Chris Henderson has played his music in almost every public venue in his hometown, the Energy City, but his appearance at the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum on Dec. 5 will be his first in those cozy surroundings.
“I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve never played there and the more intimate concerts are something that a lot of musicians and singers appreciate. I know this one will give me an opportunity to try some of my new songs, and I’ll pretty well know right away whether or not you’ll like ’em,” he said with a laugh.
Henderson is appearing as part of the EAGM’s ongoing After Dark Concert Series. The previous concert featured Regina/Toronto based singer/songwriter Jeffery Straker.
Henderson’s music is pure country and western and some of his recently released songs are receiving good air play, with three of them over the past couple of years rising into the top 50 play rankings.
The former Male Artist of the Year nominee for the Saskatchewan Country Music Awards came off a busy summer of appearances at the Craven Country Jamboree (main stage), Big Valley and Gateway Music Festivals as well as the Calgary Stampede. He recently completed a tour in Alberta that included stops in Calgary and Medicine Hat before wrapping up at the Canadian Western Agribition in his new hometown of Regina. Another highlight of the past summer was an appearance at the Boots and Hearts Festival in Bowmanville, Ont., one of the largest music festivals on the tour.
Henderson, who gave up a full time career teaching high school English, nine years ago, doesn’t regret the decision, especially since he still gets the opportunity to do some substitute teaching “gigs” in Regina, allowing him to keep his hand in that game, too.
“I left the full time teaching ranks in 2006,” he said, willing to jump with both feet into the world of C&W music.
Direct release on YouTube for such tunes as My Turn and Don’t Miss Your Kiss Goodbye have garnered Henderson a lot of attention of late in the music writing and composition community.
“When I first started out, I couldn’t get a lot of help on the collaborative side. Everyone was just too busy. Now, it seems I’ve paid some dues, had some solid songs out there and these guys are phoning me and we’re working together on a lot of material.”
Henderson said he’ll spend a good part of the winter (December, January and February) in the recording studio as well as being hunched over his songs that he is crafting with the likes of well known collaborative songwriters like Troy Kokol, Willie Mack or Russ Brun who has won several awards for his lyrical stylings for Jann Arden.
“The EAGM concert will be a perfect environment to try out some of these new songs,” he said, promising to also render his better known and familiar tunes for the local audience.
“Writing these songs never seems to go the same way twice. Sometimes it’s the music I get in my head first and I’ll just do the la, la, la, ya, ya, ya lyrical thing until I get the music right and then other times the lyrics come racing in and I try to match them with music. It’s interesting and that’s what I do a lot in winter because the touring schedules are slower now. But I see in March, April and on, I’m booked pretty solid so I’ll be back on the road by then.”
Henderson said that “by January, I’ll be listening hard to what will work. I’ll be sorting through stuff, even recording things on my phone. All self-employed musicians are always busy and it can be fun because busy people want to play and write music with other busy people,” he added with another laugh.
Henderson added that he has appreciated the fact that his music continues to receive good radio play with a growing fan base and radio audience in Eastern Canada.
“My next single will be my ninth, so I guess I have a pretty decent recognition factor out there now,” Henderson noted. He has also recorded a couple of albums that have done well, even in the new world order of music.
“It won’t matter if there are eight people or 80 people at the EAGM on Dec. 5. I’ll be there to play, to visit and have some fun, and I hope you’ll join in.”
Henderson’s appearance at the EAGM will be a solo acoustic evening, which will again, allow him flexibility as he tries some new arrangements in front of a live audience that he knows will be willing to give him some instant feedback.
