Early Bird All Access Passes to Maritime Countryfest On Sale Soon

The 7th annual Maritime Countryfest will take place in the Historic Garrison District of Fredericton from June 7th through the 9th.

On Thursday March 15th early bird all-access passes will go on sale exclusively at TicketPro.ca for a limited time only. On Sunday April 1st all regular tickets will go on sale at TicketPro.ca and at Covey Basics, 896 Prospect Street in Fredericton.

Ticket Prices:
Early Bird All Access Pass $50
Regular All Access Pass $60
Thursday Night $25
Friday Night $25
Saturday Night $35
* prices do not include applicable fees

The Countryfest tent opens every night at 7pm to concert goers 19 years of age and older. Tom Cat Corner and Mandy Barnett will perform Thursday evening, June 7th. The winner of the 2nd annual Battle of the Bands contest to be held on April 14th, Mandy Silk & Overdrive, and the Melanie Morgan band all take the stage Friday night, June 8th. And the festival concludes on Saturday, June 9th, with performances by Steve Waylon, Southern Drive, and Confederate Railroad.

About the Performers

Tom Cat Corner performs Thursday night, June 7, 2012.

Mike Allan Bravener is an exciting Rockabilly/Classic Country entertainer from the East Coast of Canada. He is very passionate about the genre and the soul of Rockabilly and Classic Country music.

Performing professionally for eight years, Mike has been nominated for a CBC Rising Star award and has performed with Rock ‘n Roll Hall Of Fame drummer, D.J. Fontana.

Recently he teamed up with his son Joshua and formed a new band, called Tom Cat Corner, that combines blues, bluegrass, country and rock into one incredible package!

At the band’s debut, judges asked them back to the stage to perform again so that more people could hear their incredible sound!

Mandy Barnett performs June 7th, 2012, Thursday evening.

World-class vocalist Mandy Barnett‘s style is rooted in the classic country of Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves, Tammy Wynette, and Brenda Lee, and the crooning of Ella Fitzgerald, Connie Francis, and Dinah Washington.

Mandy delves into a song with a keen interpretive sense, studying the intricacies of its emotional content and rendering a powerful performance through her full-bodied voice. Her torchy delivery on her contemporary yet retro-sounding country and pop-tinged material harkens back to the likes of all-time great female singers and timeless sounds.

Mandy has starred as Patsy Cline in the musical production Always…Patsy Cline at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on and off since 1994 – most recently in Summer 2011. Mandy tours regularly nationally and internationally, and is a frequent guest on the Grand Ole Opry.

Mandy Silk & Overdrive take the stage Friday night, June 8th.

Mandy Silk‘s passion is singing and writing country music. Prior to her involvement in Overdrive she sang in Toredown, a Fredericton blues band.

She has been involved in the Christmas at the Playhouse musical for years, has appeared in the NB Country Showcase on numerous occasions, and enjoys karaoke.

This young and talented up and coming performer has a lot in store for audiences in the years to come!

Overdrive is a high-powered, dynamic band playing a diverse great mix of originals, rockin’ country, old favourites, and Top 40 sure to keep em moving on the dance floor!

The Melanie Morgan Band, Friday June 8th, 2012 at the Maritime CountryFest.

Melanie Morgan has been described as one of the most exciting new voices to hit the Canadian Country scene. Growing up in a small Acadian town, Melanie was exposed to both Country and French Acadian Music which makes her a good example of home grown talent.

Melanie’s journey began in 2006 when she headed down to Nashville to record her debut album Brand New Day. This album received national recognition at the East Coast Music Awards for Country Recording of the Year and at the Canadian Radio Music Award for her hit single “My Man” which received airplay on CMT and Canadian radio coast to coast.

In the fall of 2008, Melanie recorded her second album. In September 2011 Melanie was chosen among thousands of artists to be part of CBC’s hit show Cover me Canada, where she made it to the finals and finished second overall.

She’s now making plans to return to Nashville in 2012 to record some new material and also plans a summer cross Canada tour. She will be touring with George Jones in May 2012.

Steve Waylon performs Saturday, June 9th, 2012.

Steve Waylon grew up in Chipman, NB. He presents a fresh sound in today’s Country music with his “Driven Country” music style.

Known to some as the “Wild One” of the east coast music scene, he seems to stop at nothing when it comes to making his audience part of the show. Steve’s music style is comparable to the likes of Travis Tritt, Montgomery Gentry and Lynyrd Skynyrd, and he offers a very high energy show in all his performances.

Steve’s music career started when he played drums and sang harmonies on stage for his dad at the age of 15. Traveling across the country and extensively throughout eastern Canada, Steve has quickly earned himself recognition as one of Canada’s hardest working Country artists.

Steve’s music has also been received very well in Switzerland where he travels to do shows a couple times a year. He continues to work new venues there and looks forward to expanding his music to more European countries. Steve has been happy to do shows with such acts as Doc Walker, Emerson Drive, Lorrie Morgan, Sammy Kershaw, Johnny Reid, Matt Minglewood, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, to name a few.

Last year's Battle of the Bands winners, Southern Drive, performing Saturday night, June 9th.

Winner of the first Maritime Countryfest Battle of the Bands, Southern Drive rocked the stage last year opening for Dr. Hook.

From Fredericton, this band is a high energy up and coming Country/Rock group. From their catchy originals to the recognizable cover tunes, they will have you out of your seat all night long!

They are due to release their first album in the summer of 2012.

Few acts have carved as distinct a niche in modern musical history as Confederate Railroad.

With their high-energy combination of honky-tonk rockers, sensitive ballads, and offbeat humour, they have created a unique identity that has brought them chart success, multi-platinum sales, and continued popularity as a road band. Versatility, likeability, and a willingness to stretch boundaries are all part of the mix, but if there is a formula, not even they can put their finger on it.

Confederate Railroad close the festival on Saturday June 9th.

Nearly five million albums later, there is no doubt that it works. Songs like “Queen Of Memphis,” “Trashy Women,” “Jesus And Mama,” and “Daddy Never Was The Cadillac Kind” became major hits and established Confederate Railroad as a key part of country music’s landscape during the genre’s expansion of the ’90s.

The accolades kicked off with the Academy of Country Music’s Best New Group award in 1993 and have included a Grammy nomination and a host of nominations from the Country Music Association and the British Country Music Foundation.

For guys who started as a Georgia bar band, it was the stuff of dreams. The latest swirl of icing is the band’s new CD, Unleashed. There is sensitivity, hard-driving honky-tonk, and a generous dose of pure fun, not to mention good-natured new assaults on decorum and political correctness.

The quintet’s love of the give-and-take of live performance is such that they still perform a hundred dates a year, and their legions of fans are as appreciative as ever.