Prairie Dawg Entertainment has a trio of upcoming events in Brandon scheduled over the next few months, including a great Charity show coming up on Dec 23rd at The North Hill Inn headlining Loyal'T' out of BC. There is also some great local support on this show by Manitoba rappers Dilajintz and Paragon, Paradicemusic, IMO ( K Dot and MC Rush ), Arrow C, and Jacob Troopa and Sketch Williams Djing. For this event they have partnered with Brandon Battleaxe Warriors, and all proceeds and donations are being given to The Brandon Samaritan House. It's not the first time the group has lent a hand to the Brandon Samaritan House. At their Beats N' Treats show in October, headlining Charlie Fettah, they raised over $200 for the Samaritan House, as well as a decent amount of non perishable goods. Giving back is nothing new to the company as they are also part of the Brandon Battleaxe Warriors Division, a new local charity group aimed at recruiting younger members and giving them a positive outlook. Some great sponsors lined up for the show on the 23rd include: R DUBZ smoking accessories, FIRED Pizza, and C.R.E.A.M. Clothing. Each sponsor will either be donating a prize for a raffle, or in FIRED Pizzas case, giving them a bunch of pizzas which they will giving away FREE starting at 9 pm.. C.R.E.A.M. Clothing have sponsored every one of the shows so far and have been with Prairie Dog Entertainment since day 1.     Prairie Dawg Entertainment is the brainchild of owners Chris Macaluso, and Dallas Lamont, who started the company back in March of 2015, when they were only 23 years of age. To date they have promoted eight shows with their largest show being Snak The Ripper, on June 2nd at Houstons. According to co-owner Chris Macaluso they started company as “we really noticed a complete lack of support for these local artists as well as a lack of quality hip hop shows coming through Brandon “. One of the biggest obstacles that they face when trying to putting on a show is that due to Brandon's small size they often have an issue picking up the better days on the tours when artists are coming through. “Usually Winnipeg or Regina get the weekend days and we are stuck with a Wednesday or Thursday. While this isn't always the case it definitely makes it harder to convince people to come out when they have to work the next day.” added Chris. So far they have only done Hip-Hop shows but plan on branching out into other genres and already have a rave planned at the Double Decker on Jan 21st. It will be their first EDM show and they have partnered with DJ Dirtybird and Sketch Williams on this one to bring Brandon the craziest event it's had in a long time. Four different Dj's, on 4 different floors, at The Double Decker with a different vibe on every floor. Hip Hop groups will be there as well including Nicole Havs, Peshanakwut and "330". Praire Dawg is also promoting. Bring your glowsticks, and put on your game faces, because they're about to get crazy!! They've also got Alpha Omega on Dec 15th at The North Hill Inn. Alpha Omega is a relatively new group comprised of Prevail from Swollen Members and Cory "Neph".     For 2017 they have some amazing shows planned for the new year but your all just gonna have to wait to hear about them. The guys have also started making merchandise so people can rep Prairie Dawg. So far they have white tees and white snapbacks, as well as stickers and window decals. A brand new line of Prairie Dawg merchandise is also going to be released in the new year so stay tuned for that! The guys over at Prairie Dawg Entertainment would really like to thank all the companies and individuals who has ever helped them with their shows . They would also like to thank everyone who has ever had attended one of their events because really its all about them and shows couldn't happen with out their attendance.

To quote an April Wine song from 1978: He recorded a song that made us sing along, and he was on the road again Isn't it a pity, isn't it a shame No one ever warned the boy Rock n' roll is a vicious game Once upon a time being a “roadie" or crew member on a tour it was simply a guy tuning a guitar, or drum set, and then trying to keep back the groupies from jumping on the stage. Today, on a major tour, the world of the roadie, or crew member, is very different. Enter Brandon born and raised Barrie Roney. “Willis or Willy or The Tub” kind of stumbled into the role of a roadie about 15 years ago. Prior to that he had spent time working as a bartender for The Unwinder, doing cable television installations for Westman Communications Group, and selling hockey cards in the Mall back in the day when it was more fashionable.   BDNMB: Now Willy, for people that don’t know you, lets rattle off a list of acts you have worked with over the years? Barenaked Ladies Avril Tragically Hip Kiss Nine Inch Nails Bette Middler The Weeknd Prince Elton John Macklemore Tiesto Michael Buble Aerosmith Huge outdoor country and rock festivals.     BDNMB: And, your last gig was with the Bryan Adams tour of Western Canada, North Dakota and Minnesota.  Now lets talk about that tour, it was 5 shows in 5 days and included plenty of travel including stops in Red Deer, Medicine Hat, Brandon, Bismarck and Duluth. Doesn’t sound like much fun with zero chance for sleep. BARRIE - it was a lot of smaller venues...lots of labor with inexperience, so you don't have a chance to sneak away to go for a nap on the bus.   BDNMB: It appeared from feedback on Facebook, and this website, that it seemed like everyone thought Bryan Adams and the show itself was amazing. BARRIE - Adams has lots of hits, and he puts together a big show for these smaller venues... not many tours carry video and big screens.   BDNMB: Explain, what is your job on the tour? BARRIE - I work for a video company that provides video gear for bands on tour, and we do some corporate shows as well.   BDNMB: Explain a time-line of a typical day...of course problems will happen. BARRIE - Every building is different, but normally I start my day between 7 and 8 am and have a few hours off in the afternoon before the show starts. Following the show we have to rip it down and try to get on the road by midnight.   BDNMB: A common thing that I hear when I travel for work is “oh you are so lucky”...and I kind of think to myself, well it isn’t glamorous”. Would you tend to agree with that statement? BARRIE - To come extent I see lots of things, and now I have been to lots of places, so everything is starting to become the same old, same old.   BDNMB: How did you get your start in this business, didn’t your brother kind of help out? BARRIE - I had been laid off with the job I was working at the time. I went to to visit my brother, who lived in New York, because I had never been there before. He had worked in this industry since the early 80's and had built up a network within it. So when he met me at the baggage claim in New York his first words were. "We gotta hurry I got us tickets to see Conan O'Brien, tickets for the Rangers game and oh, yeah I got you a new job” Three weeks later I was on Avril Lavigne's first tour.   BDNMB: Best thing and worst thing about this business / job ? BARRIE - For me I would say the worst part is the travel and the amount of time away from home. The best part in some ways is the perks: free ticket to events, the places I've been, and the people I have met along the way.   BDNMB: Would you recommend this profession to friends or their kids? BARRIE - This job isn't for everyone. I would recommend it to someone younger with less responsibilities. There are long hours and sometimes you could be away from home for multiple months at a time. You live in close quarters with a group of people with little privacy at times. So if you can handle that then it could be the job for you.   BDNMB: Would you say that Michael Buble would be one of the most down to earth and cool guys to work for? BARRIE - I've worked with Michael on his tours since 2005. He is an absolute genuine guy. He takes care of his crew like no other. I would say he would be the top of my list for entertainers I have worked with. BDNMB:Dream Gig? BARRIE - One day I will do a tour with Iron Maiden and get to fly on ed force one.   YouTube clip of Backstage Secrets featuring Canada’s Rush https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdwOOuqV4xU    

Brandon Pride presents, "Winter Whiteout" at the Great Western Roadhouse on December 3rd from 9:00 pm to 2:00 am. Come out in support of Brandon Pride! Wearing white is not mandatory! Wear white colors if you can. The Great Western Roadhouse will generously donate all admission & proceeds from a drink special to support 2017's Pride Festival! Brandon Pride strives to create awareness and advocacy in promoting events in the community to encourage a safe, inclusive, and positive atmosphere for all. Buy your tickets in advance for $5 at Smitten, Sexuality Education Resource Centre Manitoba, SERC Brandon or by email at brandonmbpride@gmail.com OR you can purchase them at the door! You can also find Brandon Pride on Facebook.  

Average setlist for tour: Get Up! Tour            

Holy moly, Bryan Adams blew the roof off the Keystone Centre tonight with his “Get Up” 2016 tour. The sold out crowd had incredible energy throughout the entire show. Even Adams himself couldn't remember the last time he played in Brandon, so he called this his first show here! This great Canadian artist has had phenomenal success in the music industry with Juno Awards, Grammy Awards, American Music Awards, just to name a few. Adams has also been nominated for Golden Globe and Academy Awards. Bryan said that “we had a lot of catchin’' up to do!” And he did just that. Bryan Adams played hit after hit and took the crowd for a ride by his career accomplishments through his music spanning from 1980’s to current album “Get Up’”, which was released October 2015. Bryan Adams performed various songs off his 13 studio albums. Bryan Adams voiced his appreciation of the crowd by saying “I love it when you sing....it brings people together!”” Songs included You Belong to Me, Go Down Rockin, Run to You, Heaven, Kids Wanna Rock, Summer of ’69, (Everything I do) I Do It For You, Somebody, Please Forgive Me, Cuts Like a Knife, 18 till I Die, Straight from the Heart and All for Love. He also performed an Elvis Presley rendition of “All Shook Up”. It really was an epic concert for Brandon!   Photo: Crystal Jensen   Photo: Crystal Jensen   Abbey Sellars, of Brandon, was lucky enough to get the set list given to her by one of Bryan Adam's crew members and eventually got it autographed by him.