Brett Kissel impresses his fans
ALBERTAN SHOWS WHY HE’S A HIT
Brett Kissel came and he conquered. The rising Canadian country music star gave a full house in a half-bowl at the Enmax Centre on Thursday night a rousing performance that surely bode well for the professional bullriding event at that venue on the weekend.
The 26-year-old Nashville-based Kissel is a born-and bred-Alberta boy, the fifth-generation of a family of cattle ranchers from Flat Lake.
An artist who got his first guitar at the tender age of six and released his first album at 12, Kissel is a country music veteran, which his polished stage show proved.
Singing and talking about drinking and partying, Kissel was right at home with the young rowdy crowd who filled the floor in front of the stage and lined up at the beer stations as he and his stellar band played hit after hit, starting with the appropriately named “Raise Your Glass.”
He then segued into a song that he told the audience described him and his life, a tune called “Canadian Kid,” which includes the lyrics: “I’m a Canadian kid, born and bred Have two boots, and a zed Anywhere in this world that I may lay my head I’ll still always be a Canadian kid.” That theme ran throughout his performance, which at one point, included bringing a young Lethbridge girl named Phoenix onto the stage after she held up a huge sign and getting her to help him lead the crowd in song.
He tugged on audience heartstrings with a ballad called “Tough People Do,” a song about saying farewell to his late grandfather and then called for a “sociable,” which prompted swarms of fans to raise their beer cups in salute.
After telling fans his pride of being an Albertan, Kissel and band launched into a rousing new song called “She’s Desire.”
Kissel carried his guitar and mic into the middle of the floor to sing among the crowd after doing his crowdpleasing Juno nominated “Pick Me Up.”
Endearing himself more to his fans, he had local singer Trevor Panczak join him on stage for a couple of songs including the Waylon and Willy hit “Good-Hearted Woman.” Panczak showed his appreciation by calling Kissel “one of the hardest working men in country music.”
That hard work and dedication to his craft have made the Warner Music artist a fan favourite with Canadian audiences.
Opening for Kissel was a singer named Lauren Mayell, a Calgary-born and Thunder Bay-Ont.-raised artist with a voice as rich as aged bourbon and smooth as vanilla.
Mayell has a dynamic stage presence and a voice that absolutely soars.
She just released in January a sixsong EP which includes five tracks she co-wrote. Her all-too-brief performance gave audiences a glimpse of a genuine talent. This woman is a true musical revelation with a big future ahead of her.
With both a strong voice and engaging personality, Mayell could teach more seasoned artists a few lessons of the craft.