Michelle Wright at Gold Eagle Casino May 13

Fans of country music artist Michelle Wright have no doubt already circled May 13 on the calendar.

That is the date for Wright to be in North Battleford for her first stop in a three-day Saskatchewan tour.

She will be performing at the Gold Eagle Casino starting at 8 p.m., with tickets going for $35.

After that, Wright plays at Casino Regina on May 14, and then again May 15 at Dakota Dunes Casino south of Saskatoon. 

Having grown up in Merlin, near Chatham, Ont., Wright has spent over 35 years performing and writing music and is a member of the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.  

 “I’m really one of the lucky ones I must tell you,” said Wright when speaking to the News-Optimist from Nashville last Monday. “It’s amazing and it continues to be just awesome.”

Her hits include songs like Take It Like a Man, which was a Top Ten record in the United States, Do Right by Me, Guitar Talk, One Good Man, Nobody's Girl, He Would Be Sixteen and New Kind of Love among others.

Her career took off in the 1990s after signing with Arista/Nashville, and she won the Canadian Country Music Association's Fans' Choice Entertainer of the Year in 1993 and 1995. The Academy of Country Music named her Top New Female Artist in 1993.

Wright has played in North Battleford before and is no stranger to performing in Saskatchewan. In fact, it was while in Saskatoon that she heard one of her singles on the radio early in her career.

“1985, I was playing Saskatoon and it was the first time I heard my own record played,” said Wright.

What fans in the Battlefords  can expect is a high-energy show, Wright said.

It sounds as if Wright feels she’s got something to prove to people on that point. There was this idea going around in the country music world, she said, that “women don’t know how to put on high energy, rockin’, fun country shows.”  

“It seems to be really difficult for women to get hired these days, and in festivals and all that sort of thing,” she laments. “They’re just always just hiring the, you know, the boys singing about the beer and the trucks and the girls and whatever.

“And I’ve always been a pretty high energy, fun, rockin’ country show and nothing has changed. We still are that.”

She plans a show with a “lot of hits and a lot of energy and a great rockin’ band,” and says the show is very personal as well. Wright says she loves to chitchat with the fans from the stage.

As for what distinguishes a Michelle Wright show from the others, it’s the style of music. 

“I’ve always sort of brought a country-rock-R&B flavor to my music,” said Wright. That’s sort of how I’ve always performed.”

Add to that her signature voice, and you have the elements that distinguish her songs from the others. 

“People say they sense a real authenticity and a genuine passion and love for what I do,” said Wright. “I think people just feel good and comfortable and have a good time when they come to our shows.”   

The past year has seen some changes take place in Wright’s career.

She signed with new manager Chuck Thompson and the Thompson Entertainment Group in August after her longtime manager Brian Ferriman had retired.

His decision came after his wife Sue passed away in 2014 after a more than decade-long battle with ALS. Together, Brian and Sue had worked as a business management team with Wright for 28 years. 

“It was tough, tough times, you know, because I loved these people and I wasn’t going to walk away during these very difficult years, particularly the last few,” Wright said. 

Afterwards, Wright was on her own for about nine months “just kind of putting the pieces together and deciding how I wanted to move forward,” before signing with Thompson, who was part of the management team for the Judds.

“He’s an awesome guy and really fun to work with and that’s been one of the really good things I’ve done recently.” 

She’s been performing recently, touring in Texas and California and other places, and was in Lloydminster early in April for the Lakeland College President’s Gala. Wright has also been spending time writing music.

Wright says she is not likely to do another album right now “because it’s such an expensive endeavour,” But she does plan to record some new music. “At least a new single, for sure,” she said. 

"I’m going to share some of the new songs at the North Battleford show,” Wright promised.

She plans to spend much of the rest of the year doing more concerts, including in places such as Wainwright, Alta., Nanaimo, B.C. and back in Ontario.  Some shows are already planned in January and February in Texas and Arizona.

In all, she has “no desire” to slow down any time soon and is still as high-energy as ever.

“I’m a force to be reckoned with, still.”

She’s looking forward to coming to Saskatchewan from Nashville to perform and hopes the flight connections hold up so the band can arrive in time for the show in North Battleford.

“Cross your fingers that the airplanes won’t decide they need to cancel.” Wright said. “It’s insanity trying to get from gig to gig on a plane, let me tell you.”