If you’re a George Strait fan, Saturday night might be one of those nights where you find the good cowboy boots.

Not the work ones.

The going-out cowboy boots.

Nashville country artist Gil Grand is coming to Bonnyville this Saturday, Aug. 15 with Strait From Me to You, his tribute to the King of Country, George Strait.

I had a chance to chat with Gil ahead of the show and I’ll tell you right now — this isn’t some guy who bought a cowboy hat, learned Amarillo by Morning last Tuesday and decided to hit the road.

Gil’s been doing this a while.

Almost 30 years, actually.

His first single, “Famous First Words,” came out in 1997 and he spent years recording, touring and making a name for himself in country music.

These days, he calls Nashville home.

And somewhere along the way, he found himself singing the songs of one of the guys who influenced him in the first place.

George Strait.

This isn’t a George Strait impersonation

That’s probably the biggest thing Gil wanted to make clear when we talked.

He’s not pretending to be George Strait.

There’s no fake Texas accent backstage. No George Strait Halloween costume.

It’s about the music.

“I just want to sing these songs to the best of my ability,” Gil told me.

“We try to do the best representation on a professional level of his music.”

That means they’re bringing the whole thing.

“We have steel, fiddle, twin parts, everything,” he said. “We play the music properly. And so you’re going to get to hear the songs the way they should be played.”

Now we’re talking.

Because if you’re going to do George Strait, you’d better have the steel guitar.

Pretty sure that’s in the Country Music Act somewhere.

Then there’s the small problem of picking the songs

Here’s something I never really thought about until talking with Gil.

How in the heck do you build a 90-minute George Strait show?

The man has roughly enough hits to start playing Friday night and finish sometime around Sunday breakfast.

“Picking the songs was the hardest thing,” Gil said. “You’re doing a 90-minute show, and he’s had 60 number ones. You can’t do that.”

Fair point.

So the show pulls together some of the Strait songs people know and love, along with stories from Gil and even a few of his own songs that longtime Canadian country fans might remember.

But one of the best stories Gil told me involves a George Strait song that he had a small part in before Strait ever recorded it.

George Strait has actually heard Gil Grand sing

This is where the interview got pretty cool.

Years ago, songwriter Odie Blackmon asked Gil to record a demo for a song he wanted to pitch to George Strait.

The song was “She’ll Leave You with a Smile.”

Blackmon gave Gil some fairly specific instructions.

“He said, ‘I need you to do your very best George Strait for me, so that when he hears it, maybe he’ll hear himself singing it, and he’ll cut the song,’” Gil recalled.

So Gil did the demo.

Then George Strait heard it.

And George Strait recorded it.

And then, because apparently George Strait needed another one, it became a No. 1 hit.

That means Gil can legitimately say George Strait has heard him sing.

Which is a considerably better George Strait story than mine.

I once sang Check Yes or No at karaoke.

Nobody went to No. 1.

Nobody even checked yes.

Gil said what really stuck with him was hearing Strait’s finished version.

“He sang that song exactly like I thought he might sing it,” Gil said. “He didn’t change a lick of what I did.”

That connection is part of what makes this show a little different.

Gil isn’t approaching Strait’s music as somebody who discovered it six months ago and thought there might be a tribute show in it.

He lived through that era of country music. It influenced his own career and now he gets to tell some of those stories while playing the songs.

Nashville keeps him plenty busy

Gil’s still living the country music life, although these days it looks a little different.

He lives in Old Hickory, Tennessee and co-owns and performs aboard the Music City Rollin’ Jamboree, a 90-minute comedy and country music singalong bus tour in Nashville.

He told me they’re often doing two shows a day from Tuesday through Saturday.

Then he heads out on the road with Strait From Me to You.

So much for slowing down.

He also finally gets to wear the cowboy hat.

“I never got to wear a hat my whole career,” Gil joked. “Look at me wearing a cowboy hat now.”

I told him coming to Bonnyville, he’ll fit right in.

Around here, the cowboy hat barely even counts as stage wardrobe.

Bonnyville gets the show Saturday night

Strait From Me to You with Gil Grand hits the C2 Centre in Bonnyville on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, with DV8 opening the show.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

The show is presented by Parton Productions and organizers are asking everyone attending to bring a food bank donation.

Tables and individual tickets are available through VTIX.com, or you can contact Ray Lessard at 780-826-1175 for more information.

And if you’re wondering what Gil wants you to get out of the night, his answer was pretty simple.

“A great time.”

“If you’re a big fan of George Strait and his music, that’s why we want you to come, so we can kind of celebrate it together and just have a great time.”

Hard to argue with that.

George Strait songs. Live fiddle. Steel guitar. Nashville musicians. Saturday night in Bonnyville.

And Gil gets to wear his cowboy hat.

Everybody wins.