Festival heats up with four great shows in four days – July 23 through July 26

(The following article originally appeared in The Huntsville Forester on July 23, 2008.)

By Gillian Brunette

Award-winning country music star Michelle Wright will perform for the Huntsville Festival of the Arts.

A keynote speaker, a country music star, the toe-tapping sounds from the east coast and tenor John McDermott are the offerings from the Huntsville Festival of the Arts this week.

While tickets for Stephen Lewis, the former UN special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, are sold out for tonight, seats are still available for Michelle Wright tomorrow (Thursday), the Barra MacNeils on Friday and McDermott on Saturday.

SPEAKING OUT: Stephen Lewis, former UN special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, greets a fan following his keynote address to a sold-out crowd at the Algonquin Theatre July 23. [This photo was taken by Jon Snelson in Partners Hall after the on-stage presentation.]

Michelle Wright is a Canadian country music singer and one of the country’s most widely recognized and awarded female country singers of the 1990s, winning the Canadian Country

Music Awards Fans’ Choice Entertainer of the Year award twice in 1993 and 1995.

As of 2007, Wright has sold nearly two million albums and received over 30 major awards in both the United States and Canada.

Wright was born in Chatham, Ontario, and has lived in Nashville for 17 years, although she spends a lot of time travelling back and forth between the U.S. and Canada.

QUEEN OF COUNTRY: Michelle Wright, Canada's first lady of country music, appears at the Algonquin Theatre July 24.

Married late in life, Wright and her husband Marco celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary in April. “I waited a long time for the right person for me and I’m glad I waited for Marco. He’s a fine Italian man, wonderful, funny and a great friend,” said Wright in her trademark husky voice.

Her mother also now lives in Nashville, but the rest of her family remains in southern Ontario, as well as one sister who lives in Barrie.

“She’ll be hanging out with me for the three shows I’ll be doing in Palmer Rapids, Mattawa and Huntsville,” Wright said from her Tennessee home.

ROAD TRIP: Michelle Wright, who now lives in Nashville, had some of her Ontario-based family with her for shows in Huntsville and nearby locations. [This photo was taken by Jon Snelson during the July 24 performance.]

Unlike her previous tour, that had Wright performing 20 concerts in 25 days, this is a mini summer tour. Her next will be her annual I’m Dreaming of A Wright Christmas tour.

It was in 2005 that Wright released her first-ever holiday album titled A Wright Christmas. Since then, she has released two singles off the album, I Know Santa’s Been Here and Joy to the World. She tours annually to support the album.

In 2006, Wright returned to the country scene with her current album, Everything and More. Six singles have been released from the album, Everything and More, Love Me Anyway, I've Forgotten You, Dance In The Boat, Riding Around The Sun and her current Canadian single, I Don’t Wanna Be That Strong.

In 2009 she will be touring her CD throughout Europe.

“Everything and More was released in Europe six weeks ago,” she said, adding that thanks to the Internet, Europeans are now more exposed to country music and it’s becoming more popular than it once was.

“(Country music is) not a lifestyle or a format they are familiar with. There is a small traditional country fan base, but the more contemporary music has not caught on there,” said Wright.

Wright has been travelling the globe for 27 years — “I’ve been on every continent except Antarctica,” she says — and has had numerous hits including 25 top 10 hits and seven that reached the number one spot.

“With all that material, I can put together a wonderful show, and the people in Huntsville can expect to hear lots of familiar hits. That’s the funnest part of my concerts, when people sing along,” she said.

Wright is a high-energy performer whose sense of fun is contagious. Backed by her five-piece band, this promises to be, as Wright said, “a rocking country show.”

The Barra MacNeils take the Algonquin Theatre stage on Friday, July 25.

A RIOT OF RHYTHM: The Cape Breton siblings, the Barra MacNeils, ripped it up in Huntsville on July 25, during a return visit to the HFA stage. [Photo by Jon Snelson.]

This is the third time the Barra MacNeils have performed for the Huntsville Festival of the Arts; the last time, in 2001, at the Delta Grandview Inn was to a sold-out crowd.

From the heart of the Celtic tradition in Cape Breton, the four MacNeil siblings, Sheumus, Lucy, Kyle and Stewart, showcase their musical prowess with rhythmic fiddling and step-dancing.

John McDermott appears on Saturday, July 26. This super tenor needs no introduction. A perennial Huntsville Festival of the Arts favourite, McDermott plays to a full house each time he appears in Huntsville, which is a testament to his incredible popularity with audiences.

FAN FAVOURITE: Popular tenor John McDermott never fails to pack the house when he performs in Huntsville. He was on stage July 26, backed by fiddler Anne Lindsay, also a featured HFA guest on Aug. 7 at the Algonquin Theatre. [Photo by Jon Snelson.]

Tickets for all performances are available through the Algonquin Theatre box office, by calling 789-4975, or by visiting the festival website at www.huntsvillefestival.on.ca.