Aaron Pritchett

It was just a glancing moment, passing as quickly as one guitar chord changes to the next, but standing smack centre of the big stadium stage one spring night in hometown Vancouver, his crowd of fans surging forward, Aaron Pritchett knew it was all going to be worth it. All the loading in and out from years and years of shows from one end of Canada to the next; all the endless landscapes whizzing by from the windows of endless cube vans; all the schlepping, the schmoozing, the stoking and the strategizing, it was all starting to come together.

He and his band were playing the opening night of the opening slot for a western Canadian Brooks & Dunn tour. After the show that night Brooks & Dunn’s tour manager made a point of coming up and saying how, geez, they hadn’t seen that kind of response to an opener in a very long time.

That’s what perseverance – not to mention one kick-ass live show – can do for you.

And just in case he wasn’t jacked up enough, Pritchett’s third and newest album, Big Wheel, was released the same day as the show. Already the “Big Wheel” single had proven itself his most successful, hitting # 3 on Canadian Country Radio and staying top 10 for over eight weeks, almost unheard of for an indie artist.

With the 2006 summer release of the rocking fan favourite, “Hold My Beer (While I Kiss Your Girlfriend)”, some say Pritchett is poised to break his own record and hit the top of the charts right out of the gate.

He’s been at this solid for almost a decade and a half but quite apart from his diehard fan base, in the past few years the Canadian music industry has been taking a big interest in Aaron Pritchett. 2005 marked the second year running he won the Independent Male Artist of the Year award from the Toronto based Canadian Country Music Association and he was also named Breakthrough Artist of the Year by FACTOR (Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent on Record), chosen from artists from all music categories.

Pritchett prides himself on giving his fans his all both on stage through one of the most physically demanding shows around and post-performance where he’ll stay as long as necessary until the last hello is said, the last hug hugged, the last autograph signed and the last photo snapped. For Aaron Pritchett it’s all very simple: “Without the fans and their support,” he says, “I have nothing.”

So strap in because it looks like 2007 is going to be a hell of a ride. Big Wheel, as somebody once said, keep on turning.