by Nicolle Hodges, Contributor
Chart-topping country star Dean Brody is coming to the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre Feb. 22 for his Crop Circles and Tractor Beams tour.
With Maple Ridge native Madeline Merlo as the opening act, Brody anticipates the show will be “a lot of fun.”
As a seven-time Canadian Country Music Association Award winner, including back-to-back Album of the Year wins (Trail In Life and DIRT) and a two-time Juno award nominee, Brody has made appearances on George Stromboulopolous Tonight, Global’s
Entertainment Tonight Canada, CTV’s eTalk and City TV’s The Bachelor.
Although he has gained widespread acclaim for his singing and songwriting, he remains the most proud of his band and says “they’re amazing musicians and I count them as some of my closest friends.”
Brody has sold more than 250,000 singles and 75,000 albums in Canada. His fourth album, “Crop Circles” was released in November and debuted at number one on the iTunes Canada Country Album Chart and number three on the Canadian Country Album Chart.
Brody reveals the reason behind the extraterrestrial-inspired album title is because he wanted to have fun experimenting with the imagery it provokes.
He creates his music with the same intention, to conjure thought and feeling.
“Music is one of the best ways to communicate stories,” says Brody. “Often when I write a song I imagine a story and then try to make it come to life through music.”
From a small-town boy growing up in Jaffray, B.C., where he played guitar in his spare time, to performing across the country, Brody admits that the best part about touring is when he hears his fans sing his songs back to him.
“And then there are the buses,” says Brody. “We have a lot of fun on tour, I feel like I’m in college again – the buses are rolling dormitories.”
In order to prepare for the intense travel schedule, Brody sticks to a simple regimen.
"I stop eating things that make my belly stick out," he says. “Getting in shape is important because the schedule is quite frantic and it’s easy to feel run down very quickly.”
With a successful career travelling from one Canadian town to the next and performing in front of hordes of fans, Brody is no stranger to the stage.
He plans to bring the full country experience to Abbotsford and push the limits with his upcoming show.
“From the animated alien who delivers me to the stage, to the antler/duck call solo in Mountain Man, we tried to make it different than anything out there and we had a lot of fun doing it.”
To purchase tickets to Dean Brody’s Crop Circles & Tractor Beams Tour, visit abbotsfordcentre.ca.