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Calgary Herald
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
Review: Eye-popping thrills and bursts of Canadiana take centre stage at 2025 Grandstand show
Article content The 2025 Grandstand Show is a series of jaw-dropping, eye-popping moments, making it a thrill ride for the senses. Article content One of the big differences with this show is that the Grandstand Band is no longer inside the scaffolding at the rear of the stage. Instead it is centerstage, where it should be, because these musicians really are the centerpiece of the show as they accompany all the acts. Article content Article content Article content The show opens with the Keith Sayers Freestyle Motorcross team, in an act called Thunder Struck. This is a gravity-defying act which sees the riders jump their motorcycles across the stage onto an inflated rubber mound. There are moments as they cross through the air that the riders seem to be flying above their bikes. At other times they make their bikes do somersaults and backflips. It's a case of you're seeing it, but you still don't believe what these daredevils are doing. The act understandably elicited gasps, cheers and applause. Article content Article content Angela Benson, who stages and directs these extravaganzas, knows you need something big and brassy to follow such an introduction, and she give us that with The Young Canadians performing a number called Wild Wild West. There are 123 dancers and singers in the company this year, and they flood the stage in a kaleidoscope of colour, sound and movement. The jumbotrons capture individual dancers so your eyes are darting between the intricate patterns of the team and individuals dancing and singing up a storm, and there is such incredible talent on that stage. Article content Article content There is even fireworks to accompany Wild Wild West. In the past, the fireworks were saved for the end of the show. That is no longer the case. Almost every number is punctuated with fireworks which adds to the excitement. Article content Special guest, aerialist Vladyslav Tsarov, performs one of his routines on, and arround, a straddle suspended in the top alcove of the stage. His amazing agility is astounding, but this is one time when there are too many distractions with the performers on the stage. Again, the jumbotrons help, but this is an act that needs to be highlighted and alone. The number was too busy and it minimized his skills. Luckily, he appears centre stage later on to show his amazing flexibility as he winds around a pole with fire erupting around him. Article content Illya Strakhov is given the downstage spotlight his routine deserves in Drink You Away. Strakhov balances on his head on bottles and glasses, and then on two balls he places on top of each other. He leaves you shaking your head in disbelief, and ends by balancing on his finger on a whiskey bottle. The audience's gasps of disbelief are almost deafening.
Calgary Herald
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
Preview: Grandstand 2025 show aims to replicate the country Opry, with a little adrenaline thrown in
According to producer Mark Eriksen, this year's Grandstand Show could be called the Grand New Opry. Article content 'It will have all the glamour and high-energy of the Grand Ole Opry, but it will be Calgary style. It will bring elevated country flare to the Stampede's legendary stage, and it's packed with awe-inspiring performances and jaw-dropping stunts,' says Eriksen, who has produced the Grandstand Show for the past five years. Article content Article content This is one of the reasons Eriksen wanted country star Carolyn Dawn Johnson to headline Grandstand 2025. Article content Article content 'Carolyn has performed at the Grand Ole Opry, she's Albertan, and she's earned 17 Canadian Country Music Awards. There is no one better to headline our version of the Grand Ole Opry.' Article content Though Johnson has performed at Nashville North, this is her first time with the Grandstand Show. Her dreams of performing at the Stampede go back to when she was a teenager. Article content 'Back in 1988, a friend of mine and I created a mock duo of the Judds for the Stampede talent contest. We didn't win, but it showed that I always wanted to perform at the Stampede. I've lived in Nashville for quite a while, so it is always a thrill to come back to Alberta, and the Stampede is such a big deal. I've heard about it all my life,' says Johnson. Article content Her catalogue of songs stretches some 25 years, and she has plenty of new material, but she says her fans are coming to hear her vintage hits, so that's what she is going to give them in her set early in the show. That means she will be performing songs like Complicated, Die of a Broken Heart and Georgia. Article content Article content 'I want to do songs that people can sing along to, I want them to sing along to. I don't want them to just sit there and listen. I want them to be on their feet if that's how they want to join in.' Article content Johnson will also join the Young Canadians for These Boots Are Made for Walking, which will be accompanied by one of this year's drone extravaganzas. Article content 'It really is an adrenaline rush to start our show with. Audiences love these daredevils, and this year they are even going to jump a quad. Their number is called Thunder Struck. The audience is going to be sweating in the first few minutes of the show,' promises Eriksen. Article content Following the motorcycle act is Wild Wild West, the first number of The Young Canadians in their 57th year with the Grandstand Show.
