Amanda Hagel, a country music artist originally from the Lancer area, will be on stage at the Lyric Theatre on November 4 to kick off an album release and concert tour.
Hagel is set to release her third full length album, A Collection of Covers, in November, and she is unveiling the music during a three community album release tour which also takes her to Medicine Hat and Saskatoon.
The album is a diverse mix of covers, and the songs are also featured in videos she has produced during three years of a Cover Song Summer Series which appears on YouTube.
“We’ve re-done them kind of in a really unique way. And I’ve been releasing those professional videos the last three summers,” Hagel explained.
“You have fun playing cover songs for the audience, and you kind of get a nice set list going of songs that people love,” she said. “But to actually remake them into something different, that is your own unique brand and style, it’s a really cool experience because it kind of makes the song your own in a way. So you can kind of revive it.”
“Some of the songs that I chose were a little bit older, a little bit dated. But now they almost have a renewed sense, and kind of a modern feel to them which is kind of neat.”
Hagel is no stranger to being on stage, dating all the way back to performing with a family band The Chokecherry Band, along with a series of cover bands.
She stepped out on her own back in 2014 when she released her debut album Rush.
“That was a big step, putting my own music out. I had a great success with that record. I released four singles from that album,” she explained.
That opened an opportunity for her to become a national finalists in the CBC Searchlight competition, and being the regional Saskatchewan winner in 2015 gave her national exposure.
“That was a huge leap, because obviously it gets you on a platform that’s a lot larger. So a really great experience through that whole campaign in the spring of 2015.”
She followed up with the Christmas album Listen With Your Heart which won Sask Country Music Award for Country Gospel Album of the Year in 2017. She was also nominated for a 2017 SCMA Emerging Artist of the Year award, and was nominated for the SCMA’s Female Artist of the Year in 2018.
“It’s nice to have that recognition from the industry and your peers and the support,” she said of her Country Gospel Album of the Year Award. “So that reinforces that side of the music that I create, which is a little more spiritual. So I try to tie it all into the whole package and the whole picture of what I’m trying to do in the music world.”
During her November 4 concert at the Lyric Theatre, Hagel says country music fans will hear some songs they are familiar with.
“There’s going to be some neat surprises in terms of the music that they hear, and the remix of some of these iconic songs that we’ve done on this record. There’ll be a lot of familiarity with the music. I think there’ll be connection right away. There will also be an element of a spiritual tone to some of the concert as well. I always try and bring that into every show that I do.
“There’s going to be a wide range, from intimate beautiful songs, to really get your feet tapping and clapping along songs. So we’re going to take you on an interesting journey through music over time. And I think overall it’s going to be one of those shows that’s extremely unique and I’m really excited about it.”
The opening act will be Jay & Jo. The folk sister duo of Jay and Jo Trudel were nominated for the SCMA’s Roots Artist or Group of the Year in 2018, and they are multiple SCMA award winners as members of The Trudel Family.
