Country Music

Jason Blaine just wanted to come back home to perform in front of a crowd that knew his music and his story. So, when he decided he would offer a concert in his home town, he chose a familiar place to host an intimate concert where he could welcome a “A Few Good Friends of Mine,” the title to one of his many hit songs. That place was the Germania Club in Pembroke, the same venue that twenty years earlier he and his wife, Amy, celebrated their wedding.

It was the first time in eleven years that Blaine had held a public concert in the city and it didn’t disappoint. He played the songs that have made him one of Canada’s leading Canadian country artists like ‘They Don’t Make ‘Em Like That Anymore’ and ‘Dance With My Daughter,” but also sang songs from his new album, including “The Road That Raised You Up.”

It was a special night for Blaine who had many family and friends in the audience and he went out of his way to make it a very social concert, one where he encouraged people to move around and just enjoy his music. He bridged the music with some storytelling and capped the night by presenting cheques worth thousands of dollars to organizations that benefit from his charitable foundation.

Over the past nine years, his charity has raised more than $800,000, money that has been reinvested in the community through small grants that support causes that are important to Blaine, including children and youth and the overall mental health of people who live in the area. As he approaches the tenth anniversary of his annual golf tournament and concert at the Pembroke Golf Club, he is looking forward to a banner year of fundraising and being able to invest more where the money is most needed.

It was the early 2000’s when Blaine, who was still a single man and trying to find his way, enrolled in the Business program at Algonquin College’s Pembroke Campus. While dating Amy who was also enrolled in the Early Childhood Education program at the college and learning about subjects like accounting, finance, business planning, marketing and sales, Blaine continued to perform where he could but he also started writing his own songs. When he graduated from college, he moved to southern Ontario and started to record his songs and then he made the big move to Nashville, Tennessee to be at the heart of the country music industry.

By that point, Jason and Amy had married. Now with four children and having planted some roots in the United States, Blaine is well established as a recording artist and continues to turn out great music. He has won plenty of awards for both the songs he performs and the songs he writes, but its his philanthropy that has elevated his reputation as both a talented musician and a person who cares about people.

On this night, he took some time before taking the stage to meet with some of his alma mater. Several alumni who attended the concert chatted and snapped photos with Blaine who has become quite comfortable with posing for pictures as his career as blossomed. While he has been away from his home town for two decades, it’s still a very special experience when he has the chance to perform in Pembroke and it was obvious he wanted to make himself available to the people who have supported him from day one.

Familiar faces greeted him as he shook hands with old friends, before singing his songs and enjoyed telling stories of a life well lived and one that has been full of lessons learned. The success he has had has required a lot of hard work, but it’s been grounded in a work ethic he inherited from his family. It’s led him to stages across North America and recently to Europe for the first time where he performed in Spain and France.

But there’s no place like home. Jason Blaine is still a “Boy with a Guitar” who hails from the Ottawa Valley and is on loan to his fans around the world. He knows that. Home is where his heart is.

(Posted by Jamie Bramburger, Manager of Community and Student Affairs)