The Stampede Grandstand Show to Amplify Calgary’s Musical Heritage

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Get ready to see your Stampede experience amplified this year.

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According to Mark Erikson, this means your visit will be louder, bigger, louder and more important, all thanks to this year’s Bell Grandstand Show,

That’s why Erickson, who is the producer of the Bell Grandstand Show, called it Amplified.

“We’re all so proud of this year’s show because it’s a mega-production and what we’re saying, as loud as we can, is that we’re back and we want everything to be bigger and better. “, says Erickson.

“We have a new set, new costumes, new technology, new songs and a live band. We haven’t been able to have a band in a while and that has given us all a real boost. The fireworks at the end of the show will be a fitting nightcap and I promise there will be people craning their necks to look up at the sky.

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Amplified will celebrate music in Calgary.

“Calgary is a musical city. It always has been. We have amazing music venues like the Palace Theatre, The Grand, Ranchman’s and King Eddy to name a few,” he said.

“Songs can bring back great memories and great emotions. We hear certain songs and recall when we heard them, where and with whom. That kind of nostalgia is what we’re looking for in Amplified because it invokes such feel-good emotions and it’s what we all need these days and what we’re going to give to our audience.

Amplified’s special guest is Dean Brody, a Juno and Canadian Country Music Award-winning star.

“In his nightly set, Dean will help us celebrate Canadian music,” Erickson says. “Our tribute to Calgary’s great concert halls will be through our giant video screens and new technology. We will take the audience back in time. It will be pure nostalgia.

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The Calgary Stampede Young Canadians have been a mainstay of the Grandstand Show for over 50 years and one of its most popular attractions.

“This year there are 96 young Canadians in the show and they are all featured in the grand opening Blue Suede Shoes number. It’s a real show. »

The Young Canadians will also share the stage with trick roper Loop Rawlins, another headliner in Amplified.

“When we hired Loop, we did something we hadn’t done in the past. We asked him to come to Calgary in April to start working with the Young Canadians who would be part of his act.

“Loop taught them how to lasso and then taught them some great tricks,” says Erickson, who has tried his hand at rope tricks, admitting “it’s a really challenging and challenging art. It blew my mind when I saw some of the kids doing cartwheels with their lassos. I think we’re setting some sort of record with the number of people performing these tricks together.

Also featured on Amplified are Indigenous Canadian singer/songwriter Shawnee Kish, Montreal acrobats Circus Concepts and DJ Wayne Biffna.

Erickson says Amplified wouldn’t be complete without a bigger, more exciting rendition of Canada’s signature youth song, We Built This City.

“We are so proud of Calgary and this number will be our way of saying that and acknowledging that it is our responsibility to keep the music playing for many days to come.”

The Bell Grandstand Show follows the Chuckwagon Races each night at the Calgary Stampede, July 8-17, at GMC Stadium.