Games ‘countdown’ an all-canadian concert
Tim Hicks, Loverboy, POESY, Jeremie Albino to play Meridian Centre
Meridian Centre is hosting an all-canadian jam Jan. 20 to start the 200-day countdown to the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games.
The eclectic lineup will be headlined by Niagara Falls country star Tim Hicks, returning to the St. Catharines arena after three years.
He’ll be joined by Canadian classic rockers Loverboy, rising new pop star POESY and country/blues singer Jeremie Albino.
Titled “Rise with Glowing Hearts,” the concert will be seven months before the region hosts the Canada Summer Games, delayed from this year because of the pandemic.
Hicks, who was recently inducted into the Niagara Falls Arts and Culture Wall of Fame, says he is “over-the-moon excited and honoured” to headline the show.
For POESY, it’s the start of a busy year in Niagara — she’ll also be performing at the opening and closing ceremonies for the Canada Summer Games. Her single “Steel Heart” was commissioned as the official theme song for the event, which takes place Aug. 6 to 21.
Hicks just released his EP “Campfire Troubadour.” The multi-ccma winner is a threetime Juno nominee and has two No. 1 country singles in Canada.
Considering his love of classic rock, a pairing with Loverboy isn’t so strange. The veteran band known for “Working for the Weekend” and “Turn Me Loose” has sold more than 10 million albums since forming in 1978. They were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2009.
Toronto’s Albino, meanwhile, evokes classic blues players on his debut album, “Hard Time,” written on the Prince Edward County farm he worked at for a decade.
Bringing together thousands of athletes, the Canada Games are held every two years, alternating between summer and winter. The Niagara games are expected to feature 5,000 participants and about 4,500 volunteers. It’s just the third time the Games have taken place in Ontario and the first time in 21 years.
Tickets for the Jan. 20 Meridian Centre show go on sale to the general public Friday at ticketmaster.ca. Presale tickets can be purchased by registering with the Niagara Action 2022 website.
The concert starts at 7 p.m.