A Canadian country star will be uncovering his authentic self in an intimate Maple Ridge concert.
Brett Kissel is bringing his 'The Side You've Never Seen' tour to the ACT Arts Centre. A tour he has wanted to do for the last decade because there are no rules for this tour.
Kissel explained for his national and international tours he has to play a preplanned set list, there are time limits, the entire show is based on his rehearsals, and everything is timed.
"There is not a lot of room for spontaneity," he said.
This show, he made sure there would be no rules. He will be telling the stories behind the songs and playing his guitar. It will be a lot of fun, he said.
" And I get to actually show my truest and most authentic self through music to anybody who chooses to buy a ticket to come," he said.
Kissel grew up on a farm outside of Edmonton, Alberta – a heritage ranch that his great, great grandparents settled on when they immigrated from Ukraine in 1910. He has since bought the farm and his four children are now the sixth generation on the same piece of land.
The ranch inspires his genuine lyrics about life in the country. Songs that have earned him three platinum and ten gold singles, two gold-certified albums, and 18 top-10 radio hits.
And he is a natural musician. He never took a voice or guitar lesson, simply learned by ear. And he didn't come from a musical background either.
"I just loved it," he said.
"No one in my family is or was musical, period, the end. The fact that I had it was an absolute shock to my parents and my cousins and my aunts and uncles and everybody," added Kissel.
What he finds the most challenging of the creating process is trying not to second guess himself.
"The mental state and the flip flop that happens in my brain on a daily basis, when it comes to releasing music and choosing what to put out is a really difficult part of the business and it's very difficult for all creators," he said, noting it is finding the balance of doing what's best for your audience and also staying true to yourself.
"For a song to finally get released and to finally be performed on stage, there were probably 100 times where I was about to pull the plug on the operation," he admitted.
But staying authentic to himself and pushing forward has resulted in fans worldwide.
Kissel is excited about the upcoming concert. There will be special guests performing, who will be different in each city he is performing in. His children will also be on the road with him and might even join him on stage.
He will even be taking requests.
"If someone has a sign that wants me to play whatever song or someone has a request, I'm going to play it," he said.
Brett Kissel, 'The Side You've Never Seen', takes place at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7, at the ACT Arts Centre, 11944 Haney Place, Maple Ridge.
The show will be around 90 minuteswith an intermission.
Tickets are $49.99 plus fees for general seating, and $69.99 plus fees for premium seating. There is an eight ticket limit.
To order call the box office at: 604-476-2787 or go to: https://theactmapleridge.org/brett-kissel.
