July Talk and Brett Kissel rock the Coca Cola Covert Stage ahead of Stampede

Hundreds of fans were taken by surprise Thursday night as Flames Central erupted into a rock/country fuelled explosion of music that fans can expect at the Calgary Stampede.

It was the Coca-Cola Covert concert, the first time where fans were able to learn the line up of who will be taking the Coca-Cola stage at the “Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.”

Fans were treated to two surprise performances, the first being alternative rock band and Toronto-based July Talk which is quickly gaining popularity across the country.

“I think it’ll be a different crowd than we’ve ever seen before, I’m just kind of excited to experience this whole Calgarian style of life that I know nothing about,” band member Leah Fay told 660News.

She admitted that she’s pretty excited about their first Stampede. “I hope that I get to ride a mechanical bull and get all decked out in fringy leather and all of those things.”

“You don’t want to dumb down the audience, I think audiences understand they can like more than one genre of music and I don’t think that…. you know with the accessibility there is, I think people that are rock and roll fans also like country and people that like country also like rock and roll. And so we feel lucky enough to be a part of it but I think we can add something to the festival for sure,” said fellow singer Peter Dreimanis.

Dreimanis says they’ll be recording this summer in hopes of releasing a new single and adds it’s been a long process in trying to get something out.

“I’m really proud of our band’s patience to be able to wait until we’re ready,” he said.

Their message to their Calgary fans:

“We love you, thank you for being so nice to us,” said Fay.

“We’ll see you at the Stampede, we’ll all get onto a bull together,” laughed Dreimanis.

To hear our full interview with July Talk click here

The night was capped off by Canadian country superstar and Albertan singer Brett Kissel.

In a set that began and ended with his mega-hit “Started with a Song”, he played songs that ranged from his own playlist, to Garth Brooks, Alabama and Def Leppard.

The 24 year old from Flat Lake, Alberta, now based in Nashville spoke to 660News backstage, in a room full of family and friends.

“There’s no place like Alberta to play, especially a great city like Calgary because they love their country music here as you can tell tonight by the crowd and it’s just one of the best shows that I’ve been a part of in a long time,” he said.

“There’s nothing like the Calgary Stampede so for me to get an opportunity to now come home to my roots, and granted I’ve been coming to the Stampede as a fan and a patron for so many years and now I get a chance to play and I get to play the Coca Cola stage, I dunno there’s nothing like it,” said Kissel.

“It’s going to be packed, the Coke stage, they’ve got thousands of people,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if 25 per cent of them are going to be friends and family. Coming out to watch really what we’re going to call a hometown show. I’m a proud Albertan so to come back to Calgary, really it means a lot.”

He says the last two years since Flood Aid have been two of the busiest years of his life, traveling all across Canada and North America to promote the album and open for Brad Paisley.

Kissel adds one of the biggest influences in his life has been Garth Brooks and he proved that to the audience, singing his own rendition of “Callin’ Baton Rouge.”

He’s been invited to play the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville in August and will be the tenth Canadian to grace its stage.

His message to fans: “I appreciate getting a chance to get back here, we can’t wait to see you at the Stampede, come and have a couple drinks with me and let’s party!”

To hear our full interview with Brett Kissel click here.