The first-ever Red Deer Entertainment Awards hit The Vat this past Saturday, with several of the City’s best-known artists and promoters honoured for their contributions to the local music scene.
The event was presented by Green Goose Entertainment – a company that was founded by local musician Jesse Roads.
As he has explained, the awards were a tremendous chance to recognize plenty of local talent and the folks that work so hard to bring it to the forefront for local fans, too.
“I’m excited,” said Roads prior to the show on Saturday evening as people were streaming into The Vat. Roads said this year is also about laying a solid foundation for next year, as he envisions the Red Deer Entertainment Awards becoming an annual community event.
“Things have been going great – it’s been a busy couple of days but I couldn’t have asked for a better support system – with the media and with everyone here – it’s been really cool.”
Hosted by ‘That Don Cherry Guy’, the evening also featured performances by Wiklund Vs. Wiklund, Damian La Grange, Ryan Marchant, Balaclava, Randi Boulton and Supertrucker.
There were a number of categories, from Promoter of the Year, a Venue Recognition Award, an Open Stage Award, Group of the Year, New Group of the Year, Cover Band of the Year, Singer/Songwriter of the Year and Achievement Award, the Red Deer Scene Award, the Comedy Achievement Award, the Comedy Recognition Award and the Social Contribution Award.
Boulton won the Singer/Songwriter of the Year Award, while Dusty Tucker took the Group of the Year honours.
Other highlights included Damian La Grange taking New Group of the Year and Sharkpuncher landing the Cover Band of the Year Award as well. Terry Cave, owner of The Vat, was recognized with the Red Deer Scene Award.
Bull Skit Comedy was also honoured with the Comedy Achievement Award as well.
“It feels really nice for people to recognize what we are doing in the City,” said Jenna Goldade, founder of Bull Skit Comedy. “And that they appreciate it. I think that goes a long way. To be appreciated by our peers – the arts community – it just feels really great.
“I think it’s exciting,” she added of the Entertainment Awards overall. “I think there is a lot to come from these awards. I’m excited to see what will come next year, too.”
Meanwhile, as Roads has explained, the event was something he had thought about organizing for a few years now. And from the start, support for the event has been solid. Along the way, encouragement to do so has been a constant as well.
“The feedback has been really positive,” said Roads. “At the end of the day, we are creating some awareness and it’s been really, really cool. Again, the feedback has been great – I’d say at least 95 per cent positive.
“Of course you can’t please everyone, but we want to learn – we want to make it even better for next year.”
Road established Green Goose Entertainment as a means to further explore opportunities in promotion and creativity. He said that to that end, launching the Red Deer Entertainment Awards is a key part of helping to spread the word about the abundance of local talent across the region.
“I think the biggest thing is that as a community, we need to come together once in a while and look at each, sit with each other and share our stories and remind ourselves that there is a community here,” he explained. “There is a scene that really does exist. And it’s better than in a lot of other places – there are a lot of places where clubs are closing. But Red Deer is a place where people just support (us).
“Even in the slower times, people still are willing to support it. So it’s important to come together, and to appreciate and recognize each other as peers.”
For more information, check out ‘Green Goose Entertainment’ on facebook.
mark.weber@reddeerexpress.com
