Silver Creek artist Jesse Mast has risen to the top – again.
He loves country music and performs it so well, that the 18-year-old singer-songwriter-guitarist recently returned from Pigeon Forge, Tenn. with three new awards.
Mast, who took top spot in the 2013 Our Kids Have Talent competition, was the winner of the Global Country Star Search.
The young talent sang his way to the top spot in the 17-to-20 age category, the same one he entered in the North American Country Music Awards held in Pigeon Forge in March.
The competition is sponsored by the North American Country Music Association, with industry professionals acting as judges.
Entrants performed eight-minute sets throughout the week, with judges using the mini sessions to draw up their winners’ lists.
Mast was nominated for three awards and got all three – International Songwriter of the Year, International Male Vocalist of the Year and International Entertainer of the Year, an award that crosses all age categories.
Mast estimates the indoor amphitheatre in Pigeon Forge can seat between 500 and 600 people and held “decent-size” audiences throughout the competition.
“You just have to keep it real; you just go up and do your thing,” he says of his performances. “It’s impossible to guess what they are looking for. I didn’t have any expectations because I know this is music central and there were a lot of talented people.”
The humble young artist refers to his wins as coming away “with a little bit of glass.”
“As always, it’s nice to be recognized for what you’re trying to do as an artist, especially from other industry people,” he says, noting that while the affirmation is welcome, it is not what Mast and music are all about.
Mast says some artists experiment until they find something that garners attention and money, then stick with the formula.
“Suddenly, instead of trying new music, they try to recreate their music again,” he says, acknowledging he’s a fan of older-style country music. “Country music to me is a lot more real and has a lot more edge.”
And that’s something Mast says does not necessarily mean country of today.
“It’s music and it has its place, but it’s not really country in its purest form,” he says, pointing out that genre lines are blurring, with a lot of today’s country losing its edge and becoming more like top-40 music or rock and roll. “I’m talking about Johnny Cash, George Strait and Garth Brooks.”
Agreeing that he can appreciate other genres of music once in a while, Mast says he’s a guy who likes songs that tell stories and reflect real life.
“For me, there’s nothing with better base appeal than that because it’s so raw and because it has a lot of feel and emotion… It’s storytelling that just grabs me.”
Mast grew up on bluegrass and Celtic but when he heard Garth Brooks at the age of seven or eight, he was hooked.
“The first time I heard him, I knew that was the best music I would ever hear, and I still think it is,” he says emphatically. “The group of people that still love the old music is far from gone.”
While the recent awards do not bring further professional development sessions or contracts, Mast says they certainly help in making connections within the music industry.
And that’s something Mast had the opportunity to do for five days prior to the awards.
Canadian music industry professionals Mast was working with after meeting them at the Canadian Country Music Awards connected him with their counterparts in Nashville.
“It was amazing; these are guys who wrote a lot of the music I grew up listening to,” he says enthusiastically. “They’re incredible people, just in general, they’re the best in the world at what they do.”
Learning some of the inner workings of the Nashville music scene, writing with seasoned professionals and being allowed to tack his name on the back of a song was an honour.
Mast is hoping to return to Nashville in the near future.
In the meantime, he will continue making music and setting up gigs in the B.C. Interior.
One of them will take place at the Salmar Classic Theatre on Friday, April 25, when he will form part of the local entertainment at a Roots and Blues Festival event. He will be accompanied by Keiran Rambo.
The pay-what-you-can evening begins with a 7:30 p.m. screening of Boogie on Blues, director Jim Elderton’s sequel to last year’s Backstage on Blues.
“Following the 40-minute film, Routes and Blues presents a musical evening performed by four of the Shuswap’s finest musical acts: Blu and Kelly Hopkins, Alan Bates and Sue Kyle, The Saloonatics and Jesse Mast,” says festival marketing manager Scott Crocker.
Tickets for the popular festival that runs Aug. 15 to 17 are available at www.rootsandblues.ca or by calling 250-833-4096. Earlybird prices are in effect till May 30.
