Small Town Love: Small Town Pistols at the 2015 Port Perry Fair!
On a steamy Sunday night at an old fashioned country fair, we saw one of Canada’s top country music duos take the stage to show the crowd where they come from, and what they have to offer.
The Port Perry Fair entertainment area was set with wooden chairs, but not enough as the crowd spilled to both sides and the back, with people sitting in the grass and standing in groups to watch the show. Many wandered over after the demolition derby wrapped up, which was too bad for them because they missed 16 year old Julien Kelland (Uxbridge, ON) warming up the stage with her mix of original tracks and covers.
Coming in with a sweet voice, Kelland showed us a lot of promise in her set. Being able to evoke some of the feels with her covers of Coldplay’s The Scientist and Taylor Swift/The Civil Wars’ Safe and Sound and offered a glimpse of what she’s all about with her own songs, including Hurricane and You + Me. Here’s hoping this talented young lady keeps pushing and we see her again down the road.
After Kelland wrapped, the main event took over as Amanda and Tyler Wilkinson came on stage with their bandmates to entertain the gathered mass of Labour Day weekend fair-goers.
The duo reminded everyone that they got their start in the 90s as The Wilkinsons, and that drew a cheer, but that wasn’t it for crowd noise on the night. Songs from both of Amanda and Tyler’s albums were gladly accepted and appreciated from the audience, including favourites like Colour Blind, Living On The Outside, Can’t Wait To Meet You, and I Only Smoke When I Drink.
Somewhat predictably, nostalgia took over and everyone got a little extra thrill when they played 26 Cents (their 1st single from The Wilkinsons in ‘98 when both were just teenagers) with a dedication from Amanda to all of the mamas at the fair. They also gave us a little more 90’s flair with covers of Weezer’s Say It Ain’t So and Will Smith’s Fresh Prince Of Bel Air Theme – which we sang along to without reservation!
The news of the night came when Amanda told the crowd that the vinyl release of Pistology will come before Christmas this year – which is awesome because we’ve been waiting for that little tidbit since they told us about it when we sat down to chat at Boots & Hearts just a month ago.
If you still haven’t seen these two up on stage together, do it. Their energy is awesome, on big stages like Boots & Hearts and small stages like the Port Perry Fair. Their music is a combination of authentic, classic country and upbeat, good time country. They rarely stand still for more than 15 seconds or so at a time. And, as it says in our notes, Amanda can wail!
Note: I need to know where Tyler got his fire engine red pants, and I need to know if I could pull them off as well as he does.
Big love to Tyler and Amanda – they continue to grow and entertain and be awesome!
Small Town Pistols Port Perry Fair
Set List
Jester In A Crown ?Blame It On The Radio ?I Only Smoke When I Drink ?Colour Blind ?26 Cents ?Said It Ain’t So ?Easy As Breathing ?Fresh Prince Of Bel Air Theme ?Be Your Own Song ?Can’t Wait To Meet You ?Anthem Of A Runaway ?Ghost ?Slow Down ?Living On The Outside ?My Family ?The Other Man ?A Place Only You Can Go
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