A free concert featuring local acts and an award-winning Albertan country artist will be rocking Rotary Park this weekend

After a drought of entertainment, Andrew Malmquist, the Town of Whitecourt’s Arts and Culture Coordinator, is ready to get things going again. On Saturday, August 14, the first town-ran live music event in a long time will take place at Rotary Park. He’s been in the role since February 2020, just before things ground to a halt. Though he missed out on two years of it, Malmquist said he is excited to get to plan next year’s Party in the Park. “I’ve actually already begun some preliminary planning so that this fall, we can really start to take off on that.”

Typically, events like Live at Rotary or Party in the Park take months to plan. “There was hope to be able to offer something (this summer), but actual planning of the event did not start until we were sure we could move forward with it,” he explained. That word did not come until July 1. “It was a difficult task. It took a lot of extra hours to make everything come together this fast. When I reached out to community members and sponsors, there was a lot of enthusiasm to get on board and bring something to the community.”

The Canada Day fireworks will go off that evening after being postponed due to dry conditions, and there will be some grub on-site, thanks to food trucks. There won’t be activities lined up, but Malmquist said that wasn’t what this event was about. “It’s not a big in-depth event with lots of activities. It’s about the music and being able to come together again finally.”

Starting at 7 pm, Dionna Arcand will kick things off, followed by Analog Smokeshow. The headliner, country singer Drew Gregory, takes the stage at 8:30 pm and will play until the fireworks go off, around 10:15 pm. For Gregory, the joy of getting to play live again is indescribable. “The live aspect is the most important. It was tough not to have that. Just before things opened up, we did a hotel show. Everybody got their hotel rooms, and they watched the show from their balconies. It was a blast, but there wasn’t anyone directly in front of us still.”

As restrictions lifted, Gregory said the calls started coming in. One of the performances was at Nashville North at the Calgary Stampede. “We had 4000 people in front of us. That was pretty wild. It is shocking to see that after a year of not being able to have more than 20 people at a time.”

For those who don’t know the name Drew Gregory yet, you undoubtedly will soon enough. He won Country Music Alberta Male Artist of the Year twice (2015 and 2019) and won Single of the Year (Better in a Bar) in 2019. As he refers to himself, the small-town kid at heart is an energetic performer who aims to make sure that everyone at his show is having just as much fun as he is.

“My parents were both big music lovers. There was always music playing in the house, whether on the record player or the radio. When I finally got a guitar at 15, it was something I couldn’t put down.” He said that his grandfather on his mom’s side was the only other guitar player in the family and that when they visited him, the house turned into a big concert. “I loved that aspect of the performance and being the centre of the party,” explained Gregory.

 “We always include something for everybody. I remember grabbing the spoons, stomping our feet, and pounding the tables. Whatever it took to get involved and make it fun. That’s a big part of our live shows. We want everyone to have a great time the whole show and be left smiling, better afterwards.” Gearing up for the show in Whitecourt, his second in the community, Gregory expects the crowd to be a bit different. “We’ve been finding that everywhere we go. People are really into it, from the bands to the crews to the audience. It’s like they’re not taking anything for granted anymore.” Enjoying every moment to the fullest will be part of the experience at a Drew Gregory show. Those who attend can expect a fun mix of tunes from oldies to new ones and everything in between. “We will do some Barn Session tunes too and tell some stories. It’s all about the fun.”

His most recent album, The Barn Sessions, came out in June. He has two previous records, including 2018’s A Good Place To Start, which features his favourite song to perform these days. Considering the lyrics and how poignant they are with today’s reality, Know Good was a song written before the pandemic and yet somehow seems to have had the pandemic in mind. “It’s a feel-good tune, and for me, it’s a been a bit of anthem throughout the pandemic. We knew it would end, but we didn’t know when, so this has been a pretty powerful song for us, and people are latching onto it.”

It’s not hard to understand why. The lyrics, “lately it’s been all no good, but I know goods coming my way,” are something many people can relate to. “Everyone is happy to see each other again and enjoy a good show.

We look forward to seeing everyone in Whitecourt!” While marking your calendars so as not to miss this Saturday’s free concert, also mark down Friday, August 27, as Malmquist teased a planned free outdoor movie at Rotary Park for that evening.