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Canyon loves to hit the stage ... in Sudbury or anywhere

Canadian country music mainstay George Canyon will be making a tour stop in Sudbury on March 7 at the Caruso Club.
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Canadian country music mainstay George Canyon will be making a tour stop in Sudbury on March 7 at the Caruso Club. Supplied photo.
Canadian country music mainstay George Canyon will be making a tour stop in Sudbury on March 7 at the Caruso Club.

At 45 years old and with nearly 26 years in the music business under his cowboy belt buckle, Canyon just released his 11th full length album, “I Got This,” on Feb. 5 and kicked off his tour in Calgary on the same day.

The cross-country tour is a ritual for Canyon when releasing an album, and all these years and tours and cities later he's still loving every minute of it.

“I'm still like a 12-year-old in my mind when it comes to this — it's playing music for a living,” said Canyon, whose tour will make 40 stops across the nation over a six-week span.

“I guess because I was very lucky that I got to pay my dues and play bars back when it was a lot different and the industry was a lot different, so because I got to do that it helped me for when I did get my break and it's something that I'm so grateful for every day, to have support from fans and my country, it's definitely something that I don't take for granted.”

Canyon's latest release was a few years in the making and he says that he came at this album with a fresh approach while still putting the “Canyon stamp” on it.

“I didn't want to recreate (myself), but I wanted to create something fresh and new,” said Canyon.

“I just took my time and wrote some songs that got thrown out and just tried some different things and just had fun. After 26 years it's important to remember why you went into the business and to have fun and enjoy it.”

Canyon says the song styles can range between George Strait and Sam Hunt. While Canyon is best known for his country music affiliations, he is a lover of all music and has even been dabbling in the hip-hop genre recently.

“I actually just watched 'Straigh Outta Compton' because my son said that I had to watch it, so I've actually been listening to a little bit of rap,” said Canyon. “I've been more so studying the process of how they make their music and it's a lot of work and these guys are really talented .. . there's no rap songs on my record though, I don't think anyone would ever want to hear me rap.”

Canyon is touring as a solo act, but has been bringing local acts in to open his shows, something he's very proud and happy to do.

“It's really important because we want the communities to get behind and support their local talent so at every venue we've had a local artist or group open,” said Canyon.

“It's been awesome, just to see the excitement on their faces and the excitement of the community getting to celebrate artists from their home.”

For more on George Canyon's tour and music visit www.georgecanyon.com, Facebook and Twitter.

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