Jimmy Rankin – a Celtic and country music star in Canada – will perform in Hay River this fall.
Rankin will be visiting on Oct. 22 as part of a performance series offered to NWT communities each year by the Northern Arts & Cultural Centre (NACC) in Yellowknife.
Marie Coderre, the artistic and executive director of NACC, describes Rankin as a legend in Canada.
She said he performed in Yellowknife last year and he loved the experience.
"And I talked about the touring we do in the communities and he was very fascinated," she said.
Along with Hay River, he will be performing in Yellowknife, Fort Smith, Inuvik and Norman Wells.
Rankin was a member of the famed Rankin Family, which won six Juno Awards, and he has also enjoyed a successful solo career.
His show will be at Our Lady of Assumption Roman Catholic Church.
Three of four shows from NACC will be at the church this performing season.
Coderre said this is both because of the acoustics in the church and it having a larger capacity than the Riverview Cineplex, where many NACC concerts are held.
"We sometimes do shows at the church, but it's not because the Riverview Cineplex is not a great place," she said, noting the movie theatre has just 126 seats.
"And I'm expecting for Jimmy Rankin to have a big turnout, of course," she said. "It's quite a treat for the small communities to have Jimmy Rankin going. He's a superstar in Canada, so I'm expecting to have a good turnout. I think 126 seats are not enough, so it's why I went to the church."
She estimated the church has a capacity of about 300.
The acoustics in the church will also be good for two performers later in the season.
Jeremy Dutcher, an opera singer from the Tobique First Nation in New Brunswick, will perform on Feb. 9.
"Jeremy Dutcher is a superstar in Canada right now," said Coderre, noting he was shortlisted for the prestigious Polaris Prize.
"Everywhere we hear about Jeremy Dutcher," she said, adding she booked him just before he started to become really popular. "He's everywhere right now."
Another classical artist set to perform at Assumption Church is violinist Blake Pouliot on May 22.
The 24-year-old, who was born and raised in Toronto, has quickly established himself as one of Canada's most promising young artists.
Aside from the three performances at Assumption Church, NACC will also present the Ko K'e Spoken Word & Music Festival – featuring Kiera-Dawn Kolson from Yellowknife and Wesley Hardisty, a fiddler originally from Fort Simpson now living in British Columbia – on Sept. 17 at the Chief Lamalice Complex on the Hay River Reserve.
"I thought it would be great for the community of the reserve to see it," said Coderre. "Everybody is welcome, of course. I thought it would be a great location for this one."
She is pleased with all the performances to be offered this coming season.
"I hope people will love it," she said. "I'm sure they will."
In fact, Coderre expects the shows will all be sold out.
"I'm not very nervous about Hay River," she said. "I know people will come."