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Alberta

BUILDING A CAREER ON STRONGER BEER

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BUILDING A CAREER ON STRONGER BEER

How Tim Hicks Rose from Clubs to the Big Leagues

 

By Ilan Cooley

Canadian country star Tim Hicks picked up his first guitar at the age of three, and like the classic Bryan Adams song, he played it ‘til his fingers bled. “I’ll never forget that weekend,” he says. “It hurt to play, but I couldn’t stop.”

Niagara Falls born Hicks wrote his first song in seventh grade, then started performing for schoolgirls at recess. He now has three studio albums, two platinum selling singles, multiple Canadian Country Music Association awards, including 2014 Rising Star, and two Juno nominations to his credit, but success did not come easy. He spent 20 years in clubs singing other people’s hits.

“When you play cover gigs, you’re not allowed to play original songs,” he says. He knew his job was to pump up the crowd and keep them drinking.

Touring mate and songwriting partner Clayton Bellamy says Hicks is a “lifer” who built his craft from the ground up. “We came from the same school of rising from dirty clubs, to the big stage,” says Bellamy. “Tim is genuine, and that’s hard to find. He’s exactly who he says he is.”

Known for his upbeat party anthems and relatable lyrics, Hicks feels it is only natural that his material reflects bar culture. “I learned early on that when you involve people in a song, or in a show, there’s a better chance that they’ll have a good time. That’s the main goal.”

With a young family, and a steady stream of commitments, Hicks approaches his craft as a structured business. “Once you start hanging around in Nashville, songwriting becomes a very serious game,” he says.

When he started writing in the big leagues, Hicks says he was laughed at for writing his songs in leather-bound notebooks. “Every time I went into a write, they would say, that’s a funny looking laptop, but I didn’t have money for a laptop.” His old-school approach didn’t seem to hinder him though, Hicks has had seven top 10 singles on Canadian country radio.

Hicks admits he finds it hard to sit down and write a song by himself out of thin air. “I have the most fun when I’m in the room with two or three people, so you can bounce ideas off of one another.” He says he draws inspiration from personal experiences. “You might have an idea for a song and it comes out completely different, which really makes the process interesting.”

“He works really fast, which is good, because I get bored easy,” says Bellamy. “I have written a couple of songs with Tim, and both were great. The only problem is he hasn’t recorded them yet.”

His shows at clubs and small venues have been replaced with big festivals, corporate gigs and national tours, a level of success Hicks says is still surreal. There’s a moment in every show where I’m yelling over the music at my bandmates asking, “how did we get here?”

Things may look different now, but Hicks stays close to his roots. “The only difference between Tim Hicks now, and Tim Hicks four years ago, is that people are listening now and that’s a wonderful thing. I’ve had the same band the whole time, and we don’t take it for granted.”

Some of his success led to the opportunity to perform at One Horse Town, a Coors Banquet sponsored event in Lacombe, Alberta. It was only fitting he was able to perform his signature song ‘Stronger Beer’, which earned him one of his platinum records, at an event sponsored by a beer company.

“We knew he was the right guy for the job,” says Molson Coors event manager Kathleen Kennedy. “Not many artists can headline a show like that, but Tim has the right energy and personality. He is an amazing guy and a natural performer.”

Hicks also played to 35,000 people at the Boots and Hearts music festival near Toronto, the largest crowd of his career. He admits to tearing up when the audience started singing one of his songs. “I was glad I had my sunglasses on.”

Hicks is now a veteran of the Canadian country music scene, and he has some advice for new artists. “Put down your webcam and get out and play. Go play an open mic night, play at your grandmother’s barbeque, and learn covers.” He also says you have to write a lot of songs to create good ones. The old notebooks he used to write in are somewhere at his mother’s house collecting dust. “I know that all of those songs are bad songs,” he says. “They are not songs that people would want to hear. But that’s okay. I feel that was then, it is over, let’s keep drudging ahead.”

Hicks can afford a laptop now, but remembers someone once told him never to change, because his laptop would never end up in the country music hall of fame. “Then I went to the country music hall of fame and there’s Taylor Swift’s laptop, so there you go.”

Tim Hicks (centre) performs at One Horse Town with The Road Hammers.

Ilan Cooley is a writer and communications professional from Edmonton, Alberta.  She lives the dream handling the promotion, marketing and communications for some of the biggest country festivals in North America. 

 

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Alberta

Big win for Alberta and Canada: Statement from Premier Smith

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Premier Danielle Smith issued the following statement on the April 2, 2025 U.S. tariff announcement:

“Today was an important win for Canada and Alberta, as it appears the United States has decided to uphold the majority of the free trade agreement (CUSMA) between our two nations. It also appears this will continue to be the case until after the Canadian federal election has concluded and the newly elected Canadian government is able to renegotiate CUSMA with the U.S. administration.

“This is precisely what I have been advocating for from the U.S. administration for months.

“It means that the majority of goods sold into the United States from Canada will have no tariffs applied to them, including zero per cent tariffs on energy, minerals, agricultural products, uranium, seafood, potash and host of other Canadian goods.

“There is still work to be done, of course. Unfortunately, tariffs previously announced by the United States on Canadian automobiles, steel and aluminum have not been removed. The efforts of premiers and the federal government should therefore shift towards removing or significantly reducing these remaining tariffs as we go forward and ensuring affected workers across Canada are generously supported until the situation is resolved.

“I again call on all involved in our national advocacy efforts to focus on diplomacy and persuasion while avoiding unnecessary escalation. Clearly, this strategy has been the most effective to this point.

“As it appears the worst of this tariff dispute is behind us (though there is still work to be done), it is my sincere hope that we, as Canadians, can abandon the disastrous policies that have made Canada vulnerable to and overly dependent on the United States, fast-track national resource corridors, get out of the way of provincial resource development and turn our country into an independent economic juggernaut and energy superpower.”

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Alberta

Energy sector will fuel Alberta economy and Canada’s exports for many years to come

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From the Fraser Institute

By Jock Finlayson

By any measure, Alberta is an energy powerhouse—within Canada, but also on a global scale. In 2023, it produced 85 per cent of Canada’s oil and three-fifths of the country’s natural gas. Most of Canada’s oil reserves are in Alberta, along with a majority of natural gas reserves. Alberta is the beating heart of the Canadian energy economy. And energy, in turn, accounts for one-quarter of Canada’s international exports.

Consider some key facts about the province’s energy landscape, as noted in the Alberta Energy Regulator’s (AER) 2023 annual report. Oil and natural gas production continued to rise (on a volume basis) in 2023, on the heels of steady increases over the preceding half decade. However, the dollar value of Alberta’s oil and gas production fell in 2023, as the surging prices recorded in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine retreated. Capital spending in the province’s energy sector reached $30 billion in 2023, making it the leading driver of private-sector investment. And completion of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project has opened new offshore export avenues for Canada’s oil industry and should boost Alberta’s energy production and exports going forward.

In a world striving to address climate change, Alberta’s hydrocarbon-heavy energy sector faces challenges. At some point, the world may start to consume less oil and, later, less natural gas (in absolute terms). But such “peak” consumption hasn’t arrived yet, nor does it appear imminent. While the demand for certain refined petroleum products is trending down in some advanced economies, particularly in Europe, we should take a broader global perspective when assessing energy demand and supply trends.

Looking at the worldwide picture, Goldman Sachs’ 2024 global energy forecast predicts that “oil usage will increase through 2034” thanks to strong demand in emerging markets and growing production of petrochemicals that depend on oil as the principal feedstock. Global demand for natural gas (including LNG) will also continue to increase, particularly since natural gas is the least carbon-intensive fossil fuel and more of it is being traded in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Against this backdrop, there are reasons to be optimistic about the prospects for Alberta’s energy sector, particularly if the federal government dials back some of the economically destructive energy and climate policies adopted by the last government. According to the AER’s “base case” forecast, overall energy output will expand over the next 10 years. Oilsands output is projected to grow modestly; natural gas production will also rise, in part due to greater demand for Alberta’s upstream gas from LNG operators in British Columbia.

The AER’s forecast also points to a positive trajectory for capital spending across the province’s energy sector. The agency sees annual investment rising from almost $30 billion to $40 billion by 2033. Most of this takes place in the oil and gas industry, but “emerging” energy resources and projects aimed at climate mitigation are expected to represent a bigger slice of energy-related capital spending going forward.

Like many other oil and gas producing jurisdictions, Alberta must navigate the bumpy journey to a lower-carbon future. But the world is set to remain dependent on fossil fuels for decades to come. This suggests the energy sector will continue to underpin not only the Alberta economy but also Canada’s export portfolio for the foreseeable future.

Jock Finlayson

Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute
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