WOODSTOCK
A singer-songwriter from Woodstock, P.E.I. says he plans to put on the musical showcase of his life next month in Hamilton, Ontario.
Cory Gallant beat out eight other contenders from across the country in online voting in June to earn a spotlight performance at the Canadian Country Music Awards in Hamilton.
He has since learned that he will be performing during the CCMA’s Legends Show on September 7 alongside such country greats as Terri Clark, Michelle Wright, Aaron Goodvin, Charlie Major and Murray McLauchlan.
Each of the performers during that show will sing a Country Music Hall of Fame member’s song. In learning that he will be doing a Paul Brandt tune, Gallant takes a trip back in time to one of his first ever singing competitions at Spinnaker’s Landing in Summerside. That was 22 years ago and the 17-year-old performed Brandt’s “My Heart has a History”.
While in Hamilton, Gallant will also be featured in a CCMA showcase event where he will perform some of his original material.
Those two events combined, have the potential of opening up new musical opportunities, the 39-year-old performer acknowledges.
Gallant, who has three daughters, ages 13, 11 and seven, will also perform some of his original material at St. Anthony’s Legion in Bloomfield on Tuesday, August 28. The legion home, where he is a member, will be hosting a sendoff party for him from 7:30 to 10 p.m.
Gallant is no stranger to Hamilton, having performed a decade ago with a Hamilton-based band, Bareback Riders.
There have already been some doors opening for Gallant, including prime slots this summer at country music festivals in Cape Tormentine and Saint-Louis-de-Kent. He even got to do a duet with Georgette Jones, daughter of country music legends George Jones and Tammy Wynette. They sang George Jones’ Tennessee Whiskey.
Although he did some co-writing with the Bareback Riders, Gallant said he really only took up songwriting seriously about two years ago and is currently in Daniel Drouin’s Up West Productions studio recording an album of all-original material.
He’s aiming at a spring, 2019 release, to capitalize on the CCMA exposure while building up for the 2019 music festival circuit.
“I’m taking my time and doing it right, getting the right musicians on it,” said Gallant.
The CCMA exposure, he acknowledges, will be the biggest stage he’s been on since he started performing in public as a young teenager.
“That’s where the networking begins, and the possibilities of what’s going to happen after that are endless, if they like what they see or if the showcase goes well.
“I have to put on the showcase of my life, I guess.”
His career went into a lull about 10 years ago when he shifted gears and studied to become a paramedic, a job he still holds. But music is a big part of his life and he is intent on seeing where it can take him. “I think if you’ve got good, honest, real music that people can relate to, and you can entertain them, the possibilities are endless right now,” he assessed.
“It took 10 years but, now, doors are starting to open again. I’m going to roll with it as much as I can; as long as I can.”
