FROM THE FIELDS TO FAME
Hunter Brothers pursue their passion
The Hunter Brothers have already proven they’re outstanding in their field.
It happened last fall when Shaunavon’s Luke, J.J., Ty, Brock and Dusty turned on Facebook Live during harvest and sang a parody of Corb Lund’s song Truck Got Stuck.
“Two days later, we were up over a million views,” lead singer Ty recalled recently.
Fans no doubt responded to their authenticity. That’s a real combine stuck in a real mud rut on a real Saskatchewan farm.
Now they’re breaking new ground with their debut album Getaway. It hit No. 1, No. 6 overall, on iTunes Canada upon release.
All this didn’t come from the middle of nowhere. The five brothers inherited their grandfather’s musical talent — he was self-taught on six instruments. Growing up, they divided their time, sometimes reluctantly, between hockey and music lessons.
Four of the five ended up playing professional or semi-professional hockey.
Younger versions of the family band sang gospel in Canada and in the United States. Ty remembers recording in Nashville before his voice broke.
So it wasn’t exactly a quintet of greenhorns that signed a contract when Open Road Recordings came to visit the farm — during harvest, fittingly — in the fall of 2015.
But there was work to be done putting all the pieces together that are required in a music career.
“There’s live shows, there’s recording, there’s writing, there’s performance rehearsals, there is social media,” says Ty. It’s not unlike, yes, farming.
“There’s seeding and growing season and a harvest.”
Early singles released before the album, El Dorado and Long Way to Love You, got the Hunter Brothers’ name out there. And the new single Getaway reveals what a fun-loving bunch of guys they are. Shot in Florida, “it was honestly one of the highlights of our career,” says Ty.
Now would be a good time for a bumper-crop pun — the Hunter Brothers are up for four Saskatchewan Country Music Association awards: Fan Choice Entertainer of the Year, Group of the Year, Emerging Artist Award, and Single of the Year (El Dorado). Brother Luke, meanwhile, is up for All Star Band in the bass category.
It’s the guys’ first awards show, and they’re excited about it.
“One of the cool things about it is that you root for each other and you know that everybody is working hard to pursue their passion and their dreams. So it’s just exciting to be nominated and to be recognized among such great talent,” says Ty.
There’s live shows, there’s recording, there’s writing, there’s performance rehearsals, there is social media.