Live music is back in a big way, as Shred Kelly lit up a monstrous stage to a huge, happy crowd at Kimberley Alpine Resort on Friday, Mar. 25.
Kimberley’s own bluegrass and folk specialist Heather Gemmell was the first to take the stage. Her first live performance in some time after some time spent at home with newborns and working on a new album, one of her songs she performed as “North Star is Burning” — a track she recorded earlier this year expressing her feelings about the horrific act of arson that destroyed the main chair lift’s control station at KAR, severely impacting their season with effects trickling down throughout the city.
Next up, hailing from Treaty 4 Territory in Saskatchewan was Megan Nash and their band. Juno Award-nominated and the winner of the 2021 Best of Moose Jaw Award for Best Musical Artist and Saskatchewan Music Award’s Alternative Artist of the Year, Nash brought a lot of professionalism and beautifully crafted songs to their performance, and was very well received by the crowd.
Finally Fernie’s Shred Kelly took to the stage, a five-piece outfit currently on tour with a gigantic stage in tow. Their high-energy performance was nothing short of joyous, with smiles emanating from the band themselves as well as the colossal crowd that gathered outside under the sun in the plaza at KAR.
Since first forming in 2009, Shred Kelly has amassed a solid discography and had plenty of material, fresh and classic, to draw upon and the crowd enjoyed every minute of it. It’s been a long time since a concert of this size and quality happened in Kimberley, and it was most welcomed and won’t soon be forgotten.
paul.rodgers@kimberleybulletin
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter