Lacombe’s own Gord Bamford seems to never sleep and is now kicking off his new Honky Tonks and Dive Bar Tour.
The show, which kicks off Sept. 22 in Westlock, will see 40 shows across Canada and will also feature several shows in Australia — where Bamford lived until he was five years old.
Central Albertans will get their opportunity to see Bamford at Bo’s Bar and Grill in Red Deer on Nov. 4th. Bamford, who lives near Lacombe with his family, said it is really important to him to ensure Central Alberta gets a show.
“It is a unique tour,with us going back to the grassroots where it all began,” he said. “It is selling like crazy right across Canada and coming to Red Deer is obviously a great thing.
“They have done a great job at Bo’s. It is a great live music venue and it will be perfect for this type of show.”
The tour is named after Bamford’s Number 1 hit “Dive Bar” and the concept is to bring everything back to when Bamford was just starting off his musical journey.
“I grew up with a western background and my music is blue collar and grassroots,” he said. “Some of these places we are going back to play at is where it all started. Back in the day, you would play five to six nights a week in bars right across Canada.”
“When people leave, we want people to say, ‘Holy. That is one of the best shows I have seen’,” he said. “That is the whole plan for them and there is a lot of them. We are doing almost 40 shows across Canada.
“It seems to be really popular and people are excited to see that type of show in that type of venue. It should be fun.”
Bamford encouraged Central Albertans to grab tickets fast, with shows filling up across the country.
“There will be a lot of disappointed people who couldn’t get in but we are doing two to three shows in a lot of these places. It has been a really good thing for us,” he said.
Bamford is also looking to grow his Foundation this year, which so far has raised $3.6 million for kids across Canada.
“We are always looking for new venture to be a part of,” he said. “We get so many requests for funding and we are doing some exciting stuff. We are announcing new events, one of them being in Red Deer and one out in B.C. It will be pretty unique and based around sports and kids.
“We will continue to set the bar hig for our Foundation.”
She added, “If people want to see the show, tickets are at Bo’s.”