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Here is an article I found in the Kitchener Waterloo Nightlife Section. A little bit about the artist that is playing, I am working that weekend so I'll be unable to attend.... although I thought I would post it here not only for anyone who would like to go but the article itself is an interesting read as well 
Reproduced in accordance with the fairdealings
article link: http://www.therecord.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=record/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=1024322398726&c=Article&cid=1181796656104
Source: Kitchener Waterloo Record, Thurs; June 14th 2007
A fine line
AARON LINES HEADLINES UPTOWN COUNTRY, BUT NOT BEFORE PLAYING A GIG FOR THE PENTAGON
COLIN HUNTER
AARON LINES
(Jun 14, 2007)
Things were going really well for country singer Aaron Lines -- hit singles, successful tours, adoring fans, the whole shebang.
Then the Pentagon called.
At first, the Canadian cowboy crooner couldn't figure out why anyone from the epicentre of American national security wanted to have words with him.
He worried that it might have something to do with an anti-war ballad he wrote about fallen soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.
It did. The song, called Somebody's Son, had indeed piqued the interest of some high-powered bigwigs in Washington.
Much to the singer's relief, though, they dug the song.
And that's when things got even better for Lines.
The Pentagon invited him to play at Operation Hope in Colorado -- a morale-booster event in front of 50,000 American troops, complete with presidential address, simulcast to U.S. military bases around the world.
"It kind of blew me away that they chose me," Lines says with the kind of aww-shucks humility that has made him a successful heartthrob on the country circuit.
"They could have picked anyone they wanted for that, and they picked me."
He'll play the Pentagon gig smack-dab in the middle of a Canadian tour, which will see 29-year-old Lines headline the Uptown Country festival this June 16 in Waterloo, alongside Canadian country artists Cathy Korpi, Mandi Chandler and Little Rock.
And while Lines is excited about playing at Operation Hope in September, he's especially glad to finally be back in Canada, getting reacquainted with his native land after a long stretch away.
Lines recently moved to Calgary -- relatively close, in Canadian terms, to his hometown of Fort McMurray -- after a seven-year stint in Nashville.
He doesn't regret his time in Nashville, since living in the Shangri-La of country music helped launch his then-burgeoning recording career.
"But you can get too much of a good thing," Lines says on the phone from home.
"You need a break in the real world every now and then, to talk to friends who don't play music, and have conversations about something other than making records."
Living closer to his friends and family inspired the title of Lines' new album, released June 12, Moments That Matter.
"As I got older, I realized that my priorities changed, that to be really successful in life isn't just about a career," he says. "The song Moments That Matter is about me coming to the realization that even though there's a pot of gold at the top of the ladder, you can't buy back the moments that matter."
For every heartwarming ballad on the new album, though, Lines has included some ditties that may surprise his longtime fans with their tongue-in-cheek sarcasm. The song Cheaper to Keep Her, for instance, verges on outright parody of country music itself, with such stereotypical lyrics as: "You're down on your luck, you just lost your truck, you can't afford another beer."
Lest anyone think Lines is mocking the genre that has made him famous, he's quick to point out that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. "A lot of the big country hits I grew up listening to were like that, tongue-in-cheek," he says.
"I've been around long enough that I know what country fans are like -- they've got a sense of humour and they can take a joke."
Lines hopes plenty of fun-loving country fans will head to downtown Waterloo this weekend, because he intends to keep his set upbeat and full of opportunities for audience participation.
"At these summer festivals, everyone's in a good mood, so I get up there and it's a no-brainer," he says.
"I want it to feel like we're all friends at the same party. I still find it weird that, as a musician, you get to be up onstage and just party with the people. What better job is there?"
chunter@therecord.com
LIVE UPTOWN COUNTRY, FEATURING AARON LINES, MANDI CHANDLER, CATHY KORPI AND LITTLE ROCK JUNE 16 2 P.M. REGINA STREET PARKING LOT, NEXT TO WATERLOO CITY CENTRE FREE WWW.UPTOWNCOUNTRYWATERLOO.COM
Reproduced in accordance with the fairdealings
article link: http://www.therecord.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=record/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=1024322398726&c=Article&cid=1181796656104
Source: Kitchener Waterloo Record, Thurs; June 14th 2007
A fine line
AARON LINES HEADLINES UPTOWN COUNTRY, BUT NOT BEFORE PLAYING A GIG FOR THE PENTAGON
COLIN HUNTER
AARON LINES
(Jun 14, 2007)
Things were going really well for country singer Aaron Lines -- hit singles, successful tours, adoring fans, the whole shebang.
Then the Pentagon called.
At first, the Canadian cowboy crooner couldn't figure out why anyone from the epicentre of American national security wanted to have words with him.
He worried that it might have something to do with an anti-war ballad he wrote about fallen soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.
It did. The song, called Somebody's Son, had indeed piqued the interest of some high-powered bigwigs in Washington.
Much to the singer's relief, though, they dug the song.
And that's when things got even better for Lines.
The Pentagon invited him to play at Operation Hope in Colorado -- a morale-booster event in front of 50,000 American troops, complete with presidential address, simulcast to U.S. military bases around the world.
"It kind of blew me away that they chose me," Lines says with the kind of aww-shucks humility that has made him a successful heartthrob on the country circuit.
"They could have picked anyone they wanted for that, and they picked me."
He'll play the Pentagon gig smack-dab in the middle of a Canadian tour, which will see 29-year-old Lines headline the Uptown Country festival this June 16 in Waterloo, alongside Canadian country artists Cathy Korpi, Mandi Chandler and Little Rock.
And while Lines is excited about playing at Operation Hope in September, he's especially glad to finally be back in Canada, getting reacquainted with his native land after a long stretch away.
Lines recently moved to Calgary -- relatively close, in Canadian terms, to his hometown of Fort McMurray -- after a seven-year stint in Nashville.
He doesn't regret his time in Nashville, since living in the Shangri-La of country music helped launch his then-burgeoning recording career.
"But you can get too much of a good thing," Lines says on the phone from home.
"You need a break in the real world every now and then, to talk to friends who don't play music, and have conversations about something other than making records."
Living closer to his friends and family inspired the title of Lines' new album, released June 12, Moments That Matter.
"As I got older, I realized that my priorities changed, that to be really successful in life isn't just about a career," he says. "The song Moments That Matter is about me coming to the realization that even though there's a pot of gold at the top of the ladder, you can't buy back the moments that matter."
For every heartwarming ballad on the new album, though, Lines has included some ditties that may surprise his longtime fans with their tongue-in-cheek sarcasm. The song Cheaper to Keep Her, for instance, verges on outright parody of country music itself, with such stereotypical lyrics as: "You're down on your luck, you just lost your truck, you can't afford another beer."
Lest anyone think Lines is mocking the genre that has made him famous, he's quick to point out that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. "A lot of the big country hits I grew up listening to were like that, tongue-in-cheek," he says.
"I've been around long enough that I know what country fans are like -- they've got a sense of humour and they can take a joke."
Lines hopes plenty of fun-loving country fans will head to downtown Waterloo this weekend, because he intends to keep his set upbeat and full of opportunities for audience participation.
"At these summer festivals, everyone's in a good mood, so I get up there and it's a no-brainer," he says.
"I want it to feel like we're all friends at the same party. I still find it weird that, as a musician, you get to be up onstage and just party with the people. What better job is there?"
chunter@therecord.com
LIVE UPTOWN COUNTRY, FEATURING AARON LINES, MANDI CHANDLER, CATHY KORPI AND LITTLE ROCK JUNE 16 2 P.M. REGINA STREET PARKING LOT, NEXT TO WATERLOO CITY CENTRE FREE WWW.UPTOWNCOUNTRYWATERLOO.COM
