There was a sea of plaid on campus Tuesday night as Canadian country singer Dallas Smith took to stage at the Turret to perform his latest hits.
Inside the Turret, the energy was brilliant despite being crowded and hot. There were two bands that opened for Smith. One was a cover band who sang their interpretations of popular country hits. The other band is known as The Matinee whose sound could best be summed up by banjo solos and intense group percussion sessions.
Unfortunately, the wait between band changes was rather long as Smith did not take the stage until closer to 11 p.m. which caused some grumbles throughout the audience. However, performing his hit songs such as “Tippin’ Point” and “Jumped Right In” from his latest album Jumped Right In definitely made up for lost time. Smith jumped from stage left to stage right as his guitarist intermittently stepped forward to emphasize guitar riffs.
His emergence onto the music scene is not necessarily new— Smith was the lead singer of Default, a rock band that gained relative popularity with the help of Nickleback’s lead singer, Chad Kroeger.
“I had wanted to release my album from 2012 about four or five years previous to that, but it was not the right time. We were touring with [Default],” he said.
“We are all still friends. We’re not recording or anything, we are just doing our own thing: me included. It would be tough to say we would never play together again. I do not think that is the case,” Smith added on his current relationship with his previous band members from Default.
Smith’s association with country music may come to as a surprise to those familiar with his previous band, Default..
“I grew up in Langley, British Columbia in a household with both [rock and country] so as I got older, I just started paying attention to country music: especially over the last decade,” explained Smith on his movement toward the country genre. .
Smith emphasized his own individuality in terms of creating country music. However, the Canadian country music scene has been influential in developing his interest in the genre.
He added, “I have always been a big fan of Dean Brody. I [also] draw my own inspirations from the music that I grew up with.”
Dallas Smith is currently touring and playing a string of university venues across Canada. Playing in front of a younger crowd who is familiar with his new music is what he called “up-front and personal.” Smith and his current band have many more performances to look forward to. Until then, Smith hinted toward some new music that might drop in the summertime. Recording his new album is difficult to accomplish while touring, but assuming his EP is any indication of what we can expect from Dallas Smith, then his music will only grow in popularity.
Welcoming a country singer to The Turret was a perfect change of pace and was well-received by the students.