Many young people in today's generation will look at this headline and wonder who exactly is Bruce Good. Or maybe even ask their parents if they'd ever heard of a Canadian band that was rather popular in the 70s called the The Good Brothers. It's true most of the younger generation doesn't know how to broaden their minds to music older than they are, but it's important in the end in order to keep the beauty of all music alive and kicking.
Bruce Good and the Good Family
Bruce Good is only one quarter of his family oriented bands, The Good Brothers and The Good Family. In the early 70s (after already been in a folk band with his brother Brian Good, Marty Steiger and his then soon-to-be wife Margaret called The Kinfolk) Bruce and Brian Good combined their talents with James Ackroyd to create James Ackroyd and The Good Brothers. Obviously times move forward and being Canadian, The Good Brothers went back home and then recruited their brother Larry and officially became The Good Brothers. Eight Juno award wins and an induction into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame later, The Good Brothers are still making music today.
It's clear that talent runs in the family as both of his sons, Travis and Dallas, also make up half of the band called The Sadies. And if that weren't enough musical awesomeness in the family, they decided to create an even more family oriented group, The Good Family. "Myself, Travis, Dallas and their mother Margaret originated a group called The Good Family. We used to do shows on occasion when The Good Brothers and the Sadies weren’t working.Then later Travis and Dallas' cousin Darcy Good and my brother Larry Good also joined in on this musical adventure and thus became The Good Family as it is today!" Bruce said during a phone interview from his cottage up in northern Ontario.
CMT Music Festival 2011
Being apart of not one but two internationally successful bands, has allowed Bruce and his bandmates to play countless festivals and be there to witness the growth throughout the years. "Yeah I see festivals change, mainly because I’ve been around so long. And then there are the fact that you play one [festival] one weekend and then one the next. They are all the same in away, but different. Whether it be the stage, or the music, the fans, or the genre of music that’s been played."
Bruce, along with other members of the Good family, will be among some of the best country artists known today in the world at the first annual CMT Music Festival in Oro Ontario on August 28, 2011. But if fans go to this three-day festival expecting to hear songs from The Good Brothers or The Sadies, they're in for a surprise. "We will most definitely pepper our show with gospel but it won’t totally be gospel. Because Gospel is very important part of bluegrass, and bluegrass was always an important part of our [The Good family’s] lives so we know a lot of gospel songs. If they are coming to hear The Sadies or The Good Brothers songs they will be disappointed," Bruce said.
The CMT Music Festival will play host to thousands of country music fans over a three day period with major acts like Lady Antebellum who took the world by storm with their song "Need You Now", Blake Shelton who just finished a season on the popular TV show "The Voice," and of course the worldwide phenomenon Rascal Flatts. But don't be fooled, there will be plenty more amazing Canadian musicians to support these artists like Tara Oram, Corb Lund, and George Canyon, just to name a few.
The festival runs from August 26-28, 2011 and tickets are still available. Visit www.cmtmusicfestival.ca for more information.
If you'd like to know more about The Good Brothers or The Sadies, click on their names to visit their websites!
Taryn McElheran - As a university graduate in journalism, I'm trying to make my mark on the world, one article and one reader at a time.
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