Hot lineup, hotter temps at sizzling Countryfest

DAUPHIN — Ring of Fire was a fitting opener for George Canyon’s set during the intense heat of Sunday afternoon at Dauphin’s Countryfest.

And John Fogerty’s Born on the Bayou was just as fitting near the end of the evening.

The former song, a Johnny Cash classic that Countryfest crazies can sing in their sleep, is about a red-hot romance, but the Sunday crowd, most of whom had donned beachwear to beat the heat, felt the “burns, burns, burns,” even when they were able to find some shade and something cool to drink.

Temperatures across Manitoba soared Sunday, and while Dauphin’s 30 C high, according to Environment Canada, was bested by Morden’s 33 C for Canada’s hotspot, the 55 per cent humidity sent the Humidex to 37, sparked a severe thunderstorm warning, a tornado watch and a weather alert at 7 p.m. for those with cellphone messaging systems.

Charlie Major, a longtime Countryfest favourite, shared the stage with Canyon, wiping his face with a towel after he sang I’m Somebody, scanning the sky and seeking a cloud — any cloud — for some relief from the heat.

“You got to stay hydrated, you have to mix in the water,” advised 20-year-old Winnipegger Erik Schrofel as he chugged a Molson Canadian with his friend James Winkler in the mainstage pit Sunday evening.

Selo Ukraina, the concert venue 12 kilometres south of Dauphin that translates to “Ukrainian village,” has hosted Countryfest since its inaugural party in 1990 and has some natural and fabricated ways to help attendees cope with the elements.

On both sides of the wooden amphitheatre, which has room for 12,000 spectators to watch the mainstage, are tall trees that create shade for folks who aren’t hiding out in their deluxe RVs in Countryfest’s vast campgrounds.

At the top of the hill are two more concert stages; the larger one comes with a tin roof over the stage, the dance area and picnic tables. It’s meant to keep folks dry during rainstorms, but it provided plenty of shade for fans who had baked in the sun Sunday and got to enjoy Manitoba alt-country group Tyler Del Pino and the Brasstronautz, among others.

Those who had pricier VIP passes had a tent to cool off in — not to mention a bar selling cold drinks — but the area also has converted steel grain bin, which at night is yet another bar, but during the day creates a harvest of shade.

For others, such as Countryfest volunteer Rachel MacDonald, even a large sponsor’s umbrella — the event has both beer and whisky backers — wasn’t enough to protect her from some sunburn.

“I stay hydrated and find the misting stations,” she said, pointing to one such fine spray mechanism near the mainstage entrance.

A little redness where she missed applying sunscreen was worth the three days volunteering for the Dauphin newcomer, who moved from La Ronge, Sask., three months ago.

“This is absolutely the best way to meet people,” she said. “It’s been a real treat to see how Manitobans can be so friendly.”

That friendliness extended to Sunday’s mainstage performers, which also included Toronto roots-rock mainstays Blue Rodeo and American country star Eddie Montgomery, the singer, songwriter, actor and part of the country duo Montgomery Gentry.

Manitoba is almost home turf for Blue Rodeo, so it’s surprising to learn the band’s performance Sunday night was its first at Countryfest since 2003.

The group took the stage just as clouds rolled in, lessening the intensity of the heat significantly, but also amping up the storm threat, and played many of their favourites, including Head Over Heels, the famous ballad Try, and 5 Days in May.

Vocalist Jim Cuddy acknowledged last month’s vehicle tragedy near Carberry, where 16 people from Dauphin were killed after the van they were travelling in collided with a semi-trailer truck at an intersection on the Trans-Canada Highway, and dedicated the band’s final song, Lost Together, to them.

“When you have great music like Blue Rodeo, you don’t need to be hydrated,” said Schrofel, who raved about the performance, which he and Winkler said dragged the crowd out ofa heat-induced stupor.

Many of the crowd, however, were there to see Fogerty, the rock and roll hall of famer and former frontman of Creedence Clearwater Revival who, along with Dierks Bentley, Saturday’s night’s headliner, topped Countryfest’s weekend bill.

There are no bayous near Dauphin, but the swamp-rock Fogerty is famous for was ideal for Sunday’s sticky weather situation.

Fogerty, 78, began his set at 9:45 p.m. with Up Around the Bend, Green River and Born on the Bayou, fist-bumping with fans in the pit when he wasn’t swamping it up with his gold Gibson Les Paul.

Prior to taking the stage, a video from Fogerty played on the Countryfest video screens, with the performer discussing the importance of the 2023 tour, which celebrates the return of his CCR songs to his ownership after decades of legal disputes.

“I didn’t think I’d live long enough to own my own songs,” he said.

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Twitter: @AlanDSmall

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Alan Small
Reporter

Alan Small has been a journalist at the Free Press for more than 22 years in a variety of roles, the latest being a reporter in the Arts and Life section.

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