Award-winning Canadian country music artist Codie Prevost has opened for country music luminaries Garth Brooks, Florida Georgia Line, Joe Nichols and The Oak Ridge Boys- but he says it's his audience at Arcola's “amazing” MacMurray Theatre who will get a sneak preview of songs from his upcoming album 'Radio' during his show there on Thursday, March 9.
“We don't have an exact release date yet, but I'll be playing some new material from the album and people can do a pre-purchase for a signed copy at the show,” says Prevost. “And they will receive the album first- before anyone.”
“It's my fifth album and it's been a big process. I'm a lot more in the driver's seat on this one than I've been in the past- both as far as growing as an artist and being in the studio.”
Prevost first picked up a guitar as a 14-year-old. Since then, he has recorded five albums (including his upcoming release, “Radio”), won dozens of awards-from the Saskatchewan Country Music Association (SCMA) and the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) as well as receiving a nomination for the Lieutenant Governor's Arts Awards. He is a festival favourite in both Canada and Australia and in 2016, completed his third Australian tour.
Although Prevost has performed everywhere from barrooms to big arenas, he praised both the character and the acoustics of Arcola's MacMurray Theatre.
“It's amazing anytime you play a venue like The Mac,” says Prevost. “I come from a small town that's about the same size as Arcola- Archerwill, Saskatchewan- and it's really great that there's a theatre like The Mac in a community of that size. There's so much history in the building.”
Prevost is no stranger to this part of the province. His upcoming performance in Arcola will be his third in that community and he says each show is unique.
“When I performed in Arcola the first time, it was me and one other guy and we did a duo show and performed over two nights,” says Prevost. “Both evenings were just incredible- we had people up on stage and there was a lot of crowd interaction. And that's something that hasn't changed- the connection with the audience.”
“The second time I played Arcola, I came with a full band,” adds Prevost. “This time, I'm coming with a trio and it's going to be a really fun show. Our percussion player for example, is really unique. He actually plays a hockey puck and he uses a spade shovel as a cymbal.”
“It'll be totally different from my previous shows with a full band or the duo show.”
Prevost says the addition of material from 'Radio' will give listeners an accurate assessment of where he is currently- as both a musician and a man.
“I've learned a lot of lessons and the songs really, really portray where I am in my life right now,” he says. “It's a little bit of my life and a little bit of everything else. I'm really happy with 'Radio' and there's quite a bit of creativity that I tapped into with the songs on this record.”
Prevost says that as rewarding as the recording process is, a vital part of his life as a performer is meeting his audiences.
“We'll definitely be around after the show in Arcola to meet people. We usually stick around way too long after a show,” jokes Prevost. “But to me, that's important.”
“And our audiences from that part of the province have been great,” he says. “And Arcola has been a great community to host us- (Optimist Club members) Blake Brownridge and his wife, Stacy and Glen Lawson at the theatre, just to name a few.”
“I'm really excited to introduce songs from the new album at the show and to introduce new audience members to my music.”
The Codie Prevost Trio with Bradie Bourassa plays Arcola's MacMurray Theatre Thursday, March 9 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 and are available from any Arcola Optimiist Club member or by calling (306)-577-9904 or (306)-577-3250.
To learn more, check out www.codieprevost.com.
