The 2018 Cavendish Beach Music Festival, Presented by Bell was certainly one for the books!
With it being the festival’s 10th anniversary this year, the festival organizers promised concert goers a memorable and unforgettable weekend – and they delivered on that promise each day.
DAY ONE on Friday started of on some slightly scary terms weather-wise as due to severe weather conditions hit the area. The festival organizers in a smart and safe move, delayed opening the gates until 3:00PM, with the first Main Stage act, Meghan Patrick hitting the stage at 4:00PM. Luckily the weather did not discourage concert goers or the artists! When I spoke with the reigning the CCMA Female Vocalist of the Year earlier in the day, Patrick stated that whether in the rain or if the sun is shining her show will go on! Thankfully it did. She was the perfect way to cap off the festival with her hits like “Country Made Me Do It, “ from her album of the same name and massive hit, “Bow Chicka Bow Wow”. Her powerful sultry vocals combined with her incredible stage presence, and strong musicianship had the crowd gripped and loved every minute. Fan favorites The Road Hammers were next on main stage, and like every performance, they NEVER disappoint. Consisting of Jason McCoy, Clayton Bellamy and Chris Byrne, The Road Hammers from the second they hit the stage had the crowd on their feet and singing! How could they not with hits like their cover of “East Bound and Down,” “I’ve Been Everywhere” as well as their hits “Mud,” “Crazy About You” and ‘I’m a Road Hammer.” They left the crowd only wanting more after they had finished and I can guarantee that they will be back on the East Coast VERY soon! The highly anticipated Chase Rice rocked the main stage next. Rice who is known for his work on the reality series “Survivor,” and is also credited with writing the Florida Georgia Line breakthrough hit single “Cruise” was a smash hit to concert goers from the get-go with hits like “Ready, Set, Roll”, “Gonna Wanna Tonight,” and an awesome cover medley of “All The Small Things/My Own Worst Enemy/O Canada.” The main event of the evening hit the Main Stage next to a packed crowd – Brett Eldredge! He opened with the perfect song to kick his set off “Somethin’ I’m Good At!” It completely fired up the crowd and gave a glimpse of the incredible set that was to come. It was just one great song after the next with his hits like “Wanna Be That Song,” “Don’t Ya” and “Beat of the Music!” Some other amazing acts of the day were the wonder guys of River Town Saints who did a double set on the Cavendish Farms Main Stage with hits like “Cherry Bomb,” “Bonfire,” and their latest hit “You Get Me.” Shay Dupuy is another very notable artist that not only graced the Cavendish Farms Main Stage with amazing tracks like “Tin Man,” and “Liar” (Co-written by CBMF Alum Jessica Mitchell) but also participated in the famed Songwriter’s Circle hosted by Gordie Sampson. Along with Dupuy, Sons of Daughters were another very notable act that graced the Songrwriter’s Circle that night directly after their set on the SiriusXM Emerging Artist Stage fresh off the release of their hit track released days prior titled, “Can’t Find Love In a Bar.”
**Check out my interviews with Shay Dupuy, Sons Of Daughters, River Town Saints and The Road Hammers on our Interviews Page!
DAY TWO only got better for concert goers on Saturday. Warm, and sunny weather definitely helped set the mood of the day. EmiSunshine got the day started at the festival. This young lady is a force to be reckoned with. The 14 year old’s style, grace, and truly unbelievable vocals made her seem beyond her years. Next to hit the stage was The East Pointers consisting of Tim Chaisson, Koady Chaisson and Jake Charron. These gentlemen have revolutionized the Celtic/Folk genre and introduce the culture to young audiences both within Canada as well as abroad. The group featured tracks from their latest EP, “What We Leave Behind”, released last September and produced by the amazing Gordie Sampson (who actually joined them on stage for a song!) as well as a great cover of the “Heroes” by the late David Bowie. **Tim will actually be featured at his family founded and famous Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival in Rollo Bay, PE taking place from July 13th-15th so if you’re in the area, be sure to check them out! Lindsay Ell was next to (quite literally) rock the main stage! If you have never seen this woman’s set, and have the chance to – GO! She performed tracks from her latest studio album, “The Project” such as “Champagne,” and “Good.” Earlier this year Ell released a cover album of John Mayer’s “Continuum” album appropriately titled “The Continuum Project” with which she also played some tracks from as well. During her set, she showcased her incredible skills as a guitar player with a medley of hits that included songs like “Enter Sandman” by Metallica, and “Are You Gonna Go My Way” by Lenny Kravitz, to name a few. Lindsay will be back in Atlantic Canada in September when she joins Keith Urban on his Graffiti U World Tour when it stops in Moncton at the new Moncton Events Center on September 12th! Terri Clark hit the main stage next! Clark has been one of the most requested artists to play this festival since it’s inception so as you can imagine, fans were delighted to see her come 6:00PM on Saturday – and they were not disappointed! Clad in her famous cowboy hat, Clark (who is the FIRST female Canadian member of the Grand Ole Opry) ROCKED the main stage with her biggest and best hits from over the years which included “You’re Easy On The Eyes,” “Now That I Found You,” “Better Things To Do” and “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me,” to name just a few. It was recently announced as well from The Canadian Country Music Association that Terri Clark will be this year’s Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductee. CBMF Alum and ultimate fan favorite Dallas Smith burst onto the main stage like a bolt of lightning and had the packed CBMF crowd in the palm of his hand the entire time! With hits like “Tippin’ Point,” “Slow Rollin’,” and “Side Effects” to name a few he had the crowd engaged and singing along the entire time! Speaking of engaged, Dallas invited a young couple on stage who became engaged and shared their first dance to his hit single, “Autograph!” It was an incredible moment I know Dallas, the young couple and the crowd will not soon forget! The Saturday night main event hit the stage next – Chris Young! The fans adored him from the beginning as he played he many, many hit singles like “Voices”, “Lonely Eyes” and “Aw Naw.” It was a great way to end the not so “Sober Saturday Night!” Another amazing performance from Saturday included CBMF Alum and Newfoundland native Jason Benoit, fresh of his recent announcement as finalist in the SiriusXM Top of the Country Music Competition. He also in the week prior to the festival released a cover of the Pointer Sisters/Conway Twitty single “Slow Hand.” He rocked a double set on the Cavendish Farms Kitchen Stage and also played the Bell Stage and Toyota Stage that day.
**Check out my interviews with EmiSunshine, The East Pointers, Gordie Sampson, Terri Clark, Dallas Smith and Jason Benoit on our Interviews Page!
DAY THREE was once again a fantastic day of artist performances with Jimmie Allen kicking off the day on the main stage! Fresh off the release of his self-titled EP he wowed the crowed his amazing charisma with the crowd, in addition to his powerful vocals. The Delaware-native featured songs from the EP such as “Best Shot,” “Underdogs” and “Blue Jean Baby.” Allen also showcased his beautiful songwriting abilities on Sunday’s Songwriter’s Circle hosted by CBMF Alum and New Brunswick native Mike Biggar. Brothers Jason and Tom Petric who make up the vocal group and CBMF Alum Petric graced the main stage next. The group featured songs from their latest EP, “18 Ends” and showcased their amazing vocals and beautiful harmonies! Up next was fan favorite James Barker Band consisting of James Barker, Taylor Abram, Bobby Martin, and Connor Stephen! They were a blast right from the beginning with hits like “Chills,” “Just Sayin'” and “Lawn Chair Lazy!” They had the crowd up singing and jumping the entire time during their high energy set. Granger Smith fresh off his latest studio album, “When The Good Guys Win” hit the stage next! A highlight of his performance however that got the crowd cranked was his cover of Garth Brook’s “Ain’t Going Down (Til the Sun Comes Up.)” Jon Pardi was up next and was an enormous hit with the crowd. He is another artist much like Terri Clark and Sunday’s main headliner that has been requested as a festival artist for years so fans responded to him with sheer excitement when he played his smash hits like “Dirt on My Boots” and “She Ain’t In It” just to name a few! After 10 years, countless requests from hundreds of thousands of fans over the years the number one most requested artist of the Cavendish Beach Music Festival was HERE! Yes, Luke Bryan was Sunday’s Headlining Artist and he rocked to a sold out crowd of almost 60,000 fans and played long into the night! He lived up to his incredible name and title of “Entertainer of the Year!” Bryan played hit, after hit, after hit with tracks like “Huntin’, Fishin and Lovin’ Everyday”, “Drink A Beer,” and the perfect opening song Anyone who was at t “Country Girl (Shake It For Me).”his electrifying performance will be talking about it for years to come. It was the most perfect way to celebrate the festival’s 10th anniversary! Some other amazing acts of the day included The Reklaws (consisting of Jenna and Stuart Walker). They ROCKED a packed Cavendish Farms Kitchen Stage Sunday evening with their hits, “Wish You Were Beer” (With a surprise appearance from James Barker, “Hometown Kids” and their massive hit “Long Live the Night.” Come the end of their set, the tent was literally vibrating! Another notable act from Sunday was the piece Dustbowl Revival (consisting of Zack Lupetin, Lis Beebe, Daniel Mark, Connor Vance, Matt Rubin, Ulf Bjorlin, James Klopfleisch, and Joshlyn Heffernan). The Americana style group put on an amazing performance in Cavendish Farms Kitchen Stage with featuring tracks from their latest self-titled EP such as the viral sensation “Never Had To Go.” **Fun Fact: The music video for this track features then seemingly ageless Dick Van Dyke!
**Check out my interviews with Petric, The Reklaws, James Barker Band and Dustbowl Revival on our Interviews Page!
DAY FOUR was the final day of the festival this year, and saw a different type of crowd, bringing all kinds of exposure to this already incredible festival. The day started off with New City (consisting of Adrian Mitchell, Jed Webster, and Nathan Brown). Their latest track, “Getting Closer” is a massive smash hit online and it brought with them international exposure. They brought with them an fun alt-pop sound that had the grounds bumping and dancing! Brother and Sister duo from New Zealand Broods (Consisting of Georgia Josiena Nott and Caleb Allan Joseph Nott) were up next with their eclectic sounds and clever use of synths. They performed upbeat tracks from their latest release “Conscious.” Up next was super fan favorite and the only country act to play the main stage that day – Dan + Shay (Consisting of Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney). Fresh off their self-titled album release, they performed tracks such as “Keeping Score” (minus Kelly Clarkson, “Alone Together”, and for the first time live EVER in Canada “Tequila!” The boys were constantly blown away by the Monday night crowd because with EVERY song, the crowd was loudly singing along, sometimes even bringing them to tears. Needless to say, their Cavendish set, and the fans that attended will be a footnote in their memory for sure! International superstar Shawn Mendes hit the stage next as the final act of the evening, and of the festival. Met with a screaming legion of fans, Mendes did not disappoint from the moment he hit the stage with smash hits such as “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back,” “Treat You Better”and “In My Blood.” Another amazing performance that took place on Monday evening was Lauv! He ROCKED a packed Cavendish Farms Kitchen Stage with his tracks such as “Paris in the Rain,” “Chasing Fire” and “Easy Love!” Lauv will be heading on tour this fall with Ed Sheeran as well so be sure to check him out!
**Check out my interviews with Lauv and New City on our Interviews Page!
It’s certainly been proven that the Cavendish Beach Music Festival is open to interpretation in terms of genre, and I think the this festival will only get bigger and grow more and more with each passing year! Bring on #CBMF2019!
-Sarah