Johnny Reid never comes alone. Whenever the Scottish-Canadian country star tours the land, the concert is always an extravaganza of music and personality. Local audiences know this by now, from past appearances, so when he booked CN Centre for an appearance on his new Revival tour, it was only a matter of time before other names would emerge in support.
The first came quickly. Glass Tiger is a power-pop band that has won legions of fans since the '80s and their legacy is as glittery as their peak period on the charts. They will be along for the rockin' Reid ride.
On Tuesday, another special guest star's name was disclosed. Jessica Mitchell will also get to perform her hit country stuff on the Revival junket.
Glass Tiger has some obvious commonalities with Reid. There's the kilts, of course, since frontman Alan Frew is also a Scottish-Canadian. And there's the pop sensibility that have made both of them preeminent songwriters.
The commonality between Reid and Mitchell is the voice. He is called country's Joe Cocker and she is known as country's Adele for her powerful vocal delivery that seems to mail lyrics directly to your core.
"I'm thrilled to have Jessica join us," said Reid on Tuesday. "She's a great performer with great songs and a soulful voice. She's the real deal and a perfect fit for Revival."
Mitchell has been splitting her time between Toronto and Nashville, in recent years, as her career blossoms. She has already impressed the industry with sharply written songs like Grown Up Things, Working On The Whiskey, A Place Called Gone, and That Record Saved My Life, among others.
David Foster once surprised her with a duet on her song Buy You A Drink. She has toured with headliners like Kiefer Sutherland, Tom Cochrane, Royal Wood, Terri Clark, Ron Sexsmith and was picked to sing Only Love Can Break Your Heart on behalf of Neil Young at the 2017 Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
And true to that Adele comparison, she recently performed Skyfall for a Canadian Film Centre gala just to prove it was all true.
Mitchell earned a nomination at this year's Canadian Country Music Awards in the Roots Artist Of The Year category. From that, and the rangy collection of artists she's opened for, it's apparent that Mitchell's music style has a lot of colours outside the country lines. It's a flexibility that stands her in good stead and stands her in the same genre-bending camp as Johnny Reid.
Reid, Mitchell, Glass Tiger, Reid's large touring band The Soul Providers and perhaps many more will be on the Prince George stage March 8. Tickets are available for the CN Centre show at www.ticketsnorth.ca or at the arena's box office.
