Melfort hosting Gord Bamford country concert

The City of Melfort has agreed to host a Gord Bamford concert on Canada Day, which Mayor Glenn George said is part of the effort to boost Melfort’s reputation on the concert circuit.

The event was brought to Melfort council during their March meeting, which had council discuss the potential financial implications and benefits.

“We used to have a lot of concerts here, Johnny Cash played here and stuff like that. Then all the sudden it went flat a few years back and we didn’t do anything about it,” George said. “This is the perfect example of something where we can get back on the map.”

Bamford is an Australian-Canadian country music singer, who received 26 Canadian Country Music Association awards and multiple Juno nominations. He is a two-time winner of the CMA Global Country Artist award and held 27 top 10 singles in Canada including “When your lips are so close,” and “dive bar” which hit certified gold status in Canada.

George said his goal would be to have the city host two to three major concerts a year.

“The long-term goal is we get on the concert circuits and we get more live performances.”

The event will take place at the Northern Lights Palace on July 1.

The City of Melfort will provide the venue, stage and power at no charge to Cache Entertainment, who assumes the risk for the event. Ticket revenue up to $50,000 will come back to Cache. The remainder of the ticket sales would be 70 per cent to Cache and 30 per cent to the city.

Tickets can be purchased from Showpass once available. General admission is $60.