Wow! What a show last night! I caught Dean Brody’s “Dirt Road Stories” tour stop in Brantford, Ont., at the beautiful Sanderson Centre and the show was great from start to finish. Dean explained he first thought of doing a solo acoustic tour but it would have been lonely, so he had three members of his Brodeo backup band with him…Jason Barry, Shane Guse and Scott Galloway. Before the show, my friend Michael Warren and I got to hang with Dean a bit before the show and after his VIP meet-and-greet. We chatted a bit about the souvenir program (which contains some handwritten lyrics to some of his amazing songs, some personal photos, little known facts and great stories behind some of his biggest hits – I love that stuff!) and about his songwriting for and with other artists, like the cut he has on Western Swing Authority’s new “Big Deal” album (“Swingin’ From the Rafters,” BTW). The “lodge” stage set is perfect, complete with a fridge (with beer), an old TV set with an old “Pong” video game on the screen, various knickknacks and special guest Billy Bear! While the big arena shows are entertaining, this type of concert shows more about the man behind the songs, intimate, informative (I love the stories behind the songs) and still entertaining. At one point, Dean went out into the audience balancing himself on one of the aisle railings! Thanks to Dean, his band and crew, the Sanderson Centre staff and Amber Bell from Open Road Recordings. If you get a chance to see Dean in concert on this tour, GO! You’ll be treated to some great songs and a great show from one of Canadian country music’s most consistent and most consistently good artists of most of the past decade!

Upcoming Tour Dates with Special Guest Andrew Hyatt:

Nov. 8: FirstOntario Arts Centre – Milton, ON
Nov. 9: The Grand Theatre – Kingston, ON
Nov. 10: River Run Centre – Guelph, ON
Nov. 11: Regent Theatre – Oshawa, ON
Nov. 12: Festival Hall – Pembroke, ON

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