Get out your cowboy hats, boots and spurs.
Drayton Entertainment is bringing a bit of country music to the Drayton Festival Theatre this weekend with two concerts on April 30.
The event is planned as an upbeat and toe-tapping kick-off for the plowing match season, culminating in the five-day International Plowing Match and Rural expo in September.
Ron Ellis is on the entertainment committee and says the two shows, one at 2 p.m., and the other at 7:30 p.m., are the perfect beginning to the agricultural festival season.
“We wanted to get the hype going early, even though the main event isn’t until September,” he said. “We figured, let’s mix some stage acts with farming. We are a group of volunteers that decided to get together with the plowing match committee and show off our stars and introduce the public to the plowing match.”
The first of the two shows starts off with a performance from a down-home local boy, Ty Baynton. Hailing from Waterdown, Ontario, Baynton is on his way up on the Canadian country music scene, having opened for acts like Gord Bamford and Blake Shelton. He is joined by Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame guitarist Wendell Ferguson.
“Ferguson has won many country music awards as Guitar Player of the Year, and he has recorded with many top stars,” said Ellis. “His humour and guitar work is unbelievable. It should be a remarkable show.”
Ferguson will take the stage again later in the evening, opening for the headlining act, The Western Swing Authority. The group comes from the Kitchener area, and was named the Country Music Association of Ontario’s Group of the Year.
“They are quite well-known,” says Ellis. “Their live shows are upbeat and fun. They play music that anyone at any age can enjoy. It is a swing, bluegrass type of sound.”
The evening show is selling well, says Ellis, but Drayton Entertainment is hoping to sell more tickets to the matinee performances.
“When people see the show, they will be really impressed,” he said. “It is a show that you won’t want to miss whether you are or aren’t a country music fan. It is a good time to renew friendships too. The committee members and people involved with the plowing match will be there as well. It is going to be a good opener for the plowing match season. The International Plowing Match is a huge event.”
Over 90,000 people come through the September festival in five days, and Ellis is also in charge of providing the entertainment in September. Something he says is a big job.
“We have 35 different acts for four different venues, but we are really hoping to create a bunch of excitement from this opening kickoff.”
The Queen of the Furrow selection committee will also be on hand at the April 30 show with a silent auction, looking to raise money for the fall event, and Ellis says to be on the lookout for some high quality items for concert-goers to bid on.
For tickets to either the matinee or evening concerts, visit draytonfestivaltheatre.com, or call 519-638-5555. Tickets are $35 each.
