Local musician plays ‘dream’ shows

By Steve Hubrecht

Radium Hot Springs country musician Emma Kade is on a roll.

She recently had a dream come true when she was invited to perform with Canadian country music star Brett Kissel at the Brett Brett Boat Concert in Windermere, and is now gearing up to play the pre-party for the Invermere Block Party featuring classic rock legend Tom Cochrane in early September.

Kade has been playing music for more than a decade, in a variety of genres, but switched to country two years ago after winning a contest to open for Dean Brody in Fort Steele.

“I grew up listening to country music. People told me I have the perfect voice for country. That made me not want to do it,” Kade told the Pioneer. But the Brody concert was a great experience and made Kade change her mind about country.

She’s been playing country music since then, although some of her collaborations in other genres still get plenty of play on major platforms. (The single ‘Let Me Go’ that she did with German DJ-producer duo Steam Phunk has almost a million views on Spotify.) This past May she released ‘Endgame’ — her first country single, and it’s been getting on playlists on Sirius Radio, Spotify and Apple Music.

Earlier in the summer she reached out to Kissel through Instagram to ask about playing at the famous boat concert in Windermere that Kissel jointly hosts with W. Brett Wilson. She didn’t expect to hear back, but Kissel responded and said he’d talk with Wilson. At 9 p.m. on the night before the concert Wilson reached out and invited her to join the show.

“It was crazy. I not only got to meet one of my heroes, but also play in a show with him,” said Kade. She showed up before the concert, rehearsed a bit with Kissel and his band, and then performed two songs with Kissel as a special guest in the middle of his set.

The whole thing was very impromptu “but it worked out amazingly . . . I’m thrilled,” said Kade.

She next played FlatsFest, the Columbia Valley’s country music festival held in Canal Flats in mid-August each year. Now she’s getting ready to play the pre-party for the Invermere Block Party on Friday, Sept. 6. Kade will be performing along with Columbia Valley musician (and former Pioneer staff member) James Rose as part of First Fridays, a monthly event held on the first Friday of each month in Invermere’s downtown core with music, street art and other activities.

On September 6, First Fridays coincides with the Invermere Block Party which will see Tom Cochrane (of ‘Life is a Highway’ fame) playing an open air street concert near Eddie Mountain Arena.

Kade is young enough that she at first did not realize who Cochrane was. “But as soon as I mentioned it to my parents, they were very excited. So then I got very excited. It’s another huge opportunity,” she said.

When it comes to songwriting, Kade finds inspiration everywhere.

“I will be having coffee with a friend and think, ‘hey that would be a good lyric’. Or I will get a melody in my head when I’m at the grocery store,” she said.

Although Kade grew up in a musical family, she is the first one in her family to seriously pursue music as a career.

There’s a kick to performing that Kade loves. “Seeing the way audiences connect with my stories and songs gives me a sense of purpose and makes me want to keep going,” she said.