On October 19th, Dean Brody, Dallas Smith and other Canadian country music friends brought their Friends Don’t Let Friends Tour Alone tour to Edmonton Alberta at Rogers Place. It was a great show and our own Lauren Lee went to check it out.
Ontario natives The Reklaws opened the show with their latest single “Old Country Soul” and got the crowd revved up for Dean Brody and Dallas Smith with energetic performances of several of their hit records, including “Hometown Kids”, “Roots”, and “Long Live The Night”.
Dean Brody and Dallas Smith took the stage, opening with Smith’s “Get You Where You Wanna Go” before segueing into Brody’s “Undone”. The camaraderie between the two artists was palpable as they bantered back and forth on stage, singing each other’s songs.
After a few more tunes, Smith left the stage and Brody performed his solo set with favourites including “Bush Party”, “Dirt Road Scholars”, and “Roll That Barrel Out” (during which the lights were the colours of the Jamaican flag) as well as some new stuff from his album Black Sheep. When introducing his latest single “Whiskey in a Teacup”, Brody told the story of spotting Reese Witherspoon’s book of the same name and being surprised that there was not yet a country song with that title. He explained that the song is written for his new wife, who is “very sweet and like a teacup”, saying that as he got to know her more he noticed there was some whiskey-like fire behind that sweetness.
Brody spent a few years living in Edmonton and joked that spending time on stage is way more fun than unloading trucks in Sherwood Park (a large hamlet just outside of the city).
Toward the end of his set, Brody launched into “Canadian Girls”, to the excitement of all the ladies in the crowd, before wrapping it up with “Bounty” featuring Alberta native Mackenzie Porter singing Lindi Ortega’s portion of the duet.
Brody relinquished the stage to Porter who introduced the crowd to her latest single “These Days”.
Canadian country favourite Chad Brownlee appeared on stage, performing “When the Lights Go Down” and “Forever’s Gotta Start Somewhere” before announcing his spring tour.
Smith took the stage wearing an Alberta hat, opening with his latest single “Drop” before introducing his newest song “Timeless” followed by fan favourites including “Lifted”, “Sky Stays This Blue”, and “Tipping Point”. Smith introduced his bassist, Travis, who is from St. Albert (met with cheers) but is a Calgary Flames fan (met with a mixture of cheers and jeers).
Smith invited couple Josh and Brittany on stage to dance while he sang “Autograph”. As he crooned the last chords, Josh went down on one knee and asked Brittany to be his wife – don’t worry, she said yes! After congratulating the couple, Smith went on to say how thankful he is that the song resonates with so many people.
Smith ended his set with “Wasting Gas” and “Side Effects”.
As the crowd cheered, a bar was rolled out on stage with the name “Friends Bar” lit up in neon. The lights came up and Brody and Smith jumped out from underneath, grabbing guitars and sitting on bar stools. Smith requested that Brody sing “Time”. Brody complied with the stipulation that Smith return the favour. The stadium was alight with phones and lighters as Brody sang about time passing quicker than we think. Smith mentioned that he also has a song about time and, in a nod to his time spent with Canadian rock band Default, took the crowd back to the year 2000 with “Wasting My Time”.
Brody and Dallas were joined once again by Porter and Brownlee for “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drink Alone”, wrapping up the concert with “Cheap Seats” and “Bringing Down the House”. The crowed responded with thundering applause and left Roger’s Place with smiling faces and ringing ears.
The Friends Don’t Let Friends Tour Alone tour in Edmonton was a great show that all of Edmonton will be talking about for quite some time. You’re going to want to check out this show when it comes to a city near you.
Set List for Friends Don’t Let Friends Tour Alone
- Gets you where you wanna go
- Undone
- Somebody somewhere
- Bush party
- Dirt road scholars
- Whiskey in a teacup
- Upside Down
- Mountain man
- Good goodbye
- Roll that barrel out
- Friday
- Black sheep
- Canadian girls
- Bounty
- These Days
- When the Lights Go Down
- Forever’s Gotta Start Somewhere
- Drop
- Timeless
- Lifted
- Tipping point
- Sky Stays This Blue
- One Little Kiss
- Kids With Cars
- Autograph
- Rhinestone World
- Wasting gas
- Side Effects
- Time
- Wasting My Time
- Friends Don’t Let Friends Drink Alone
- Cheap Seats
- Bring Down the House
In country music, the Front Porch has long been a place of reflection. A place where you can look at the life you have inside that front door. A place where time almost seems to stand still, where you can get away. It’s also a place where you can go to observe the world as it passes by you. To think about your place out there beyond the driveway.
