The Swift Current Allied Arts Council is pleased that the first performance for the 2012–2013 season of Stars for Saskatchewan will be Canadian music icon Ian Tyson on Sept. 28. Given the demand for tickets for this year’s series, the Arts Council has arranged for second shows for a limited number of concerts in the series including an additional performance by Tyson on Sept. 29.
Tyson is closing in on nearly six decades of performing. Almost six decades of making recordings of the songs he now writes in the 100-year-old stone building a mile down the gravel road from his ranch house. Six decades of singing stories that tell the real truth about horses and men, love sustained and relationships broken, heroes and heroines and the land and the weather and the Prairie sky.
From the superstar status of Ian & Sylvia in the 60s to the legendary Tyson of today, he continues to keep his loyal fans in awe with songs that range from his classics – “Four Strong Winds”, “Someday Soon”, and “Navajo Rug”, to his newest works which he continues to write with inspired vigor. Now in his mid 70s, Tyson combines a busy touring performance schedule with the work on his Alberta ranch, nestled in the foothills of the Rockies south of Calgary. It’s a workload that would exceed that of most people generations his junior. In the first dozen years of the 21st century, he has released four albums, filmed a music documentary for Canada’s Bravo! television channel (which has earned two international film and television awards), and issued This is My Sky, a two-DVD concert video. Two years ago, he penned a surprising autobiography, The Long Trail: My Life in the West, which continues as a best-seller. And he also collaborated with the author of a major book on his early career as half of Canada’s first folk superstar duo, Ian & Sylvia.
He has continued to be honoured for his achievements. After numerous Canadian Country Music Awards, membership in the Juno Awards Hall of Fame — one of five such honours with various industry organizations — he has three honorary Doctorates, and is proudly a member of the Order of Canada. “Four Strong Winds,” in 2006, was chosen Canada’s #1 song of the 20th century by CBC listeners.
Tickets for reserved seating for the Sept. 29th performance can be purchased at the Living Sky Casino Box Office in person, on-line at www.livingskycasino.ca or by phone at 778-5759. An extremely limited number of series tickets also remain available. For more information call the Swift Current Allied Arts Council at 773-1338 or 1-877-211-2787 toll free.
