Friday at the CCMA'S

After a busy day on Radio Row- I dropped by the Road Angel showcase which saw Mackenzie Porter team up with the Halifax SPCA and bring in some adorable puppies and kitties to be adopted!! Edmonton’s The Dungarees were there!

From there it was off to the Open Road showcase at the legendary Seahorse Tavern. This event was chaulk full of surprises- including east coast legend Jimmy Rankin as a surprise opener!

In addition to newcomers River Town Saints and Jessica Mitchell- we were also treated to acoustic sets from established Open Road vets like Madeline Merlo and Tim Hicks!

And some “stand up comedy” from host Curtis Rempel of High Valley. He assured us he won’t quit his day job!

Dean Brody was up next and had the crowd singing along to Bounty- when he surprised everyone by bringing out Great Big Sea’s Alan Doyle! That’s right- Dean Brody and Alan Doyle sang It’s Friday ON a Friday ON the east coast! Awesome!

Alan even stuck around to sing “Ordinary Day” with the crowd!
There was one more surprise performance- a literal supergroup featuring Curtis Rempel of High Valley, Clayton Bellamy of The Road Hammers and Jeff Coplan of Blackjack Billy! The trio (temporarily dubbed either Jack Hammer Valley or Black Road High depending who you asked) blasted through hits from each group (I’m A Road Hammer, She’s With Me, Booze Cruise, Mud, County Line and I Got a Feeling) to close out the afternoon!

Back in Halifax for the first time in a LONG time- the CCMA’s just had to have a kitchen party which saw opening sets from Wes Mack and Steven Lee Olsen

Autumn Hill and Chad Brownlee came out before headliner Tim Hicks took the stage to a rowdy crowd!

From the Kitchen Party it was off the Marquee (above the Seahorse) for the invite only Invictus party which saw great sets from Jordan McIntosh…

The LEGENDARY Charlie Major….

Plus Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Brett Kissel and Cory Marquardt. Tebey showed us a surprise guest during Emerson Drive’s set for their version of “Wake Me Up”- the most played Country song on Canadian radio of 2014!