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Brad Johner at Greenwater Lake
FTLComm - Greenwater - Thursday, July 14, 2011
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It can be called charisma, some people refer to it as showmanship but there are some people with a natural and developed ability to entertain. Brad Johner is one of those people. Clearly, he is a talented man that has been branded as a “country singer” but that title is pretty limiting when it comes to the skill and apparent ease with which the accomplished entertainer who in his mid forties wins every time he steps out in front of an audience. He has actually been in the business of entertaining people since the early eighties doing a solo career, then performing as part of the Johner Brothers then working solo. He has written a string of songs that have a dancing lilt to them and from the very beginning he has always been able to transport his audience with a sense of enthusiasm and cheerfulness that has established for him a loyal following of fans.

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Last Friday night on the lawn in front of the beach cafe at Greenwater Lake Provincial Park Brad and his equipment were tucked inside a very big ten and its a good thing that he was because just before his show was about to begin the Park was given a good splash from a passing shower. It was the shower that made us late getting down to the beach as we did not know about the tent and assumed that the show would be called off because of the rain and threat of additional rain. But, when we got on the scene about half an hour after the show was to have begun we and about half the crowd present were outside the tent.

It was clouded over and fairly dark for so early in the evening so we actually could not see the man whose voice and music kept us right with him for the rest of the evening.

Though I had heard his songs on the radio it was not until the Canada Summer Games in Regina in the summer of 2005 that I realised what an enormous talent he had. He was the opening show for the summer games and set the tone for the event with his song “I got it good.” You can relive that event by clicking here and watching the CBC video with the swirl of athletes in the middle of Taylor Field belting out an upbeat song that defined the spirit of those games in Regina.

It was a great show, casual in perfect harmony with the crowd and the setting. The video gives you a sampling of the sound and the response of the crowd however the light and the tent made it impossible to get anything but the voice of the performer.

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