UPDATE (Jan. 18, 2022): Due to complications related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, RCA Presents Blackie and the Rodeo Kings will be postponed. Information regarding new dates will be forthcoming shortly. We sincerely apologize for any disappointment and inconvenience this change may cause, and extend our thanks to all our patrons for their patience as we do everything we can to respond to changing provincial health orders.

The pandemic emerged as Blackie and The Rodeo Kings marked their 25th anniversary as a band with the release of King of This Town. They plan to pick up right where they left off, writing and releasing more music and hitting the performance stage as often as possible.

Originally, Colin Linden, Stephen Fearing and Tom Wilson came together to record what was supposed to be a one-off tribute album to the great Canadian songwriter Willie P. Bennett. The result was High or Hurtin’: The Songs of Willie P. Bennett. The band had no plans to make a subsequent album but something unanticipated happened.
“When we play together and sing together as Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. Something magical happens. We haven’t asked ourselves what it is all these years and we’re not going to start now” as Stephen Fearing describes it.

Recognizing this special chemistry and the resulting joy of creating music together has brought Blackie and The Rodeo Kings back to stage and studio again and again. King of This Town is the band’s ninth release. “After each album, we are never certain we will get together to make another, but then something will happen and we are reminded of the joyride that is Blackie,” explains Tom Wilson.

Twenty-five years in, while they still spend most of each year working on their individual projects, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings has organically evolved into one of the finest roots-oriented bands in North America. Tom Wilson sums up the Blackie and The Rodeo Kings journey.

“25 years later, we’re still digging in for the sweet spots. Making friends with the ghosts of poets and harmonizing with the voices in fields and swinging for the fences”

This show is sponsored by PARC Retirement living, with funding from the BC Touring Council, the Province of British Columbia, the BC Arts Council, and the City of Kelowna.

Please note that to enter the Mary Irwin Theatre, patrons will be required to provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 using a valid QR code-based proof-of-vaccination document and a secondary piece of government-issued photo ID. Masks also remain mandatory throughout the RCA, including while seated in the Mary Irwin Theatre. Patrons may remove their masks only temporarily, while actively eating or drinking.


About BLACKIE AND THE RODEO KINGS

Between Blackie

Including every Blackie and The Rodeo Kings album, Colin Linden has produced over 100 albums. He has played as a guest musician on countless recording sessions. There are 159 pages of album credits that feature Colin Linden contributions listed at the collector site discogs.com He has played an integral role in the contributing songs and music direction to film and television. Colin served as the musical director for the live touring the cast of Nashville that featured the stellar Blackie and The Rodeo Kings rhythm section of John Dymond (bass) and Gary Craig (drums). His latest solo work was actual a duo release with Luther Dickenson entitled “Amour” on Stony Plain Records. Colin lives in Nashville.

Colinlinden.com

Stephen Fearing has been doing what he does best - Travelling. In 2016, Fearing moved back to Victoria BC where his career began on the West Coast in 1988 with the release of “Out To Sea”.

Aside from moving across the country, has been a busy year with solo shows across Canada and quietly building a solid following in Europe and The UK. He has completed his 13th solo album “The Unconquerable Past”

Stephenfearing.com

Last year Tom Wilson released his 4th album under his nom de plume LEE HARVEY OSMOND. The Album titled Mohawk references his journey and the story of his best selling memoir “Beautiful Scars” (Penguin Random House). He is focused on a follow up book and painting for his next art show.

TomWilsononline.com

www.blackieandtherodeokings.com