Warner Music Canada and Blue Rodeo are thrilled to announce that they have extended their recording agreement to include new releases by the band that will extend the relationship deep in to their fourth decade together. Blue Rodeo first signed with Warner Music Canada in the mid-80’s, releasing their debut, Outskirts in 1987. Since then they have released 13 studio albums, sold over 4 million records and won 12 Juno awards including an unprecedented six times as Group Of The Year (the latest being 2008).“We are well aware how rare it is for a band to last this long, let alone spend their entire career with the same record company,” says Jim Cuddy. “We have, of course, our fans to thank for this. However we also have the good people at Warner to whom we owe gratitude. We have been through 3 different presidents, 8 regional managers, numerous owners and countless wonderful people in the field. Throughout we have been lucky enough to work with talented, quality people. At this time, when we look around the industry, we realize that Warner is the gold standard – not the biggest, but decent, good-hearted people who truly love music. We consider ourselves lucky to continue our relationship well into our advanced years!”This has already been quite a year for Blue Rodeo. It was announced late last year that Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor will be recipients of the Order of Canada while this past May, Blue Rodeo were honoured with a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. These are just the latest honours for the band, which have included receiving a star on Canada’s Walk Of Fame in 2009 and being inducted in to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2012.“Every single person at Warner Music Canada is thrilled that we are continuing our incredible partnership with Blue Rodeo,” says label President Steve Kane. “To have played a role in a career that has gone from playing the back rooms of Queen St. West to receiving the Governor’s General Award at Rideau Hall is a great source of pride. We would like to thank the entire Blue Rodeo family for their continued trust and for the music that inspires us all.”Singer-songwriters Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor started performing together in the mid 70’s forming the bands Fly To France and The Hi-Fi’s. After spending a couple of years trying to make it in New York City, the pair moved back to Toronto with a fistful of new songs and pieced together a band that would be dubbed Blue Rodeo. Despite playing music that was unlike the style of the time, the band’s extraordinary musicianship together with Greg and Jim’s unforgettable tunes won them a growing legion of fans on the Toronto music scene and before long, they were one of the city’s biggest club attractions. In 1986 they signed their first recording contract with Warner Music Canada and with the release of their debut album they scored their first hit with the now classic “Try.” Over the next 27 years the band produced an endless parade of hit songs and have toured Canada relentlessly with their annual arena and festival shows becoming one of Canada’s national pastimes. All of their albums have been certified gold or platinum and their latest album, 2013’s In Our Nature, receiving some of the best reviews of the band’s career.
Blue Rodeo has spent the summer performing at a number of festivals across Canada. Upcoming shows include their annual homecoming performance at Toronto’s Molson Amphitheatre on Friday, August 15.
Upcoming tour dates:
August 15 Toronto, ONT Molson Amphitheatre
August 23 Elora, ONT
September 5 Winnipeg, MB Assiniboine Park
September 13 Ottawa, ONT Ottawa Folk Festival
