Cloud 9: Brett Kissel talks Garth Brooks show, BVJ, and upcoming new music

Brett Kissel’s had a busy few weeks.

The Bonnyville-native and country music sensation talked about his recent duet with Garth Brooks, his performance at Big Valley Jamboree, and details on his newest music on yesterday’s Connected morning show.

Kissel’s opening set for Garth Brooks was cancelled after a storm rolled through Regina last Friday, but that didn’t mean he missed a chance to perform.

Once the storm cleared and Brooks took the stage, he invited Kissel on stage to perform Friends in Low Places with him, perhaps Brooks’ most famous track.

“It’s so tough to put it into words because it was Cloud 9. It was just so special to get that opportunity to stand shoulder to shoulder with my all-time favourite,” said Kissel.

“To get to sing one of the most recognizable, if not the single most recognizable song in the history of country music, and in front of 45000 people losing their mind, and Garth cued it up for me to start it off and play the first few chords, and he gave me his signature headset microphone – I wish I could relive that moment and that song would have lasted 24 hours instead of just a few minutes on stage.

“We got back into the dressing room and I was just thinking about how far I’ve come. There’s got to be a lot of other kids who are just like me who have got to meet their heroes and maybe think ‘oh this will never happen’. The reality is that anything can happen and truly if you put your mind to it and try to manifest that and put it to the universe that some of these great things truly can.”

Kissel’s big month kicked off at Big Valley Jamboree as the lead-in performance to Brooks and Dunn.

“They’ve been a big inspiration ever since I started to play live…I realized what it means to craft a setlist and put on a great show and they’re incredible showmen.

“Anybody that was at that show knows I put my heart and soul into that show and that performance.”

Premier Jason Kenney even joined the two-time Juno Award winner on stage during the show.

“He hopped up on stage and presented me with this beautiful guitar I’ve got in my office right now. That guitar has the Alberta flag and it was just a gift from him to me. He said thanks for all you’re doing for the province and being a great ambassador for the prairies and for the province of Alberta.

“That really meant a lot to me. He talked about the strong spirit that Albertans have. The giving spirit that we have. And he asked if I would sing a song called I Didn’t Fall in Love With Your Hair which I recorded, and we’ve donated all the proceeds that song has ever made straight to the Canadian Cancer Society. He congratulated me on that. We had a little moment.”

New music is on the horizon for Kissel after his record-breaking We Were That Song tour which lasted much of 2018.

The new music video was shot in the Bahamas and the latest single should drop “in a matter of days.”

“This is the most exciting I’ve been for new music in my career period. I believe this beats anything I’ve ever done. Really raises the bar. It ups my game and I’m really excited that in truly in a matter of days we’ll have a new song coming in on country radio around the world.

“We’ve got a strategic roll-out plan for the new song, which I think is a very clever title. I think it’s a well-packaged, reflective and poignant song that’s never really been talked about in country music in this way. I’m really excited to you guys to hear and even more so I’m excited for you guys to watch the video that we shot in the Bahamas two weeks ago.”