Gord Bamford won’t get much chance to rest on his laurels after winning five Canadian Country Music Association Awards on the weekend.
While the Lacombe-based singer was still excited about his wins on Monday, saying “it’s an awesome feeling,” Bamford admitted it will be back to the grindstone soon enough.
“You’re always judged on what you’ve done recently,” he said, “so while it was a great night last night, it’s over now, and it’s back to work on putting out a great record.”
The singer who won Single, Video, Album, Songwriter and Producer of the Year accolades for his last album Is It Friday Yet? has a new release, Country Junkie, coming out on Oct. 8. He also has a new single going to radio, When Your Lips are So Close, which is described as an up-tempo romantic song.
Once his new album is released, Bamford will be off on a cross-country tour with Reba McEntire. Unfortunately, it will not stop in Alberta because the two performers already played together during Edmonton’s K-Days this summer.
“We played a couple of shows with her and then she invited us on the rest of her Canadian tour. She’s a great lady and it’s a real honour,” said Bamford.
While the fall and winter promise to be a whirlwind, the Central Alberta singer is enjoying the present calm, saying “I’m just planning to go home to be with my family and try to do the best I can so I can hopefully be back (at the CCMAs) next year.”
Bamford’s five awards out of seven CCMA nominations at Sunday’s award ceremony in Edmonton beat the four awards he won in 2010.
This year’s wins are particularly meaningful because most of them centre around Bamford’s tune Leaning on a Lonesome Song, which is dedicated to his brother-in-law, Cory Mathies, who committed suicide in 2011 after battling addiction and depression.
Bamford said the song seems to have struck a “special chord” with listeners. Some fans have told him the tune helped change their lives.
While Bamford said he tries to remain true to himself on every album, he believes his new 14-song release Country Junkie will be more “out of the box” than the previous one. “I’ve pushed the boundaries and challenged myself more, vocally,” singing a few songs in a higher register than was previously comfortable.
But Bamford feels its important to stretch with each new project, as well as to stay current with country music trends. “I am confident this album is the best one I’ve ever made.”
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com