On October 21, Toronto managed to hang on to one last gust of warmth as we all crowded into the Live Nation Lounge for a cozy country show. Ones To Watch – October Edition, put on by Live Nation and Big Machine Canada, was all about the flair and twang you’ve come to recognize from contemporary country music. Tonight however, was a little bit different. With the shows stripped back and casual energy, the artists were able to connect with the crowd and try out some new songs in a way they haven’t gotten to before. The evening featured performances from Sarah Vanderzon, Cole Goodwin, and Preston Cooper.
Special guest Sarah Vanderzon, winner of the 2024 Boots and Hearts Emerging Artist Showcase, got the night started with a cheeky song titled “Hey Partner” about a cowboy looking for girls at the bar, only to realize he isn’t exactly her type. Sarah is a talented singer songwriter who just released her first EP, Fortune teller, earlier this month, where she beautifully ties in themes of heartbreak and love, with her wit and easy going charm.
Going on to play a few more songs, she broke her set up by talking to the audience, a crowded but intimate group, about her life, her wife, and her process in writing songs. When she started to play “Losing You” the crowd grew quiet, all the small talk in the back fell to a hush. It was like the seriousness of her words drew everyone in and we were all focused solely on the moment with her. When he finished, there was a flurry of applause, everyone still armoured with the beat they’d just heard.
A long way from Georgia, Cole Goodwin graced the Toronto stage, opening with a couple tales of heartbreak and good old fashion cheating songs. He played a crowd favourite, “girlfriends got a boyfriend” which got a number of laughs and cheers. Country music does a few things exceptionally well, and one of them is cheating songs. There’s nothing like a song so biting and brutally honest, backed to an upbeat rhythm that gets people dancing.
Fresh off tour with Luke Bryan and dropping all sorts of new music (some of which he played for Toronto at this exclusive event), he spoke to the audience about his experience in the music industry and how surreal it feels to be playing in Canada for the second time in his life. He was very gracious for all the experiences he’s been given, and how this is very different from his little corner of Georgia, where he was born and raised. He played an unreleased song, called “Howdy” that he joked should really be played with a band instead of acoustic, but he did a bang up job picking the strings and riffing through it as if it was always meant to be played that way.
Preston Cooper, an Ohio boy born and raised, was plucked from his small hometown and had his life flipped upside down in the blink of an eye when two brothers from Nashville heard him playing at an event and insisted he fly down to Nashville. He told the crowd sheepishly that he’d never been to Canada before and that he was grateful for the opportunity to travel and do the thing he’s been dreaming of doing since he was little. He talked earnestly to the crowd about how small town voices almost convinced him not to go to Nashville, and how the basis of his song (and album) “Toledo Talkin” was about learning to ignore those voices and how hard it was to change his life and take that step.
He played a few songs off his album, along with his best charting single to date, “weak”. He stopped playing midway through, with a laugh, to tell the audience that after he wrote it, the label pitched it to Keith Urban who ended up turning it down, much to his satisfaction, as it went on to do great numbers for him. His voice has a unique quality to it, somewhat raspy, somewhat high, but wrapped into one sound, it creates something wonderful that has its own charm to it. He stands out vocally in a way that makes you say “oh I thought that was him.” When you catch a small clip in a busy store or on the beach.
He got the audience involved when he had them vote on which song he should cover and they collectively decided that it should be “fire away” by Chris Stapleton. The audience sang along quietly, letting him take center stage but providing the perfect backing vocals for the song. With the dim lights and the warm atmosphere, it almost transported us back to the summer, gathered around a campfire, with the trees rustling and the coyotes calling.
The night was filled with stunning performances and great people at Ones To Watch – October Edition. It’s always a treat to see a collection of artists with different styles and backgrounds, and music lovers come together to share their time and stories through the one thing that will always unify and inspire people. Music.
