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.
In high school, Henderson played in some rock bands and some punk bands.
“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 there 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.
Now, he’s coming to the Tisdale RECplex Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m., hosted by the Tisdale and District Arts Council.
Audiences can expect a lot of original music, as Henderson has just released his third studio album. He’ll play lot of his music that country radio listeners will be familiar with, including My Regret, a recent single that was the Number 1 independent song in Canada for four weeks.
“I will do a few classic covers too, but it’s pretty much a singer-songwriter storyteller type of show that has lots of jokes and a nice laid-back atmosphere,” he said.
Henderson said he doesn’t believe he’s done a show in Tisdale before, but he had been here before.
“Growing up in Saskatchewan, I definitely played hockey there.”
The country music singer said visiting the smaller Saskatchewan communities like Tisdale is one of his favourite places to play.
“It’s just fantastic to see the community support the arts and support the events that go on in town, so it’s always a pleasure for us to go in and put on a show.”
Henderson said people should come because he’ll put on a good old Saskatchewan show.
“There’s lots of stories about life and love and living on the prairies and I really believe that people will enjoy themselves whether they’re young folks or whether they’re seniors or kids or anything in between,” he said. “I feel like we’ve got a little something for everybody, so there should be something that everyone can enjoy.”
Chris Henderson will be performing at the Tisdale RECplex’s Maurice Taylor Performing Arts Theatre Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m., hosted by the Tisdale and District Arts Council. Tickets can be bought at The Clothesline and ticketpro.ca.
