We finally made it! We played the MTS Centre! Okay, it was during Winnipeg Harvest's Empty Bowls Soup-er Lunch on November 1, 2011, but we did it. We were actually there to promote the 2nd Annual Move 'N Groove-a-Thon being held on April 14, 2012 at the Red River Exhibition Place. It's not too early to get your dance team together and groove for a cause. All proceeds to our friends at The Movement Centre of Manitoba to educate about, well, Conductive Education.
Happy Birthday, Diane! On Saturday, October 15th, we were once again taken outside of the Perimeter Hwy. just off Hwy.44 to help Les surprise his wonderful wife, Diane, on her special milestone birthday. The joint was jumping from the first song and it had nothing to do with Les's well prepared speech going a tad overtime. Here's what Les & Diane had to say: "Thanks again for the incredible entertainment!!! You guys were awesome, and everyone couldn't believe the incredible band we had!!!! Many asked for your name, and a few for contact, and I said to go to your website!! Again...thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!"
Friday, September 16th at Northern Harbour Marina in Kenora was going to be hit or miss according to the organizers. Owners Gary and Barb were not sure how many people would show up for the season wind up. A sprinkle of people here and there and then WHAM! A full house of people rocking it out full tilt. Thanks to Gary and Barb for allowing us to be a part of this great night, to David Christianson for playing bass with H59 and sharing his passion with us, to Hal "BamBam" Ryckman for filling in for Dave, and to all the fine people of Northern Harbour that continue to make us feel like the most sought after rock stars! The band would like to give special thanks to David and is wife Vera for hosting us while at the harbour. You're the best!
There was more than just Fun in a Bun on Thursday, September 15th. There was fun by the bonfire and under the tent, too! Congratulations to organizers JP Parenty and George Andrews and venue hosts Bruce and Louise King for a very successful evening. Congratulations also goes out to The Movement Centre of Manitoba and Executive Director, Margy Nelson, the recipient of the event's proceeds. The work you do is amazing and more and more Winnipegers are becoming aware of your centre - keep up the great efforts to tell the world about Conductive Education.
Saturday, August 27th was spent in Balmoral MB, just outside of Stonewall. H59 had the honour of providing rocking entertainment for Allan Goudy's special birthday extravaganza. The outdoor stage provided the perfect spot for us to enjoy the roaring bonfire and roaring crowd! A shout out to Stephanie (Steff) for treating us all to her rendition of "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" and to Heather for her "You've Got a Friend" toast to the host. Also, a special thank you to Keith Lalman for sharing his talents on the lead guitar for the evening. A fabulous time was had by all. Happy 50th Birthday, Al!
The Manitoba Stampede and Rodeo was another huge success and H59 had an opportunity to perform for three evenings during the 2011 event! We hit the Rempel Insurance Outdoor Stage for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings. Thanks to our bass player, Mike Hesford, our Morris connection, and the fabulous Perri for hosting the band over the weekend. A great time was had by all. A special shout out to Brad of Audio Works for a great job on the sound the entire weekend. The band would also like to thank Norm at the Beer Garden for making sure we had water and laughs!
The Platinum Jets held their 30th anniversary charity golf tournament on Friday, July 15th at Kildonan Golf Course. In spite of rain in the forecast, we spent the day in the sunshine enjoying the antics at the putting contest across from the entertainment stage. H59 would like to thank the organizers for giving us an opportunity to play at their anniversary event and thank Brent Champion-Taylor for stepping in for bro Dave on drums.
Friday, June 10th took us to a new locale of us - Manitoba Water Ski Park on Murdoch Road for the River City Dragon Boat Festival. The park is near the new Buhler Recreation Park and now we can say that we have been to a new fun place in Winnipeg. We entertained the participants and their friends after Friday's final races (congratulations to winners, Liquid Courage) and they were ready to use their paddling fists for fist pumps! Thank you to Dan Backe of the Manitoba Paddling Association for inviting us to join in on their great event and to Matt Lewis of AVW TELAV Audio Visual Solutions for making a beer tent sound like Carnegie Hall. A special shout out to the "Dirty Oars" for rocking it out and making it a three encore night. We were sure that the "Transcona Police" would hunt us down for playing past dark, but we rocked it together to the end. Hope to see all of you again next year!
May Long Weekend, Saturday night - Highway 59 goes East to Kenora for a rip-roaring time at the Northern Harbour Marina. David Christianson invited the band to join him on bass to entertain the good folks that dock their floating homes at Gary and Barb's marina. A great time was had by all. Many thanks to all that made us feel so welcome and to the kind people that put us all up on their boats for the night. We had an amazing time! Thanks, David and Vera!
Saturday, April 30th was a memorable gig for us for a few reasons: Jeff McMaster came back to fill in on keys while Gary was out of town! He looked great and the fingers hadn't forgotten a thing. The hospitality of the crowd at the Niakwa Country Club celebrating the Southdale Old Timers Hockey league was A-1. Thank you to Rick Stephanchew and Peter Todd for hooking us up with the gig (and dinner)! Then came the wonderful snow storm to pack up to at the end of the night. May came in like a lion, as the saying goes. Awesome!
Thursday, April 21st marked the Spring Kick Off Party for Men With Tools owned by Jason Postma and Scott Barkman. If you need any men with tools that know how to use them, be sure to give them a call! Highway 59 performed at the party and had a great time!
Drummer Dave Champion-Taylor and singer Yvonne Burman performed during Winnipeg's Battle of the Bands for Local Charity, WINN$TOCK held at Cowboys, Canad Inns Windsor Park on Thursday, April 14th. Their band, The Wall Street, won the battle and the fan favourite with a set of Pink Floyd's "The Wall". A great time was had by all and $63,000 raised for Manitoba Riding for the Disabled Association.
On April 9th, we were honoured to perform as the Classic Rock genre representative at the 1st Annual Move 'N Groove-a-Thon held at Red River Ex Place. We had a lovely introduction by Brad Oswald, the genre spokesperson as well as Greg Bieber of Richardson GMP. Congratulations to the planning committee and to The Movement Centre of Manitoba for raising $115,000 toward Conductive Education programs at the centre. Nice job!
February 12, 2011 at Canad Inns Polo Park marked our 4th appearance at the Dreams Take Flight social. Special host for the evening was the wonderful Boyd Kozak. We are honoured to be mentioned in Boyd's Blog - take a look! We'd like to thank Bridget Char for singing some backup vocals with me as well as her very talented photographer husband, Zenon, for taking such amazing shots of the band. You can check out his website at www.zenoncharphotography.com. Congratulations to the organizers and have an amazing flight on April 6th!
New Year's Eve at the Travelodge was a huge success! Thank you to everyone that braved the cold wind to join us at Doubles. The band would like to send special thanks to Keith Lalman for lending us his talents on lead guitar for the event. He rocked it out! Darryl came to cheer us on in spite of not being able to play, so great to have you there, bud. Along with all of the fun, the band was pleased to present Wendy Folino with a cheque to her cause, Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Highlights of the night? Too many to mention! Musically, we had fun pulling out some new tunes including Sex on Fire, Can't Find My Way Home, You Oughta Know, and Little Wing. Thank you also to the staff and management at Travelodge Winnipeg East for providing great bar and food service once again. Be sure to check out the photos on the Photo Gallery tab. Happy New Year from Highway 59!
Wasn't that a party! October 2nd, Highway 59 and Friends performed at the bash of the season. It was Yvonne's birthday and no moment went by without some form of entertainment. Each of the guys (Darryl, Mike, Dave, and Gary) did a vocal performance to make any mama proud. Brad Oswald joined them on stage for a couple of numbers and then Rob and Sylvia followed with some heartwarming tunes. Cindy and the girls did a smooth rendition of All Right Now, Mike Pastuch sent a tune all the way from Ottawa, and then Ernie, Norm, Cory, and Dave "Ran Through the Hills" on a "Crazy Train". Carly Stevenson Photography will be providing some photos from the night so stay tuned to the photo gallery! Thanks, everyone!
On Saturday, September 18th, Kelly and Cindy Bauer held an outdoor bash just outside of the town of Birds Hill. We are told that many of the guests thought it was the best party they had ever been to. Our present to Kelly was a surprise Rush song we prepared, "In the Mood". We like it, so it's a keeper! There is some sense of pride that the RCMP showed up to the party - been a few years since we've caused that kind of ruckus. Thank you Cindy and Kelly! We appreciate your kind words about the band and we'll be ready to tune up for your birthday party next, Cindy!
On Saturday, September 11th, H59 attended the Steve Thompson Wedding Reception at the Pyramid here in Winnipeg. Well.... if you weren't there, we'll just leave it at that!
On Friday, September 3rd, Highway 59 provided the musical energy for The Hall's 30th year with the Northern Harbour Yacht Club in Kenora. The rest of the energy was provided by the members of the club who know how to throw a party! Thank you so much for having us at your party, Gary and Jen. Some of the comments passed along to David Christianson: "Perfect song list, great energy, fabulous involvement of locals". "I haven't stayed up that late in 5 (7) (11) years!". The band had a wonderful time as well and enjoyed everyone's welcoming hospitality. Thank you, Dave and Vera, for the great supper as well!
Mike Hesford has joined H59 as our new permanent bass player! Special thanks out to Scott Staub and David Christianson for keeping us up and running. Also to bass player, Gord Keeley for being there. Look forward to a continued musical relationship with all of you.
Summerwinds Family Music Festival at Victoria Beach, Saturday July 24th, ended up being held on one of the nicest weekends in recent history. Congratulations to the organizers for another successful event. Highway 59 took the crowd from sunset to The Division Slaves. Looking forward to receiving an invitation back to this one!
On Friday, July 9th, we had the pleasure of providing musical entertainment for the Platinum Jets during their charity golf tournament at Kildonan Golf Course. Scott Staub lent us his talents on the bass guitar while Dave's brother, Brent, helped us out by playing the drums. Thank you for being a super sub, Brent. Here is what the organizers had to say: "..we have received rave reviews about you guys from everyone. Have yet to decide exact date of next year's tournament, but we would love to have you guys back. Thanks again."
