HARDY Shakes SaskTel Centre with Fire and Heart on “Country! Country!” Tour
- Brooke Anderson
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
words and photos by Brooke Anderson (Brooke Anderson Media)
Toeing the line between rock and country, HARDY (Micheal Hardy) brought an immense energy to the SaskTel Centre this past Thursday, February 12th. The "Country! Country! Tour" had just debuted a week earlier in Oshawa ON and the chemistry of the touring party was on fire.
The openers McCoy Moore and Cameron Whitcomb couldn't have been the more perfect to open for HARDY. McCoy Moore has an amazing voice and his supple country songs gave us the country vibe we needed for HARDY. But the person who really had the SaskTel Centre moving was Cameron Whitcomb. Backflips and jumps and the widest smile in the whole building. His stage presence was unlike any other artist, able to hype everybody in the room but also able to open up about his struggle with addiction and sobriety. Singing his song “Quitter” gave everyone a touch to the heart. But if you weren't a fan of his music you were definitely a fan of him bringing out the Grey Cup with star running back number 45 A.J. Ouellette won by the Saskatchewan Roughriders this past November.
In a 2025 interview HARDY opened up about his near fatal tour bus crash on his Wall to Wall tour in 2022. His bus driver had an aneurysm while driving the bus, unfortunately causing the bus to flip the barrel and flip over three times. He had highlighted the importance of therapy to him and how much it had changed his life. “-and I think just since then, [death] has really been on the back of my mind.”
Seated by a firepit, HARDY opened with “Bottomland” HARDY and set a tone of his country background with heartfelt lyrics of inheritance from his grandfather. He may be known for his gritty country rock but performing songs like “A ROCK” and “wait in the truck” really show the emotional side of his music. The other side of HARDY was what the people came to see, and see it they did. The amount of drinks raised for “ONE BEER” was innumerable. Playing such a great show I know everybody woke up in their boots the next morning.
The ground was shaking as we all waited for his encore. I remember thinking to myself “Awe he didn’t play TRUCK BED, my dad’s favourite song.” But that's when the lights turned back on and the arena roared. He played many hits and many of his favourites, even covering “Ready For Love” by Mott The Hoople. His highlights were his confidence, he didn’t falter when fans weren’t as loud for less popular songs. You can tell his showmanship is not based on the opinion of others but the love shown for him overall. His love for the admirers was shown as he signed many of the pit’s merchandise during his last songs. He’s doing what he loves and he’s doing it well.
The night was an unforgettable experience, especially for me as this is the first concert I’ve photographed and reviewed for NSMZ. The blend of rock and country was something I would’ve never thought to be a fan of but as I sat there in the crowd I fell in love with “A ROCK” and “GIVE HEAVEN SOME HELL”. HARDY was the highlight of my month, and we’re only halfway through it.
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