By Mark McMillan
On Feb. 14, another 100 Mile House Cowboy Concert came and went, and from what we saw, there were more than 500 folks who went home happy.
Most of them were probably still laughing, humming a tune, or singing a song that wouldn’t leave their minds after the three-hour show was over.
Both the 2 p.m. and the 7 p.m. shows were sold out, or at least close enough to being sold out we can say they were. In both shows, there was a ton of applause, and many tears of laughter were wiped off many a cheek. At the end of both shows, there was a standing ovation for the four performers.
Jason Ruscheinsky proved himself once again and the crowd response to his music and humour reinforced the fact that this 19-year-old is going to end up on some big stages in the near future. He not only does a great job of singing and playing his guitar, but he’s also a natural entertainer.
Leslie Ross couldn’t help but bring cheers and claps as a good part of the audience already knew her; in fact, a good part of the audience was there because they had heard her before and wanted to hear her again. She had learned a whole new inventory of songs just for the Cowboy Concert and every one of them was enjoyed.
Tom Cole and Brian Salmond put on a lot of miles on some pretty bad roads to get from Fort St. John to 100 Mile House and the crowd showed them how much they appreciated them making the trip. Both of these guys have a nonstop list of jokes that came out between each song and poem.
Tom’s awesome baritone voice and great choice of songs had the audience dead quiet except when they clapped to the beat or sang along. Brian brought out some of his old favourites of original cowboy poetry and had the audience in stitches.
This duo from Fort St. John sold as many, or more, CDs at the concert then most entertainers sell over the four days at the Kamloops Cowboy Festival.
After the fact, Brian said, “They just wanted to make sure we had enough gas money to get home, as they didn’t want us hanging around 100 Mile House.”
Mark McMillan was the concert organizer.
