Instant celebration

Instant Rivalry plays with their backing band at the Regent Theatre during their CD release concert.

Full house at the Regent for CD release

A packed house at the Regent Theatre gave an enthusiastic and very loud County welcome as Instant Rivalry took to the stage last Thursday night, accompanied by a seven-piece backing band, to launch their long-awaited CD, Whiskey and Lead. “When I walked on stage I was so proud of our home town, and very excited. My adrenaline was pumping,” said Megan Hutton, the sister half of the duo that makes up Instant Rivalry. “I was so excited that I walked up to the mike so intensely that I hit it and split my lip open,” added brother Caleb Hutton. “I just saw everybody, and everyone was screaming and it was so amazing and I was right into it. It was super-exciting. I wasn’t nervous at all, it was just crazier than I was expecting.”

With the advance release of the single Ho Down on County Radio a month earlier, most in the audience had an inkling of the new Instant Rivalry sound, and from the opening note the Regent auditorium was filled with the dynamic and layered music that Megan and Caleb worked so hard to achieve. The songs they played would have been familiar to anyone who had followed the career of Instant Rivalry over the past few years, but backed by Benni Vander on piano, Brian Michael Martin on pedal steel, Shaun Doyle on drums, Logan Dillon on bass, Robin Evans on fiddle and mandolin, Jordan Thomas on guitar and Mark Despault on harmonica, the sound took on a new expansive dimension. Their fans, both old and new, responded enthusiastically to the new sound. “Oh, this is great,” said Carol Herrington.

“I’m a huge country fan, and I’ve heard Instant Rivalry, but this is the first of their concerts I’ve been to and they are fantastic. I’ve seen so many huge country acts, and they are right up there with the top of them.” This was also the first time that Nancy McAlpine had seen Instant Rivalry in concert. “I’m delighted, they are super,” she said. “This is the first time I’ve been to the Regent, and I love the intimacy of it. It’s like a kitchen party, or an old-time house party.” The audience got to take home more than the memory of a great performance, as everyone received a copy of the CD as part of their ticket.

Megan Hutton performs on the Regent stage

Bill Mill has seen Instant Rivalry play many times over the past five or so years, and he is amazed to see their progression. “It’s been fabulous to watch them over the last five years as they’ve developed,” he said. “I’ve seen them play in Zwick’s Park, opening for other bands, I’ve seen them play in front of just a few people at a place in Bloomfield, and to see the packed house tonight and to see them with a seven-piece band, it’s incredible how much things have changed. Seeing them struggling in the beginning, and all that they went through going down to Nashville, it’s wonderful to see how it’s finally come to fruition.” The friendly hometown crowd showed their appreciation by giving two standing ovations, and Caleb’s cheering section was in full voice, calling out his name many times during the performance— much to the chagrin of sibling Megan, who playfully wondered aloud what was happening to her fans. She had nothing to worry about, getting an approving “You go, girl!” when she turned up the heat in the second half.

For Megan and Caleb, the concert was a satisfying culmination of a years-long struggle to make and record the kind of music they wanted to. “I am humbled by the reaction we got from the crowd. I can’t wait for our next follow-up shows coming in the area, ” said Megan. “Caleb and I will be busy radio-tracking and touring, so tonight was a beautiful little cherry on top of the sundae. Tonight was everything I could ever have dreamed of, and then some. It was great.” Currently, they are on regular radio play in 30 stations across Canada and the US, and have recently hit the European airwaves as well. This is a remarkable achievement for independent musicians working under their own label, Back 40 Productions, and producing their own CDs. “It gives us the opportunity to create real music in a digital age, where things are four chords in the same format repeated over and over again,” said Megan. “Caleb and I love music with dimension and dynamics and we’re looking forward to years and years to come of not only creating our own music, but music for other people as well.”

While the show at the Regent was completely sold out, the was one apparently empty seat front row centre. It was a seat reserved for Megan and Caleb’s grandmother, who died before she was able to see them achieve the success they worked so hard for. “I don’t want to cry, but I wish that my grandmother was here to see this,” said Caleb. During the evening, the duo played one song that they wrote that was inspired by their grandmother’s life. With tears streaming down her face, Megan choked up partway through Little Old Farmhouse. “It was my grandmother’s dream to perform country music professionally, and she wasn’t allowed that,” said Megan. “She had a family and built an entire life on a farm, and little did she know that 60 years later she would have two grandkids who were able to do that, so I really wish she were here tonight.”