Aaron Goodvin loves to connect with his audience
Opens for Gord Bamford at Centennial February 8
Gord Bamford’s Neon Smoke Cross Canada Tour will stop at Centennial on February 8. Canadian singer Aaron Goodvin will be the opening act. This great show is a presentation of François Gilbert Productions, Inc.
Indeed, Warner Music Canada recording artist Aaron Goodvin has been confirmed as the opening act on Gord Bamford’s 29-date national tour of Canada that kicks off January 24 at the Rose Theatre in Brampton, Ontario with a stop in Lennoxville.
The announcement came on the heels of Goodvin receiving his first gold single for ‘Lonely Drum.’ His latest and current single, ‘Miss Me Yet’ was one of the most added tracks on country radio for many weeks now.
Although Goodvin first made a name on the scene as a songwriter, with Luke Bryan recording one of his songs, it has been as a solo artist that the young man has made the most noise so far.
His debut single, ‘Knock On Wood,’ was a Top 40 hit on country radio in Canada and opened the door for the Top 10 follow-up smash hits ‘Woman In Love’ and ‘Lonely Drum.’
But first things first; Aaron Goodvin, was born in the tiny town of Spirit River, Alberta, where everyone has to find their own entertainment. “When I was around 10, we got a karaoke machine for Christmas,” remembers Goodvin reached by phone for an interview.
“After that it was all over. You couldn’t stop me singing,” he said of this event that triggered a musical career for him. Music had become a huge part of his life for good.
As a 12-year-old, the young boy had his first taste of stage life when he entered a singing contest at a local mall. Once he heard the applause from the crowd, he knew what he wanted to do and no one was going to get in his way.
But singing other people’s songs wasn’t what he had in mind, so as soon as he could play guitar, he started writing his own material. By the time he turned 18, his songwriting had matured to the point of contributing cuts to other artists.
Over the years, Goodvin built a local reputation as a dynamic performer with a rock-solid portfolio of songs. With that success building his confidence, he started to make trips down to Nashville to see if he could further his career in Music City.
After signing with publishing powerhouse Warner Chappell Music, Goodvin scored his first major league accomplishment with Luke Bryan recording one of his songs, ‘Out Like That,’ for multi-platinum album Crash My Party.
“Because of songwriting I was able to break into Nashville,” he said. “There’s nothing cooler than having someone singing your song. But performing is the reason that I do all of the other things I do.”
This is the kind of things that gets you welcomed in to a lot of writing sessions, but the young artist had other ideas about his place in the music world. He decided to write and record his first solo album for Warner Music Canada, enlisting the help of country music star Johnny Reid for guidance and CMA nominated producer Bart Butler (Jon Pardi) as his production partner.
The result was a strong collection of songs that encompasses Goodvin’s life experiences and has connected with audiences in a genuine and convincing way. Goodvin has a natural ability to be in total control on a stage. He easily connects with people, and delivers a showstopping performance, no matter the size of the venue.
The opportunity to continue his career as a performer came from fellow artist Johnny Reid, who met Goodvin through a local recording engineer in Nashville. Impressed by his ability to sing and perform, Reid reached out to Goodvin to get together. The two talked about what the newcomer’s future could hold.
“I told Johnny that I just wanted to share my music with an audience,” he said. “He’s taken me under his wing, which shows you what kind of guy he is. He truly wants to help other artists.”
‘Knock On Wood’ was the perfect first single from the Canadian singer’s self-titled debut album. “This song is the past 10 years of my life wrapped into threeand-a-half minutes, said the singer/songwriter. “I knew from the first time I spit out the first line, ‘I’m gonna change the world, just me and this guitar,’ that it was going to be special.”
For the inspiration on ‘Woman In Love,’ he looked no further than his wife Victoria. All of the feelings of true love and devotion clearly resonated with fans as the song became his first Top 10 hit. The emotion of the song was echoed in the accompanying video clip.
The video for that song was actually filmed at his own wedding. It is him, his wife and family and friends — not actors — featured in the video. The emotions are raw and real, it is a true love story. It was the happiest day of their lives.
Goodvin said he knew that ‘Lonely Drum’ would be a hit from the moment when he, Catt Gravitt and Skip Black finished writing it. “This song seems to be just as much fun for people to listen to, as it was to write.” His hope was that people would dance and sing along to it over and over again.
He went from being known as a songwriter, to being known as a performer, although he always considered being a performer above anything else. “I have always written, so I have been able to sing songs that are real to me because I wrote them. I’ve realized that it’s awesome to return to what I love to do, which is connecting with people, in person, through music and my live performances,” he stressed.
Many will look at his career as being the usual story of a boy from a small town seeing his dream come true. But this is never as easy as it seems. It requires a lot of sacrifices and hard work to reach your goals.
“I think I’m proof it doesn’t matter where you come from. My dream is still unfolding, and there have been struggles, but I try to make a point to enjoy everything along the way. I can’t wait to see what happens next,” said Goodvin.
This is a show to see, a talented artist to discover if you don’t already know him! You can reserve your tickets at www.ovation.qc.ca or by phone at 819822-9692.