Contributions to this story by Wes Bloom and Devan C. Tasa, from the Parkland Review newspaper
More than 100 bravehearted souls attended the Chris Henderson concert in Assiniboia, held at the Prince of Wales Centre on January 10.
Henderson was so impressed that so many folks braved the inclement weather, that he mentioned it several times: “Wow. It’s so awesome that you came out tonight in such horrible weather to spend the evening with me! I doubt that I would have been so brave. Thank you so much.”
This wonderful event was brought to town and sponsored by the Assiniboia Arts Council.
Henderson, a former high school teacher, is a good musician, singer, and song writer. He is also a masterful storyteller. The large crowd on hand sat quietly spellbound by his performance and unique, ‘down to earth’ perspective on life.
He spoke often and fondly of his loving wife, and his dearly departed grandmother, who was also a musician and profound influence in his life. Sadly, she spent the last year and a half of her life in hospital, barely able to get out of bed. Near the end of her life, on Chris’ last visit to the hospital to see her, she somehow managed to summon enough strength and courage to climb out of bed and ‘jam’ with him, singing and playing the ever present piano in her room, until finally, her strength failed.
The song he wrote honouring that moment with his grandmother — “Til It’s Just a Memory” — was perhaps the highlight of the entire evening.
Being a full-time musician is somewhat of a family tradition for country music star Chris Henderson. Before he was born, his father, Donn Henderson, would travel around and perform, mostly playing rock and roll. He stopped doing that when Henderson was born. “Music was definitely in our house growing up,” he said.
“When I was in university, my dad convinced me to go into this contest,” he said, “I was starting to listen to a little more country music at that point in my life anyway and then I ended up winning.” That contest was the 620 CKRM Big Country Talent Show in 2006. As a prize, he got to record a single with the Saskatchewan-based country music band Poverty Plainsmen.
“I recorded a country song and sent it out to radio and the guy that wrote it had heard it and invited me down to Nashville and the rest is history,” Henderson said. “I didn’t expect a career to ever come out of it, but it sort of developed over the last 10 years and it kind of makes me laugh when I look back on it.”
In 2007, Henderson recorded his first album, Follow the Signs. After releasing that and four singles, he travelled around the county to promote his work. In 2011, Henderson decided to put aside his day job as a high school English teacher and pursue music on a full-time basis.
At his recent concert in Assiniboia, the audience enjoyed a good old Saskatchewan show full of stories, jokes and a nice laid-back atmosphere. He did not disappoint with a selection of original music and a few classic covers. Following the recent release of his third studio album, his music is already familiar to country radio listeners with the song My Regret, a recent single that was the Number 1 independent song in Canada for four weeks.
The country music singer said visiting the smaller Saskatchewan communities like Assiniboia connects nicely with his prairie roots. “There’s lots of stories about life and love and living on the prairies and I really believe that people enjoy themselves,” he said. “I feel our show has a little something for everybody.”
