Quinton Blair is a four-time Manitoba Country Music Association Award winner and singer-songwriter. He has always been interested in country music and fell in love with the classics at a young age. Garth Brooks is an artist who always stood out to Quinton because his music talks about cowboy related topics in a country way. Quinton is drawn to the western side of the country music spectrum.

Quinton Blair started a company over the last year where they take people trail riding or hiking along the banks of the Assiniboine River. They will end up having a campfire and Quinton will pull out his guitar and perform what he calls “Back Country Concerts.” These started during COVID-19 because of the restrictions on live events.

Songwriting is a significant part of his music career. He describes songwriting as painting a picture and putting all the pieces together.

“When co-writing, you lose a little part of yourself but gain a little part of them, he said.

Co-writing allows you to get little pictures and snapshots of different stories.

Quinton Blair released his rendition of the song “Man of Constant Sorrow.” He put out this song about a year ago on Spotify but there were no places to play live music during COVID-19, so he decided it wasn’t the right time to put it out. Now that live shows are starting up again, it is the perfect time to release new music.

Quinton got to put his own spin on this song and worked on the arrangement to include fiddle and guitar solos. He recorded the song with Dwave Thompson, who lives in Tennessee. They ended up recording the entire song back and forth virtually through Dropbox because of COVID-19.

He wanted to make sure in his ears as a musician that the fiddle he hears playing in country music and Tennessee is different than the fiddle he hears his friends play in Manitoba. He wanted to feature the fiddle playing of his long-time friend, Brenton Thorvaldson, who is a member of Tim & The Glory Boys. Quinton wanted to make sure his stamp was on the song because his playing speaks to him.

After this release of “Man of Constant Sorrow,” another single is coming in May, written with singer-songwriter Jason Blaine.

There are many upcoming shows to look forward to from Quinton Blair. Their summer tour is kicking off at the Bullarama event in MacGregor, Manitoba, Carmen Country Fair, and many more throughout the summer.

A highlight for Quinton as a performer is anytime he gets to play big theatres. His favourite shows to play are soft theatre shows (where people come to sit and listen) because “they allow me to be me and talk to people while being transparent and personal,” he said.

Another highlight is when his daughter steps on stage to sing with him.

“It is a great feeling as a dad to be able to share this with her.”

Listen to “Man of Constant Sorrow” and follow Quinton Blair on his social media platforms, so you stay updated on new music and shows.

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Daniel Désorcy caught the music bug being surrounded by music growing up, with his father and grandfather both being singers and guitarists. At 12 years old, he was convinced to sing at his school concert and continues to perform today.

Daniel Désorcy was awarded the 2021 Manitoba Country Music Awards Emerging Artist of the Year.

“It was a great feeling to know that your work isn’t going unnoticed and that people actually enjoy it, which doesn’t happen if not for the help of a lot of people,” he said.

His music is inspired by day-to-day life, whether it be his or someone else’s. He finds musical inspiration through many successful artists, including, Keith Urban, Hunter Hayes, Chris Stapleton, Ed Sheeran, and Bruno Mars.

His favourite local show was this past summer opening for Doc Walker at the Grunthal Hanover Ag in Manitoba. The energy of the crowd stood out to him and made the show memorable.

There is new music being worked on by Daniel, specifically a song we can expect to hear in the summer. It is a song that will put you in a summer mood with its cheerful sound.

Check out Daniel’s latest single, City Girl, written by Jason Petric and Jason Blaine and produced by Dave Tomson.

Banned and Outlawed, two brothers from Manitoba, Jon and Daniel Hnatishin surround themselves with country music. Growing up, they started playing music at the age of three.

Music runs in their family, and they would always play for their family during Christmas. They went from playing music in their grandpa’s basement to popular local venues in Manitoba.

When writing their own music they draw on life experiences they can relate to and the people around them.

Banned and Outlawed have three singles that were released in 2021, Livin’ my Life in a Small town, Real Country Song, and When I’m With You, which got them four nominations at the 2021 Manitoba Country Music Awards. These were their first Manitoba Country Music Awards nominations.

“Being nominated once is crazy, but being able to be nominated for four awards our first time was awesome,” they said.

If you live in Winnipeg, you will probably catch Banned and Outlawed playing one of their favourite venues, Cowboys Roadhouse. They have plans for many upcoming shows in the near future, including a local tour throughout Winnipeg and rural areas.

They are currently working on their first album, which is expected to be released late spring this year, and fans can most likely expect a single release before the album.

Their main goal as a duo is to perform at Canada Life Centre and one day open for big country music names like Jason Aldean and Eric Church and get on big stages. They would also love the opportunity to write songs with those well-known, successful artists.

Keep following Banned and Outlawed and push their name out there by requesting them to be played on your local radio station.

Check out their latest single, When I’m With You, here.

Local country music singer- songwriter, Don Amero has been sharing his musical talents for many years.

Don Amero started playing and writing music around 15 years old. When he was in grade nine, he picked up his dad’s old Gibson Hummingbird guitar, which was his first inspiration with music. At the age of 26, he auditioned for Canadian Idol and received a golden ticket but was eliminated at the top 22 mark. He came out of that experience realizing that Canadian Idol didn’t hold his destiny in their hands and decided, “if I am going to do this, I am going to do it on my own.”

In 2007 he released his debut album, Change Your Life.

Amero knew music was what he was supposed to do when he realized he had the ability to reach people and give people hope.

“Music is medicine, and being able to offer that to people is big for me. Just realizing it was the thing that made me feel free and most myself,” said Amero.

Since releasing Change Your Life in 2007, Don Amero has released an additional seven albums, including the most recent, Nothing is Meaningless.

Don Amero plans to release a new single off the Nothing is Meaningless album, Let you with country music artist, Raquel Cole. Fans can also look forward to a music video with the single.

About ten years ago, Don Amero started a Christmas show called Amero Little Christmas. These little holiday shows started in a cafe, but he always dreamed about it growing to larger venues. Three years ago, Amero Little Christmas moved to the Burton Cummings Theatre.

“It has been such an amazing journey, being able to see it grow to 1000 people in a theatre,” he said.

Don Amero is already planning the 2022 Christmas show.

” I really want this to set the tone for the holidays and help people settle into the holiday season,” he said.

Don Amero’s talents do not stop with music. He wrote a children’s book that should be available Christmas time of 2022.

He also has a podcast, which should be launching in the fall of 2022 called Through the Fire. This podcast is about people who have been through hard times and have gotten through the fires of life and have risen above.

“I want to get behind the stories of successful people who have been through things and hopefully use it as a way to inspire other people by hearing from prominent people in the community who we all look up to.”

“We don’t always see the climb that it took for someone to get there. I want to find out about the blood, sweat, and tears,” he said.

Although Don Amero is working on many projects, he is always working on music. He explained there is always something on the go in the music world.

Stay updated with the Country’s Local Instagram to learn how you can enter to win some Don Amero merchandise soon!

Renée Lamoureux is a local Manitoba award-winning singer-songwriter who has been sharing her music for many years. Her professional music career started when she was 20 years old in a duo, Keith and Renée, before pursuing a solo career.

“When I started my solo career, it was almost like I was putting out music to a whole new world,” said Lamoureux.

The music industry is constantly changing. Renée explained when her solo career began, streaming and online platforms were very helpful when finding a new outlet to release her music.

Renée spent a lot more time writing on many different topics during COVID-19, including her most recent single, Goodbye.

“The song is about grief and loss. On a personal level, I lost a couple of people in my life, and not being able to have a proper funeral or come together with the ones you love is what this song is about,” said Lamoureux.

The most recent live performance Renée had locally was at the Don Amero Christmas show, Amero Little Christmas.

“I always come home after a show buzzing because it always feeds my soul and is a reminder that music is what I am meant to do.”

Renée is getting ready to release her new album, Human Kind. She has been working on this album throughout COVID-19. Three singles are already out now, including Goodbye.

This album has ten songs and a more upbeat sound than previous ones. Renée described experimenting with new sounds with this album giving it more of a pop feel, different from her previous country-pop sound.

“I found myself at a crossroads and I’ve been doing a lot of different things in life, and the album is kind of like that, exploring this new chapter.”

Human Kind is Renée’s tenth album throughout her music career.

“I feel like I have surpassed a lot of goals. Life has given me lot’s of pleasant surprises.”

A goal Renée has for the near future is to get back on tour and play some festivals, which as a fan, I cannot wait to see.

Don’t forget to listen to Goodbye and the rest of Renée’s amazing discography as we wait for the release of Human Kind!