Brad Johner and the Johner Boys are set to rock Elbow this Canada Day.

Johner said fans heading to the Elbow Rink for the before-fireworks concert can expect a “fun” country and pop show that could feature as many as five of his boys and one of their friends up on stage with him at the same time. He said the Johner Boys first joined him on stage last year for 25 concert dates and this year would see them perform together close to 60 times.

“We’ll do some of my stuff and the boys do their own music as well,” said Johner. “It’s a nice variety and it’s a nice family show. I do some classic country songs. I do some of my songs that have been on the radio for the past 20 years and then the boys do some covers like Bruno Mars, Jason Mraz and Michael Jackson. It’s just a lot of fun stuff.”

The Johner Boys are Brad’s sons Aidan, 8, Matthew, 11, Quinn, 15, Jesse, 17, and Lucas, 19, and their friend Simon, 19. Aidan and Matthew play piano, Quinn dabbles in electric guitar, piano and lead and harmony vocals, Jesse hits the drums, and Lucas plays piano and sings lead and harmony, while Simon is a bass and electric guitar player.

Johner, a fixture on the country music scene in Canada and Saskatchewan since 1991, said he loves taking the stage with his boys and the boys appreciate the opportunity to get out and play some music as well. The four-time Juno nominee and 2007 Canadian Country Music Association male artist of the year said there are not a lot of venues out there right now for kids to take the stage, so using his job as an entertainer to help them get a start is very rewarding.

“It is kind of unheard-of for young people to go out and start playing music and doing concerts on a full-time basis, so they really appreciate that idea that they can go out and play with me,” he said. “I’ve been doing this all my life, so I sort of know what I’m doing and they just like coming along and learning how to do it. They have a great time meeting people and travelling and we all have a good time.”

Johner said after their touring schedule slows down at the beginning of the school year in September, he and his boys are going to be heading into the recording studio “when we have time” to record their first album together. He said until then they’re just going to be continually hitting stages across the province and the country while trying to enjoy their time together.

“It’s real fun playing with the boys. We’ve worked hard the last year getting our sound down and the boys are learning how to play on stage. They’ve come along really well and the response from the public has been great.”

Many people in Davidson and district were making phone calls Thursday evening, checking on the safety of family and friends in the wake of severe flooding in southwestern Alberta.
As many as 100,000 people were expected to be evacuated from Calgary neighbourhoods as the Bow and Elbow rivers surged, spilling their banks.
A large rainfall, as much as 150 millimetres in certain areas caused widespread flooding in the foothills and southern Alberta.
Betty Low said she spoke to her son Shane, who lives in the Discovery Ridge neighbourhood in southwestern Calgary, Thursday night.
Betty said when Shane returned home from work at about 4 p.m. Thursday, they were in the midst of evacuating his neighbourhood. He was allowed to go into his condominium unit to pack a suitcase and was advised to get enough belongings to last about 72 hours.
A video on YouTube shows water pouring into the underground parkade of a building in his development as people attempted to drive their vehicles through the 1- to 2-metre deep water.
Betty said Shane’s building is two over from the one shown in the video. As of Friday morning, the extent of the damage in the area was not known, however, Shane was advised to expect the underground parking lot to be flooded.
Betty said she was relived to hear that Shane was safe and sound. He is currently staying at a friend’s place until he is able to return home.

Preparations for the Saskatchewan Twilite Baseball Maxi Tournament held in Davidson July 5 to 7 are in full swing, but organizers are still looking for a few more volunteers to help with the event.

“What we’re looking for right now is, we’ve got a few people, but we’re going to need some more announcers and scorekeepers for the event itself and maybe some people to help set up,” said Davidson councillor Jason Shaw, noting anyone looking to volunteer can either contact him or Davidson recreation director Trevor Ouellette. “We’ve done some of the work now (to get ready), but most of it will be a week to 10 days before.”

Twenty-four teams from across the province have already confirmed they’ll be in Davidson the first weekend of July to play in the 37^th annual over-35 men’s tournament. Each team is comprised of 12 to 18 players, who come together each summer to play some ball.

Shaw said Davidson would have a team made up of ballplayers from this town as well as surrounding areas competing at the Davidson ball diamonds, but this tournament is more about players showing their love for the summer game than trying to prove who is the best.

“You try to win, but it’s more just for fun and camaraderie and having a good time and trying not to get hurt,” he said.

Ouellette said they have already received over 100 requests for spots at the Davidson Campgrounds during the weekend and he expects hundreds of ballplayers and their families descending on the town for the tournament. He said they are planning to welcome these visitors to town with a few events to go along with the tournament.

“They are going to put on a roast beef dinner, whether it’s a beef-on-a-bun or not I’m not sure, for Friday night and that’s going to be in conjunction with the beer gardens and the Rider game showing at the curling rink,” said Ouellette. “Then Saturday and I do believe Sunday morning they are going to be putting on a pancake breakfast.”

Shaw said admission to the tournament is free for all spectators, so he hopes many baseball fans head out to the Davidson ball diamonds July 5 to 7 to take in the action.

“We had a senior team and there was a good following of people that liked to watch baseball,” he said. “I’ve had people stop in to see if the kids are playing and unfortunately with them playing in the city they don’t get the chance to play more games out here. We’re not charging people anything to come and watch. It’s going to be Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so if you want to come watch some ball that is the time to do it.”

Hundreds of leather clad bikers and their old ladies are descending on the village of Elbow this weekend looking for a party…and to raise some money for The Foundation Fighting Blindness.

Ride for Sight Saskatchewan–Motorcyclists Fighting Blindness is taking to the streets and Fairgrounds of Elbow June 22 and 23 for their first charity drive since 2010 in an effort to raise “$10,000 to $20,000” for research into macular degeneration diseases, said a Ride for Sight executive.

Rod Broadfoot, co-chair of Ride for Sight Saskatchewan, said they are planning for 100 to 300 motorcyclists to descend on the small community over the two days. He said this is part of a Canada-wide effort by the motorcycling community to add to the over $19 million the charity group has raised since its inception in 1979.

“Our main objective is to raise money for The Foundation Fighting Blindness,” said Broadfoot, who is going to be roaring into Elbow on his tan and gold 2004 Yamaha Road Star. “The event is a celebration of the process. We want to put on a good event that attracts people and encourages them to fund-raise in the future.”

The event, which is free to people who raise $50 in pledges and a $25 charge otherwise, begins with a motorcycle parade through the streets of Elbow Saturday afternoon followed by a bike rodeo at the Elbow Arena and Fairgrounds.

“It’s a bunch of silliness,” he said about the bike rodeo. “It’s really good fun. We set up a small track, usually a 50-foot long track, and we’ll have two lanes with good spacing between them and then we have Slow Races. (It’s) whoever can ride their bike the slowest wins and that is a lot harder than you might think trying to keep your balance on grass going as slow as possible.”

To read more please see the June 17 print edition of The Davidson Leader.