Jade Eagleson

Athens Is Taken by Storm by Mother Nature and by Jade Eagleson

Although the weather man called for heavy rainfall turning to freezing rain, no one missed the Jade Eagleson show at the Joshua Bates Centre in Athens, ON, on Saturday, January 11th. The theatre was jam-packed with country music fans from babes in arms to those 80+. Some came out because “Heck, Jade Eagleson is coming to our little village. We must be there.” And others, to see their friends — who opened the show — make their soft-seat debut.

Local duo, Angie Halladay and Ted Brayton have played many charity events in the area, but this was their first gig in front of a large paying crowd. Angie tells me she was nervous, but one would never know that from their stage manner and performance. Accompanying them on guitar was Steve Curtis who, as part of Curtis Country, is in Brockville and area Music Hall of Fame.

Singing songs like,

• Emmylou Harris’s “Two More Bottles of Wine”
• Chris Janson’s “Buy Me a Boat”
• Miranda Lambert’s “Tin Man”
• Ashley McBryde’s “Bible and 44”
• Dallas Harms’ megahit “Paper Rosie”
• Tammy & George’s “Golden Rings” and
• Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison”

they completed their set with Angie’s rendition of Kris Kristofferson‘s “Me and Bobby McGee.” That took the house down, as it is indeed her fans’ favourite. While in Nashville recently, Angie was honoured and scared as heck to sing “Bobby McGee” in the famed Tootsie’s! But, we saw the video, and she nailed it on that stage as she did on the Joshua Bates Centre stage.

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Jade and his band consisting of Chris Bray, Matt Stride and Matt Newcomb had the crowd in the palm of their hands. Of course, Jade sang his hits like “Got Your Name on It,” “Count the Ways,” “Still Gonna Be You,” and “Lucky.” When he sang “Good Country People,” the good country people from Athens and the surrounding farms knew he was speaking about them.

One of the little fans, who was in attendance in the front row, was a boy from Barrhaven who came decked out just like the boy in Jade’s video “Got Your Name on It” and even brought his guitar to be autographed.

Jade’s roots run deep in country music with a love for the classics. Some of the classics he sang were Randy Travis’ “Forever and Ever, Amen,” Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried” and Hank Williams’
“Jambalaya.”

After the completion of Jade’s show and the band’s departure from the stage, the audience was on their feet chanting for another song. He quickly obliged, and the night was capped with a singalong of Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places.”

Afterwards, Jade graciously met with any fan who wanted an autograph, photo or just a quick chat to say how much they enjoyed the evening. Jade Eagleson did, indeed, make friends in Athens.