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Louisiana Hayride to perform at Bert Church LIVE Theatre

Louisiana Hayride Show – a honky-tonk redux of the old-time country music program of the same name that helped to launch the careers of some of the greatest names in country and western music – is set to perform at Bert Church LIVE Theatre on April 23.

Louisiana Hayride Show – a honky-tonk redux of the old-time country music program of the same name that helped to launch the careers of some of the greatest names in country and western music – is set to perform at Airdrie's Bert Church LIVE Theatre on April 23.

Since its first production in 2010, the performance group has paid tribute to classic country and rockabilly hits from yesteryear, including fan favourites from the 1950s, '60s and '70s that were originally performed by artists such as Roy Orbison, Patsy Cline, Elvis Presley, and Buddy Holly.

Following a two-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, the nine-member cast and crew are set to return to their elaborate studio stage set, with a live band, and true-to-the-era costumes.

“The Louisiana Hayride Show will bring you back in time to when songs were meaningful, the words were understood and the sound was pleasant,” reads a press release from the group. “The cast and crew are dedicated to bringing authentic music to you – the songs you hear will be true to the originals.”

According to Lori Risling, owner, and performer at the Louisiana Hayride Show, in keeping with the spirit of the original show, the performers play their set to the audience as though they were on a musical program 50 plus years ago.

“I always say to the audience at the beginning of the show, just use your imagination and pretend you’re in the audience way back in the day for one of those old radio shows,” Risling said,  “and we’ll take you on a musical journey.”

Though they try to stay true to their inspiration, Risling said performers do take certain liberties for the sake of entertainment.

“We’ve recreated it to a certain point, but we take a lot of liberties with our show without going too off track – to make it as entertaining and versatile as we can for the audience,” she said.

“We highlight lots of music from that era, and then we segue into more modern artists that weren’t on the Hayride but were influenced by [it].”

Risling added modern additions to the line-up maintain the Hayride connection in the form of songs from Loretta Lynn, Crystal Gale, and Shania Twain.

She added the performances are supplemented by fun facts and trivia about the original artists.

“All of our performers have tons of fun on the stage and the audience sees that and then it just reflects back onto the audience,” she said. “They see us all having fun and they have more fun.

“It’s just a totally fun night with exceptional music and good tidbits of information, and our cast are so talented, so it’s just one of the best shows out there if I do say so myself.”

The COVID-19 pandemic shut the performance group down completely for two years, which Risling acknowledged was a “frustrating and difficult” time for the artists, bringing both uncertainties and a loss of income.

“We were already on the road for our first set of shows when the phone calls started coming in telling us they were cancelled,” she said. “That in itself was completely devastating. Then you get home with no clear idea how long this was going to last.”

Implementation of public health restrictions and vaccination mandates also meant the loss of one of the group’s key members.

“That’s what kept us going for 10 years, that part of our instrumentation, so when he left that meant we needed to get a keyboard player, but we also needed to get a drummer because no one else could do what he did,” she said. “We were impacted very fundamentally with our musicians.”

She added the group found the perfect fit to fill in the missing gap left by the loss of a key band member.

“I believe now, there’s this silver lining in all the bad stuff we went through because we’ve upped our game,” she said, adding the group saw the addition of a keyboard player, live drummer, and guitarist. “We’re at a higher level now, musicianship wise.

“I am prouder of this show now than I have ever been. COVID made it super tough, but in the end, it’s made it better.”

For audience members who aren’t familiar with the artists of the era, Risling noted there is still an entertainment value to be found in the performances.

“So even if a person feels it’s not their era of music, we’ve had so many comments from people saying they ended up absolutely loving it,” she said.

“It’s been a difficult two years for everybody, not just for entertainers, and it gives them two hours of escape to not think about the outside world and just have some fun.”

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