Leahy is a Canadian folk music group. The eight band members, all from the Leahy family of 11 siblings, are from Lakefield, Ontario and have been touring Canada and internationally since the early 1980s, when they were known as The Leahy Family . In 1985, they were the subject of a short film entitled Leahy: Music Most of All which received an Academy Award in the category of "Best Foreign Student Film." The members of Leahy take significant pride in their Irish roots and Canadian upbringing.
31-591: The line-up of the group varies depending upon the availability of its members, who are present or absent due to marriage, childrearing and other obligations. During the 1980s and early 1990s, the band recorded a number of privately released LPs and cassettes (most of which used the same title, The Leahy Family ) which were sold at their concerts and they were frequent guests at the Big Valley Jamboree concerts in Saskatchewan and Alberta . In 1997,
62-473: A country music festival, to be held during the 1993 August long weekend. On August 1, 2009, a large storm with winds from 60 to 100 kilometres per hour (37 to 62 mph) caused the collapse of the main stage, killing one person and injuring at least fifteen others, four critically. Producers of the Jamboree estimated that seventy-five people were treated for injuries. The storm hit while Billy Currington
93-571: A duet partner on Shania Twain 's single " Party for Two ", and his own non-album single "Tangled Up", for a total of 20 top 40 hits. Setting a new record in August 2017 with his number-one single " Do I Make You Wanna ", Currington is the only country music artist in US Billboard Country Airplay chart history to have a song in the number one spot gain an audience of nearly 9,500,000 over another country music artist's song in
124-536: A lack of services and amenities, so the following spring, promoters searched for a new venue. At the same time, organizers of the Camrose Regional Exhibition (CRE) were looking to revive the annual summer fair and were approached by promoters about taking over the annual fair weekend. Ultimately, the CRE board of directors voted to cancel the fair in favour of hosting Big Valley Jamboree, rebranded as
155-462: A third Juno Award, for Best Country Group or Duo . Also in 1998, Leahy were added as the opening act for Canadian country singer Shania Twain 's 1998 Come on Over Tour and were featured in two television specials from the tour, Live and The Specials , performing with Twain on the song " Don't Be Stupid (You Know I Love You) ". The group's members are both instrumentalists and dancers, with several members skilled in fiddle-playing (most notably
186-406: Is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Mercury Records Nashville in 2003, he has released seven studio albums for the label: his self-titled debut (2003), Doin' Somethin' Right (2005), Little Bit of Everything (2008), Enjoy Yourself (2010), We Are Tonight (2013), Summer Forever (2015), and Intuition (2021). These six albums have produced 18 singles on
217-657: Is an annual country music festival held in Camrose , Alberta, Canada. Established in 1992, the Jamboree is held during the Civic Holiday in August and features country singers from North America . Performers at BVJ have included Tim McGraw , Gary Allan , Kevin Costner , and Josh Turner in 2009 and Brad Paisley , Lady Antebellum , and Reba McEntire in 2015. The event draws thousands of campers and partygoers annually, with daily averages of 25,000 people attending
248-577: The Hot Country Songs chart. Also, it allowed Currington to become a major country performer in Nashville. The second single from the album, " I Got a Feelin' ", became the singer's first Top 5 on the US country charts, with a peak at No.5. He scored a third consecutive top 10 hit with Shania Twain in late 2004 with the song " Party for Two ". The song was from Twain's Greatest Hits album and
279-520: The Camrose area earlier; however, the organizers were not advised until just before the storm hit and thus did not alert concertgoers. The final day of the festival was cancelled. This article related to a Canadian festival is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This music festival-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Billy Currington William Matthew Currington (born November 19, 1973)
310-617: The Country Airplay chart in August 2017 and stayed there for three consecutive weeks, making it Currington's third number-one single from this album. "Wake Me Up", the album's fifth and final single, was released in September 2017. "Bring It On Over" was released to country radio on September 24, 2018. It debuted and peaked at No.29 on the Billboard Country Airplay charts. "Details" was released in 2019 and
341-572: The Global South Relief organization which delivers supplies to those in need in Central American countries. Currington's self-titled debut album was released in September 2003; the album's first single was " Walk a Little Straighter ". This song is about his relationship with his alcoholic stepfather, including a chorus that Currington wrote when he was just 12 years old. "Walk a Little Straighter" went to No.8 that year on
SECTION 10
#1732776405922372-413: The U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, including 11 number one hits: " Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right ", " Good Directions ", " People Are Crazy ", " That's How Country Boys Roll ", " Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer ", " Let Me Down Easy ", " Hey Girl ", " We Are Tonight ", " Don't It ", " It Don't Hurt Like It Used To ", and " Do I Make You Wanna ". Currington has also charted as
403-826: The album to promote it, nor did it include either of his previous standalone singles. Intuition serves as a musical departure from his previous work as it was not marketed as a country album and instead drew inspirations from "synth pop, Eighties R&B, and tropical house". On April 24, 2013, the Chatham County, Georgia , Grand Jury indicted Currington on felony criminal charges of "abuse of an elder person by inflicting mental anguish" and "making terroristic threats". Both criminal charges stemmed from an incident involving boat captain Charles Harvey Ferrelle on April 15, 2013. The indictment alleged that Currington had made terrorist threats to Ferrelle. Currington
434-717: The audition, after high school he moved to Nashville to pursue his career in country music. His first stint did not last too long, and he later sang for a bar named Cavalier Country Club in Georgia . In Nashville, Currington also worked for a concrete company, and as a personal trainer . One of the clients he worked with as a personal trainer led Currington to recording demo tapes, as well as writing songs. He eventually had cuts by George Strait , Tracy Byrd , and Marty Raybon . After almost being offered to join RCA Records , he signed to Mercury Records in 2003. Currington founded
465-455: The band resumed recording with their "relaunch" album, Leahy which also introduced the group's new branding. Leahy was an instrumental album, but the band also includes vocal performances in their live performances and subsequent albums have included both vocals and instrumentals. Despite their established history, they were awarded two Juno awards in 1998 , for Best New Group and Best Instrumental Artist . The following year, Leahy took
496-582: The band's most famous member, Donnell). The female members of the band often perform step-dancing -style routines and do most of the singing. All members of the band are siblings. Each member has a main role to play in the band; although most play more than one instrument and all step dance. Donnell Leahy is married to Cape Breton fiddler Natalie MacMaster and Frank is married to champion step dancer Chanda Gibson. In 2008, Donnell Leahy and Natalie MacMaster were awarded honorary doctorate degrees by Trent University. These three sisters are not currently active in
527-461: The band's touring schedule. In addition, the group released several vinyl LPs and cassettes in the 1980s as The Leahy Family. These self-titled releases were privately pressed and usually sold at their concerts, although Christmas with the Leahy Family was carried by retailers such as A&B Sound . Big Valley Jamboree The Big Valley Jamboree , commonly referred to as "BVJ",
558-561: The four-day event. The Big Valley Jamboree adds up to C$ 10 million to the Camrose economy, and organizers have spent millions of dollars upgrading and maintaining the Camrose Exhibition Grounds for the annual festival. The Canadian Country Music Association has voted the Big Valley Jamboree as the country music event of the year on four occasions: 2001, 2004, 2006, and 2010. Big Valley Jamboree
589-623: The number two spot. Billy Currington was born in Savannah, Georgia , raised in Rincon, Georgia , and currently lives in Savannah, Georgia . He has four sisters (Lexie, Ann, Kim, and Kellie) and two brothers (Charles and Jason). When he was a junior in Effingham County High School ( Springfield, Georgia ), Currington auditioned for a spot at Opryland , the renowned country music theme park located in Nashville. Failing
620-486: The release of his third studio album was delayed. He was absent from the charts for nearly a year before the release of his next single, " Don't ", in mid-2008. That song was the first single from his third studio album, which was entitled Little Bit of Everything . The album was released on October 14. Currington co-wrote five of the songs on it. "Don't" peaked at No.2 on the country charts in early 2009. " People Are Crazy ", co-written by Bobby Braddock and Troy Jones,
651-461: The stage on which he was performing collapsed during a massive wind storm that also injured the singer's bass guitarist and killed a spectator. In May 2010, Currington released his tenth single overall, " Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer ", which hit No.1 in September. Also written by Troy Jones, it was the first single from his fourth studio album Enjoy Yourself , which was released on September 21, 2010. The album's second single " Let Me Down Easy "
SECTION 20
#1732776405922682-607: Was also a minor top 40 hit on the same chart. The Stay Up 'Til the Sun Tour began on October 4, 2019, in Arizona and included nine concerts in total. He ended the tour in Florida. Currington's seventh studio album, Intuition , was released on August 6, 2021. Currington co-wrote the album with producer Rob Persaud . It was a surprise release, in that it was not announced with advance warning and no new singles were released prior to
713-532: Was later released from a Georgia jail after posting $ 27,700 bond. Had he been convicted, Currington would have faced a prison term of 1 to 5 years. Also, on April 26, 2013, as a result of negative press surrounding the indictment incident, the Charlotte Motor Speedway replaced Currington as a performer for its All Star pre-race entertainment. He entered a "not guilty" plea in August 2013. On September 25, 2013, Currington pleaded no contest to
744-539: Was launched in 1992 by the owners/operators of the Big Valley Jamboree held in Craven, Saskatchewan (now known as Country Thunder Saskatchewan ), who wanted to host a second festival in Alberta; Big Valley, Alberta was chosen as the venue, with the name and geography factoring into the decision. In September 1992, a rock concert headlined by Bryan Adams was held; however, the festival was hampered by an early snowfall and
775-404: Was on stage. Currington and his bass guitarist were injured. Actor and musician Kevin Costner was scheduled to play later and became trapped under the stage when it collapsed. Organizers had just postponed the concert and were in the process of clearing spectators from the concert area, when a storm front hit, causing the collapse. Environment Canada had issued a severe thunderstorm warning for
806-511: Was released as the second single from the album in March 2009 and became his third number one hit in July 2009. The third single, " That's How Country Boys Roll ", became his fourth number one hit in March 2010. The song was the first that Currington shared writing credit on to reach number one. On August 1, 2009, Currington suffered a concussion at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alberta after
837-536: Was released in March 2013. It peaked at number one on the Country Airplay chart in October of that year. The album's second single, the title track , was released on November 18, 2013. It also peaked at No.1 on the Country Airplay chart, this time in August 2014. Currington released a new single, the first from his sixth studio album, in late October 2014, titled " Don't It ". The album, Summer Forever ,
868-686: Was released in two formats: a pop version with Mark McGrath as Twain's duet partner, and the country version, which featured Currington. In 2005, Currington released his second studio album Doin' Somethin' Right , which peaked at No.2 on the Top Country Albums chart and at No.11 on the Billboard 200 . This album produced his first number one hit with " Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right ", followed by " Why, Why, Why " at No.13 and another number one hit with " Good Directions ". Co-written by Capitol Records artist Luke Bryan , "Good Directions"
899-453: Was released on June 2, 2015. The album's second single, " Drinkin' Town with a Football Problem ", was released on June 8, 2015. " It Don't Hurt Like It Used To " was released on February 8, 2016, as the album's third single. It reached number one on Country Airplay in October 2016, remaining in that spot for two consecutive weeks. The album's fourth single, " Do I Make You Wanna ", was released on November 21, 2016. The song reached number one on
930-418: Was released on October 4, 2010, and reached No.1 in 2011. The third single " Love Done Gone ", released to country radio on April 18, 2011, and reached No.11 later that year. Its fourth single " Like My Dog " released to country radio on October 10, 2011, and peaked at No.24 in 2012. Currington's fifth studio album, We Are Tonight , was released on September 17, 2013. The album's first single, " Hey Girl ",
961-607: Was the No.2 country song of 2007 according to the Billboard Year-End charts. Doin' Somethin' Right was certified platinum by the RIAA . The album also featured " Lucille ", a song that Currington covered from original artist Kenny Rogers . On July 19, 2007, Currington announced that he would cancel the rest of his tour dates for the year because of laryngitis . His 2007 single, "Tangled Up", peaked at No.30 in late 2007, and