Saturday I attended a very special event. It was called "Stories & Songs" and it was hosted by the local radio station. It was a fundraiser for a local women's shelter and it was tied in with a songwriting conference. The whole event was organized by Canadian singer/songwriter Jamie Warren (in the white shirt) and it featured Deric Ruttan (plaid shirt), Victoria Banks, Duane Steel and Jamie. I debated going until about an hour before the show, which meant I ended up going alone because I hadn't arranged to go with anyone, but that was fine. 
It was a really cool event. The premise of the evening was that each artist in turn performed either a song that has been a hit for them or for someone else. Before they sang they gave either a bit of background on the song, a story about writing it, or some other tidbit. It was fascinating!I've seen Deric quite a few times and he does an acoustic bit in his shows so I'd heard at least one of the stories before. He had a bunch of others to add though. He is by far one of my favourite songwriters and the people he collaborates with (Dierks Bentley, Doc Walker, etc) are my all time favourite acts.
I saw Duane live about eight years ago and he put on a great show. This was obviously very different but it was fun to see him talk about the songs. He`s just released a new album so he played a lot of new material. There are some great songs there!
This was my first time seeing Victoria or Jamie live and again, I have only good things to say. Victoria is the reigning Canadian Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the year and, even in an acoustic show, it is a title she really deserves! She has an INCREDIBLE voice! She is an extremely accomplished songwriter as well with cuts by Sara Evans, Jessica Simpson and Johnny Reid among others.The show was in a smallish venue so I didn't have to wait long afterwards to meet them. They were all awesome and very sweet. I'm glad I convinced myself to go! I am thankful for live music, in whatever form!
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