IN CONCERT
What: Hedley with Shawn Hook and Neon Dreams
Where: Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, 1925 Blanshard St.
When: Tuesday, Feb. 6, 7 p.m. (doors at 6)
Tickets: $35, $55, or $75 at Livenation.com, Selectyourtickets.com, by phone at 250-220-7777 or in person at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre box office
A winter tour of hockey arenas across sa国际传媒, in cities that have professional and amateur hockey teams at the mid-point in their seasons, was just one of the tough tasks Vancouver rockers Hedley faced when planning their new tour.
The other was finding a way to fit all their hits into their set. With seven albums under their belts, not to mention 17 singles that have cracked the Top 10, a 90-minute set is not nearly enough time for the band. 鈥淭he one thing about that that makes it really tough is trying to decide what we鈥檙e going to play,鈥� guitarist Dave Rosin said by phone Monday, hours before the band launched its tour in Abbotsford.
鈥淭here鈥檚 things we want to play and things we need to play, but we鈥檝e also got to think of our fans. We鈥檙e music fans as well, and when we go to shows, we love singing along with the songs that we鈥檝e grown to know and love.鈥�
The preponderance of hits is a good problem for Hedley to have. More pressing matters 鈥� such as securing venues at this time of year 鈥� were more difficult to manage. The tour will see Hedley perform in rooms ranging from Barrie鈥檚 4,195-capacity Molson Centre to Hamilton鈥檚 17,383-seat First Ontario Centre. In each city, hockey teams are almost always in play at this time of year, so some finagling was needed, Rosin said. 鈥淗ockey in the wintertime across sa国际传媒, that鈥檚 the big entertainment. It happens a couple of nights a week. We鈥檙e starting [out West] and then work our way back from Halifax, to try to accommodate these schedules. We鈥檙e going into rooms with WHL and OHL teams right in the heat of it right now.鈥�
The 32-city tour comes to a close in Kelowna on March 23, two days before the Juno Awards gala broadcasts from Vancouver鈥檚 Rogers Arena for the first time since 2009.
The group 鈥� which also includes singer Jacob Hoggard, bassist Tommy Mac and drummer Jay Benison 鈥� is expected to factor heavily into this year鈥檚 awards, once nominations are announced today. To date, Hedley has earned a whopping 31 Juno nods. To put their accomplishments into perspective, that鈥檚 two fewer nominations than global superstar Drake (who has 33), and one more than country icon Shania Twain (30).
Rehearsals for Hedley鈥檚 tour got underway in September, with months spent reconfiguring some songs to 鈥渄igitally reboot鈥� them for the live setting, Rosin said. 鈥淚t keeps it fun for us. Sometimes, when a song has been in your life for so long, you have to refind it again.鈥�
Tonight鈥檚 performance in Victoria marks the band鈥檚 fifth local appearance in eight years. With their popularity seemingly at its peak, that pace won鈥檛 slow, considering Hedley sold more than 120,000 tickets to its 2016 tour of the country.
鈥淚n the sense of working a record, for sure it鈥檚 a year-and-a-half. We鈥檝e found that hard work is our weapon, and that constant momentum has kept us sane. If we鈥檙e not in our rehearsal space, we鈥檙e probably in a studio, and if we鈥檙e not in a studio we鈥檙e probably on the road.鈥�
