Making his way from the small town of Gander, Newfoundland to Canada’s country capital of Calgary, Alberta, Brad Saunders is what country music has been waiting for. With unparalleled grit and an unrivalled mastery of musical entertainment, Saunders has relentlessly persevered in his pursuit of continual success in the music industry – dazzling audiences with his own unique blend of bravado and his natural ability to command a stage with his high energy live show.
He may have only released a handful of singles since his 2014 debut, but Saunders has already begun to make his name a staple in the industry, having shared the stage with the likes of Aaron Pritchett and Thomas Rhett. With his debut performance at the Calgary Stampede, Saunders has gone on to perform on some of the top stages in western Canada including the 2018 ACMA Awards, Country Thunder, Big Valley Jamboree and Sunfest Country Music Festival.
Returning with his new 2018 single ‘Play it by Beer,’ Saunders is bringing the song of summer to Canadian country radio. Recorded at Calgary’s OCL Studios, the single was produced by Spencer Cheyne (Brett Kissel, Chad Brownlee, Leave Thomas, Mackenzie Porter) & Justin Kudding (The Washboard Union, Jim Cuddy, Brett Kissel) and mixed by Jordan Oorebeek. Saunders penned the new track with CCMA Award winner Dan Swinimer and Jeff Johnson.
We had a chance to chat with Brad, here is what he had to say:
1) First of all, tell us a little bit about you?
I grew up in a town of about 8 thousand people just outside Gander Newfoundland. Music was a huge part of my upbringing and although everyone else in my family played music I didn’t start till much later in life. As a kid I worked incredibly hard. One of my first jobs was at the age of 8, I worked for the local fish plant – sometimes as much as 10 hours a day. Several years later I was given a guitar as a Birthday present from my two brothers. From that very moment I couldn’t put the thing down. I would watch youtube videos and learned anything I could from that. A few years later I started performing at church. At that time I never could have imagined I would now be doing music as a full time career!
2) You just released ‘Play It By Beer’ to Canadian country radio, which is already receiving plays across the country. Tell us about that?
Yes! My new single Play It By Beer has been added to over 35 stations across the country and is currently #56 on the Canadian media base charts! The song is about a young couple that decide to up and leave the small little town they’re living in and head for the California coast. It’s a light hearted upbeat summer song with a story. It’s one of my all-time favourite songs I’ve ever written!
3) Who were some of your music influences?
My father is one of my biggest musical influences. He passed along music to all of his boys and that is truly the best gift I have ever received.
4) Can you tell us about your writing style?
I try to write songs that are witty and clever. I also love writing meaningful songs about life experience.
5) How has your summer been going?
Summer has been non stop! But I absolutely love every minute of it. We performed several festivals including Sunfest, Country Thunder and Big Valley Jamboree. We also performed 14 shows over Stampede and completed two radio tours throughout Canada. I was also fortunate enough to be invited to the Project WILD bootcamp this year to talk with the top 12 Artists. Project WILD is an artist development program I was enrolled in last year and was awarded first place.
6) What is on your current playlist?
My current playlist can range anywhere from Alan Jackson to Drake! I just love music so if it’s good – it’s good!
7) You are currently on a radio tour…. How is that going?
The radio tour has been a huge success. It’s incredible to get out and visit so many people that are passionate about music. It’s also great to finally meet so many people at radio that have supported me for so long!