The Killarney Community Events Committee (KCEC) is in its third year of bringing top country bands to their outdoor stage as a kickoff to summer!

Saturday's line-up starts with Sentinel at 2 PM followed by Tanglebox, Hicktown and Mike Sacharko!  That brings us to 6:30 pm with Justin Labrash as the opening act for Brett Kissel who steps up to the mic at 9:30 pm.

As a St. Paul, Alberta, boy, Brett Kissel has risen to stardom in the Canadian country music scene in a short time since his first single release in 2012.  He's got 3x Platinum, 2x Gold-certified albums, 10x Gold singles and 16x Top-10 radio hits under his belt.  He is a CCMA and JUNO awards winner to boot!

The first year we had the Hunter Brothers, and last year we had the REKLAWS, and this year we have Brett Kissel coming to town," says KCEC Chair Ryan Heinrichs. "This is very exciting for us!"

"Brett Kissel is out of western Canada and was nominated for a lot of CCMA awards this year, a very, very successful act! He's just a down to earth grassroots kind of guy!  He's a country boy, and likes his Massey Ferguson tractors, unfortunately.  I'm a John Deere kind of guy myself," adds Heinrichs with a laugh.

"The interesting thing with a lot of our acts that we're getting is that they love this rural scene! They love playing at these concerts because the energy that's created from the crowd is just unbelievable!  When you're there at the concert and you're in the concert, it grows on you, but I know helping out backstage and doing the production side of things it's just such an adrenaline rush.  It just gives a whole new level of appreciation for what our community brings for fans and audiences, and just that volunteer group.  They're so important to us for what they do at every show we put on."

The KCEC partners with over a dozen local user groups like the minor sports groups, the local curling club, the dragon boat team, and the local daycare who volunteer their time in a variety of different ways as a fundraiser for their organizations.

"And then there are other people who aren't even tied to a user group within our community and just show up and help clean up the grounds and help set the stage up, things like that," he adds. "It's so great to see that kind of support in our community."

Heinrichs says the vision for the KCEC was to bring folks to Killarney to share incredible entertainment, but also to be a type of fundraising venue for local organizations like the Kinsmen and the Killarney Ag Society.  It was the perfect partnership between the committee, the user groups and great support from their more than 40 businesses and sponsors.

"And the fans!" he adds. "We couldn't do this without the fans who come to the outdoor concert each year, and those who join us for the first time!"

Please listen to more with Ryan Heinrichs below!

For regular updates on the upcoming concert on July 6th, please visit their Facebook Page HERE!

Tickets are available at EVENTBRITE, or at the Lewis & Jones office and the Shamrock Centre in Killarney, as well as at the gate on Saturday, July 6th at the Killarney Ag Grounds.