Long-running N.B. Country Showcase rides into the sunset with final show

The New Brunswick Country Showcase has been running for 38 years. (Source: Tom Hoyt)

Tom Hoyt knows better than most people how much work goes into making live music run smoothly. For nearly 40 years, he has booked performers, written scripts, and scheduled events for an ongoing country music showcase in New Brunswick.

It’s been a long ride and at 74 years old, Hoyt is ready to hop off the saddle.

“I’m winding down,” he said. “I don’t want to see my life consumed by it.

“I want to go out on top.”

Tears and hugs

Hoyt is the producer of the New Brunswick Country Showcase, which is bowing out with its final show this Saturday in Fredericton after 38 years of guitars, ballads and foot stomping. Hoyt hopes to make it a grand farewell to a major part of his life.

“There’ll be some tears, some hugs,” he said. “My goal is to say thank you for the last 38 years.”

According to the Country Showcase’s website, its origins date back to the 1950s when the first Capital Co-op Jamboree was held in Fredericton. The event went dormant in the 1960s until Jim Burns founded the Capital City Jamboree in 1982.

In 1988, he changed the name to the New Brunswick Country Showcase.

“In 1992, (Burns) approached Kevin Neilson to be co-producer, then invited him to take over,” Hoyt said. “Kevin approached me to be his righthand man. My strong points are admin. That’s how I got involved.

“Three or four years later, Kevin stepped back and I carried on ever since.”

Hoyt, who has dabbled in country music most of his life and played in a band with Neilson, helped transform the showcase into a regular event that attracted talent and audiences in equal measure.

“When I got involved, it was quite amateurish,” Hoyt said. “It was a glorified talent show, not a lot of rehearsal, pretty well off the cuff.

“When I got the reins, we decided to add a little bit of structure. My main concern is making sure the audience gets the bang for their buck.”

‘Everything ultimately has a shelf life’

The showcase typically ran five shows a year, primarily at the Fredericton Playhouse. It now features a seven-camera setup which captures every performance.

“The show has grown a lot,” Hoyt said. “I never thought it would last this long, quite frankly. Everything ultimately has a shelf life.”

Hoyt believes the expiration date for the showcase, at least when comes to his involvement, has arrived. Despite the event’s longevity, it has seen a drop in audience numbers in recent years.

“Younger people typically don’t go out to theatre events,” Hoyt said. “The older people ae finding it harder to get around. That hardcore audience that kept the showcase alive is getting less and less.

“There aren’t enough people to make it viable.”

Hoyt said the corporation for the showcase will be decommissioned this summer. No one has stepped forward to take over the reins for the event yet.

“When something like this dies, something else comes up to take its place,” he said.

Hoyt believes the final show will be an emotional one.

“It’s bittersweet,” he said. “I won’t miss sitting in front of a computer day on day setting this whole thing up. I’m going to miss the artists, the band members, I’ll really miss the audience.”

The final New Brunswick Country Showcase will start at 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Fredericton Playhouse.

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