All about the Stampede’s headlining act

By Lorenzo Gavilan Vargas Times Reporter

When Gord Bamford was just five years old, he moved with his mother from his birthplace of Australia to Lacombe, Alta.

Ten albums and 40 years later Gord Bamford is one of the most decorated artists in Canadian country music.

Bamford chalked up his success to honing his skills at local club dates and meeting the right people along the way.

“Here we are ten records later,” said Bamford. “It’s a career that I never really thought was going to get this far, but it’s been really good and I’m excited to continue growing.”

The original dream for Bamford was a career playing sports at a high level, before injury forced him to seek other avenues in life.

“It was kind of my dream at one point to go as far as I can in that [sport], then I had an injury,” he said. “I really didn’t know what I was going to do so I worked many different jobs. Worked on the farm, worked in the concrete business and I worked in the electrical business and at the same time, chipped away at this music and it just panned out.”

Musically, Bamford says he appreciates the classics, and that is where he draws inspiration for his own music from.

“I’m still pretty old school. I really like older country music,” he said. “My stuff leans a little more traditional, but just very relatable music is the stuff that I kind of fell in love with as a young guy. That’s part of country music. I’ve always tried to keep things simple.”

Keeping things simple has done wonders for Bamford’s success throughout his career. He has won 26 Canadian Country Music Awards, four Juno Award nominations, and he is the only two-time recipient of the Country Music Association’s Global Country Artist award. Despite all the awards, Bamford says he most appreciates the fans.

“You always strive to just build a career that you can have longevity with. My goal has always been to sell a hard ticket,” he said. “The awards and all that are great. But a lot of times they don’t translate into hard ticket sales, and a lot of times artists who deserve to win don’t win. So it’s more about the music and the people for me than the awards.”

Bamford has also dedicated a lot of his time and money to philanthropy, namely the Gord Bamford Foundation. Founded in 2008, the charity has raised over $4.3 million for children across Canada.

“It’s been really one of the biggest highlights of my career that I’ve been able to be a part of,” said Bamford. “It’s really growing and it’s helping a lot of organizations across Canada. We do a ton of stuff right here in Alberta, which is important to me as well. We’re just continuing to grow that foundation as big as we can.”

He says life experiences have played a large part in why he started his charity.

“I think it’s just the right thing to do. Giving back is a great thing, and as a father of three kids, things are a little different in my life from what they were years ago. You get to see how they grow and the needs that these kids [have] and some of these kids who are a little less fortunate, they need help too.”

Bamford will be playing at the Strathmore Stampede on July 30. Tickets for the show, along with the GlobalFest fireworks show, are on sale for $45 each and are available online (strathmoreag.com).