Entertainment
Canadian Finals Rodeo ‘Cabaret Corral’ Live Music Line-Up Announcement
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The 49th Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR 49), set to run November 1-5, 2023, is right around the corner, and we are excited to announce this year’s ‘Cabaret Corral’ country music entertainment
lineup.
With doors opening at 4:00 pm Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and 10:30 am Saturday, the nightly free event features live music immediately following each rodeo performance in the Prairie Pavilion, showcasing some incredible Canadian talent, including:
Wednesday, November 1st – Brandon Lorenzo
Brandon Lorenzo is a homegrown country artist with a modern twist. Lorenzo was honoured with the titles of Male Vocalist of the Year and Male Entertainer of the Year at the North American
Country Music Awards International (NACMAI) in Nashville in 2023. Additionally, he has received nominations for two categories at the upcoming Jose Awards in Nashville in October. Brandon is an Eight-time Country Music Alberta Nominee, the 2020 Global Country Canada Winner and the 2020 YYC People’s Choice Award Winner.
Lorenzo released his latest single, “One of a Kind”, to country radio in August, showcasing his evolving musical style. Lorenzo has an ever-growing presence in the Canadian Country Music Industry and has gained international recognition, opening for names such as Randy Houser and Brett Kissel, to name a few. He is a rising star, leaving an indelible mark on the country music scene.
Thursday, November 2nd – Shantaia
2023 SCMA Female Artist of the Year Shantaia is a Nashville based singer/songwriter who was born and raised in the tiny town of Spiritwood, Saskatchewan. Showcasing powerful and unique vocals, Shantaia’s voice, much like her name, is unforgettable.
Shantaia recently toured with The Washboard Union, and has also opened for names such as, Kane Brown, Chris Lane, Ryan Hurd, Emerson Drive, Charlie Major and more.
Shantaia has played festivals all over Canada, including Cavendish Beach Music Festival, North by North East, Dauphin’s Country Fest, Country Thunder Saskatchewan, and because of SaskMusic
and Breakout West, Shantaia played an official Americana Fest Showcase in 2019 in Nashville.
Friday, November 3rd – Quinton Blair
Honest as a day spent on a tractor and driven like the drifting Prairie snow. A 7-time Manitoba Country Music Association award winner, Quinton Blair is a road-running, tale-spinning singer/songwriter. Playing his brand of 90s-infused country from the Shield to the Rockies.
Sharing the stage with countless Canadian and American country acts, Blair has performed his brand of a troubadour, storytelling country that carries heavy undertones both of 70’s outlaw
country and 90’s dancehall country flavour with fans all over North America.
Saturday, November 4th – Drew Gregory – Back by POPULAR Demand!
There is an undeniable authenticity and truthfulness to Drew Gregory’s music. The songs of this award-winning Alberta country music sensation are infused with a down-home realism, a gritty
honesty, and a vibrant sense of rootedness that comes from years spent working the land as a farmer – an aspect of his life that is deeply connected to his talent as a musician, singer, and
songwriter. Over his burgeoning career, to name a few, he has shared the stage and opened the concert and festival dates for Miranda Lambert, Kip Moore, Old Dominion, John Michael
Montgomery, Big & Rich, Emerson Drive, and Chad Brownlee.
These incredible artists will once again be backed by the “CFR All-Star Band,” a collection of Canadian musicians that boast dozens of Canadian Country Music Awards and CCMA Hall-of Fame Honours among them, playing with Canadian icons such as Dallas Smith, High Valley, Gord Bamford, James Barker Band, and many, many more.
The CFR Night Shift continues with the nightly Buckles Presentation at approximately 9:30 pm, and the music rolls on late into the night with DJ B-Town returning to keep the good times
going until the nightly 1:00 am last call.
Additional entertainment announcements will follow in the days ahead. All Cabaret Corral entertainment is free for everyone of all ages to attend and is the place to be for both pre and post rodeo performances at the Canadian Finals Rodeo. Find details, including performance times, at CFRRedDeer.ca.
About the CPRA: With headquarters in Airdrie, Alberta, the CPRA is the official sanctioning body for Professional Rodeo in Canada. The CPRA approves 55 events annually with a total payout exceeding $5.7 million. The organization oversees the Pro Tour Finals each fall, holds their premiere event – the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) – at Westerner Park in Red Deer, AB and endorses the Maple Leaf Circuit Finals in late Nov, as part of Canadian Western Agribition.
About Westerner Park: Westerner Park is Central Alberta’s largest tradeshow, agriculture, sports, entertainment, and convention facility. A not-for-profit organization and agricultural society, Westerner Park generates $150 million annually in economic activity hosting over 1,500 events with 1.5 million visitors each year.
Arts
Trump’s Hollywood envoys take on Tinseltown’s liberal monopoly
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Quick Hit:
President Trump has appointed Jon Voight, Sylvester Stallone, and Mel Gibson as “special envoys” to Hollywood, aiming to restore a “Golden Age” and challenge the industry’s entrenched liberal bias. According to RealClearPolitics’ Ethan Watson, the move highlights the necessity of reclaiming cultural institutions from leftist control.
Key Details:
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Trump’s Truth Social post described the trio as his “eyes and ears” in Hollywood, advising on business and social policy.
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Hollywood’s leftist dominance, as seen in Disney’s political agenda and the cancellation of Gina Carano, has alienated conservatives.
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Watson argues that Trump understands “politics is downstream from culture” and that influencing Hollywood is vital to shaping American values.
Diving Deeper:
President Trump’s latest move to reshape Hollywood has the entertainment industry buzzing. By appointing Jon Voight, Sylvester Stallone, and Mel Gibson as his “special envoys” to Tinseltown, Trump is signaling that conservatives no longer need to cede cultural institutions to the left. As RealClearPolitics’ Ethan Watson writes, “Donald Trump understands something many right-wingers haven’t for a long time: It’s time to take back institutions.”
Trump, who has long criticized Hollywood’s liberal slant, sees the entertainment industry as a battleground for shaping public opinion. “Although studies have shown that many Americans, particularly younger people, are unaware of the biggest news story of the day, nearly all of them consume media produced by Hollywood,” Watson notes. This cultural dominance, Watson argues, has been exploited to push a left-wing agenda, alienating conservative voices.
The case of Gina Carano exemplifies Hollywood’s intolerance toward dissent, Watson writes. The former “Mandalorian” star was fired by Disney in 2021 after posting a historical comparison on social media. “In truth, her cancellation was most likely due to her mocking pronoun virtue signaling and COVID-19 precautions that were essentially an entrance fee into the upper echelons of Hollywood,” Watson states. The politicization of entertainment didn’t stop there—Disney executive Latoya Raveneau openly admitted to inserting a “not-at-all-secret gay agenda” into children’s programming.
Watson pushes back against the idea that conservatives should simply “build their own” Hollywood, arguing that the industry is too integral to American culture to be abandoned. “Casting it aside would be like trying to create an alternative to Mount Rushmore or baseball – it’s irreplaceable,” he writes. Trump’s decision to highlight conservative-friendly stars like Stallone, Voight, and Gibson sends a powerful message: conservatives in Hollywood no longer have to stay silent.
Trump’s envoys are a step toward restoring balance in an industry that has become a one-party echo chamber. “Hollywood, along with social media, has become the ‘town square,’ the medium by which Americans share ideas,” Watson explains. With leftist cancel culture stifling dissent, Trump’s initiative is not just about entertainment—it’s about ensuring freedom of expression in America’s most influential industry.
Business
Donald Trump appoints Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone as special ambassadors to Hollywood
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From LifeSiteNews
In a surprise post on Truth Social, Trump announced, ‘It is my honor to announce Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, to be Special Ambassadors to a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, California.’
In an unexpected move, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has selected Mel Gibson, along with Sylvester Stallone and Jon Voight, to be “special ambassadors” to Hollywood in his next administration.
“It is my honor to announce Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, to be Special Ambassadors to a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, California,” Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social on Thursday.
Elaborating on his decision, Trump continued:
They will serve as Special Envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACK—BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!
These three very talented people will be my eyes and ears, and I will get done what they suggest. It will again be, like The United States of America itself, The Golden Age of Hollywood!
All three of the Hollywood stars are baptized Catholics and have, to varying degrees, professed and defended their beliefs both in God and in conservative principles more generally.
The appointments come just days after Gibson, who is well-known as an outspoken Catholic actor and director, appeared on the popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast, making headlines for defending the resurrection of Christ, talking about the post-Vatican II crisis in the Catholic Church, and speaking candidly about the important role his faith has played in his life. Gibson’s house was also one of many to have burned down in the fires ravaging Los Angeles, describing it as a form of “purification.”
Similarly, Stallone, who talked about his return to Christianity in the early 2000s after drifting away in his younger years, was also in the news recently for saying for the first time publicly that he is the survivor of abortion.
As for Voight, he was raised Catholic and attended the Catholic University of America, and is well-known for holding conservative views and talking openly about his belief in God. He is also the father of famous actress Angelina Jolie.
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