Blue Rodeo

After a sold-out show last summer, Canadian icons Blue Rodeo return to the Drill Hall.

The definition of a rebel is someone who goes against the grain. For close to forty years now, Blue Rodeo has taken the road less travelled - and succeeded far beyond anyone’s expectations. The band emerged in the early 80’s as a countrified rock band in the era of hair metal and glossy pop. Despite sticking out like a sore thumb (or maybe because of it), their single “Try” became omni-present on radio across Canada and set in motion a three decade long career of headlining every club, theatre and arena in Canada. In 1993, when grunge rock was squeezing commercial rock off the radio, they recorded their most acoustic album, Five Days In July, and scored their biggest hit selling over a half million copies of that one record alone.

One of Canada’s most enduring bands, Blue Rodeo has received 31 JUNO Award nominations (winning 12) and 17 CCMA Awards (winning two). Since their formation in Toronto when they electrified the supercool Queen West scene — before making their homes in the soft-seaters and arenas of the nation — Blue Rodeo has sold more than four million albums, played thousands of shows, been inducted into both the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame, been named to the Order of Canada and been honoured with the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award.

The band has created a body of work that stands as a benchmark in Canadian music, weaving deeply resonant, distinctly Canadian stories that have influenced countless songwriters. Their songs have not only defined Blue Rodeo’s legacy but have also influenced the evolution of rock and country music, inspiring countless artists and becoming woven into the fabric of the nation’s cultural identity.

Celebrating more than four decades of success, the members are able to fully appreciate where Blue Rodeo sits in the pantheon of music.  “Success seemed real when we were entertaining people in The Horseshoe. That was the top of the heap for us,” Cuddy says. “When you look back, you realize it’s just been this beautiful dream.”