West will meet East at Westerner Days on Thursday night, when Alberta’s Aaron Goodvin teams up for a double bill country music show with Newfoundland’s up-and-comer Jason Benoit.
Benoit had a banner 2018 when his Top 10 hit, Gone Long Gone, reached certified gold status. The song about a guy whose girlfriend’s left him hit all the right notes — both with Benoit’s plaintive voice and with country music fans.
Now, the Canadian Country Music Association’s award-winning artist is taking his new single, I Won’t Go, out on the road.
His next stop is Thursday’s concert in Red Deer’s Centrium during the fair.
“Red Deer has always been amazing to me, so to be playing at Westerner Days and … for some of Canada’s best country music fans is a true pleasure for me. I can’t wait,” says Benoit.
He was recently a Top-3 finalist in SiriusXM’s Top of the Country competition, and has performed at some of the country’s biggest festival stages, including the Cavendish Beach Music Festival, Boots & Hearts, the Calgary Stampede and CCMA Fan Village.
Now signed with Canadian label Vicktory Music Group, Benoit will be releasing his new EP, Revolution Pt. 1, this summer. It will blend modern country melodies with guitar picking and harmonies.
“I’m so excited about how well my latest single, I Won’t Go, is doing,” says Benoit.
“This is the first single of mine that’s been on the Music row charts and to be getting so much love from our American family is incredible.”
Benoit hails from The Qalipu First Nation Fox Island River in western Newfoundland.
His first single was a country rendition of the Armin van Buuren and Trevor Guthrie dance song, This Is What It Feels Like, in 2014. That’s when Benoit signed his first label deal with JV Records/Sony Music Canada.
Goodvin was born in Spirit River and had his first taste of stage life in a mall singing contest at age 12. He began writing songs at 18.
After signing with Warner Chappell Music, Goodvin delivered his first major contribution with the track, Out Like That, on Luke Bryan’s hit album, Crash My Party.
Goodvin’s also written songs recorded by Jon Pardi and Cole Swindell.
The Canadian Country Music Association Award winner has three Top 10 hits under his belt, including platinum-selling Lonely Drum, which won him the 2018 songwriter of the year award from the CCMA. His first No. 1 single in Canada was You Are.
Both of these country music singer/songwriters can be heard at an 8 p.m. concert that’s free with gate admission to the fair. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.