboard the CP Holiday Train on Dec. 17.

An enterprising real estate agent should check to see if he’s interested in buying any property in the area.

“We’ve always had good experiences in Medicine Hat, even back to the Default days,” Smith said with a laugh Monday.

Smith made his country debut in Medicine Hat at the Esplanade in February 2015, played the Stampede Grandstand that summer and was on the Holiday Train in 2016. His debut album “Jumped Right In” that spawned the singles “Tippin’ Point” and Wastin’ Gas” was the focal point on those first shows. Now it’s “Side Effects.” The album was nominated at the 2017 Juno Awards and won album of the year at the Canadian Country Music Association awards in September. The title track, “Autograph” and “Sky Stays This Blue” have each hit No. 1.

The Nov. 9 show in Medicine Hat comes on the downside of a tour that stretches from Halifax to Abbotsford and includes close to 30 dates in a little more than five weeks.

Days off are at a premium and Smith likes to take it easy.

“We’re getting into Toronto today, just going to be walking around and getting some fresh air,” he said, noting the partying is kept to a minimum these days to ensure his voice holds up across the country. Smith and his band have developed a reputation as topflight entertainers who leave everything they have on stage each night.

With a Canadian fanbase in Canada that seems to grow each day and with each performance Smith is happy with how his career is proceeding north of the border. He says if the right opportunity should come around to make his mark in the U.S. he’d jump on it, but for now it’s all about his home country.

Following the tour, the Holiday Train trip and some well deserved time off around the Christmas season Smith will head back to the studio early next year.

“We’re almost ready to hit record,” Smith says of his next album.

Tickets for the Nov. 9 show start at $35 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 1-855-9855000 or at the Canalta Centre box office. Special guests Lauren Alaina and Michael Ray will open the show, beginning at 7 p.m.