WMCA hosts shows on consecutive nights

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/03/2025 (198 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Back-to-back concerts in Brandon this week will feature three Canadian country stars on a road trip one night, and a Juno award winning rhythm and blues singer the following evening — both at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium (WMCA).

The concert on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., is called the Great Canadian Road Trip 2.0 featuring Jason McCoy, Chad Brownlee and Jason Blaine, at $70 a ticket plus tax.

Thursday’s entertainer is Juno and Canadian Urban Music Award winner Jully Black, who has numerous music industry nods and wins, including R&B soul recording of the year. Black’s concert is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start, with tickets listed at $60 each plus tax.

This will be Black’s first cross-country tour in 17 years. She told the Sun that she will come out after her concert for a free meet and greet, and will present a show featuring songs and stories about her career, including from the early 2000s when her videos were featured on MuchMusic and her breakout hit called “Seven Day Fool.”

“I’m going to be totally transparent — when most people come to the show, they don’t expect to feel what they end up feeling,” Black said. “When I come out in the audience and put my arm on your shoulder, when we share those moments together, it’s just an incredible, incredible experience. We’re living in a time where people have lost hope. And it’s my time to help people fill — not only their hope bank, but their joy bank,” she said.

Black has toured with The Black Eyed Peas, Elton John, Celine Dion, Alicia Keys, Bon Jovi and Etta James. She is also co-founder of “Empowered In My Skin,” a company that holds women empowerment summits. Black is also a vocal advocate for the LGBTQ+ communities, and in 2018 received the entertainment award from the Black Business and Professionals Association.

“I’ve been in the business for 30 years, including the hip hop era with Kardinal Offishall and the song ‘Money Jane,’” Black said, adding, “there are people who say they remember me on ‘Video on Trial’ and (the) MuchMusic Awards. And it’s nostalgia, so it’s nice to reminisce together.”

The high calibre of entertainers that the WMCA is able to book is possible because Westman audiences always come through to support them, said WMCA general manager Kailtyn Mitchell.

But she added, there’s something else. The auditorium has built a solid reputation of its own, with many of the touring artists.

“We don’t shy away from the fact that we are an aging building, and we do need some infrastructure work, but we’re still able to make these artists comfortable very easily,” Mitchell said.

“Our sound is second to none, especially with the new speaker system, so we always get lots of compliments about that. And the stage is huge, so we can accommodate all the backdrops, banners and projection screens, and customize the stage to what each artist needs.

“We really have a magnificent facility that’s a real gem in western Manitoba that we sometimes take for granted and may not realize just how lucky we are to have it.”

WMCA is booked by entertainers in a few different ways, added Mitchell. If an act is embarking on a cross-country tour and is making stops in Regina and Winnipeg, the booking agent will contact Brandon to see if there is an availability to connect the two.

That’s how the Great Canadian Road Trip 2.0 with McCoy, Brownlee and Blaine was confirmed.

“They were doing their Western leg of the tour, so between the venues I work with in Saskatchewan and Alberta, we were able to put a nice block together that they filled in around us,” Mitchell said.

Country music fans may remember McCoy as front man for The Road Hammers. The band achieved platinum album status — which is 80,000 units sold — and platinum sales for the single “MUD.” They’re a three-time winner of Canadian Country Music Association’s group of the year, and a Juno award winner for country recording of the year.

Brownlee’s platinum selling single “Forever’s Gotta Start Somewhere” reached No. 1 on the Canadian country Billboard charts and he has more than 125 million streams worldwide. Before he launched his music career, Brownlee was a former Vancouver Canucks draft pick and made his acting debut in the Canadian feature film “Range Roads” in 2021.

Blaine has more than a dozen Top 10 singles, including, “They Don’t Make ‘Em Like That Anymore,” “Country Side” and, “The Road That Raised You Up.” He has also performed at Dauphin’s Countryfest and Alberta’s Big Valley Jamboree.

The three country stars of the Great Canadian Road Trip 2.0 are also offering a VIP pass at $125 each that includes a meet and greet, an acoustic performance, a T-shirt and a signed poster.

“Easy on the eyes, but more importantly, easy on the ears and easy on the hearts,” Mitchell said. “Just some good ol’ Canadian boys and easy to work with. We’re really looking forward to them coming to Brandon.”

Additionally, Mitchell said she will seek out a top-notch act or an entertainer if she hears through her industry contacts that there’s a possibility of creating a stop in Brandon.

“That’s what happened with Jully Black,” said Mitchell. “I have good memories of her in my youth, from her hits in the MuchMusic video days, and when she had play on radio stations, too.

“And I’m very aware of her advocacy work within the Indigenous and Black communities and women’s health. So she ended up booking a date in Winnipeg after us, and was able to get herself a nice little Western Canada tour.

“So she’s just a really motivational, wonderful person, and I’m really excited to have her energy in our space.”

For more information including tickets for all shows at WMCA, call the box office at 204-728-9510.

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

» enviromichele.bsky.social