St. Catharines country star ready to rip the roof off the Meridian Centre
Published March 17, 2022 at 3:56 pm
Country star and St. Catharines native Tim Hicks, rock band Loverboy and Toronto songstress POESY were all set to mark the 200-day countdown to the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games with a huge concert in the Meridian Centre on January 20.
The concert, billed “Rise with Glowing Hearts”, was the first big concert in support of upcoming Summer Games but something called COVID-19 had different ideas and shut the show down cold.
What to do in the cases of a date-specific concert like this? Apparently, just pick another date than can work.
So on April 27, the same three acts will be performing their “Rise with Glowing Hearts” concert, instead – now hitting the 100-day mark before the Canada Games officially open on August 6.
The games themselves aren’t immune to rescheduling as they were initially set to take place Summer 2021.
That said, we can assume that Hicks is still feeling the same level of enthusiasm that he was before the previously-scheduled January 20 show.
“I am over-the-moon excited and honoured to be headlining this show right in my hometown of St. Catharines, Ontario,” said the five-time Juno Award nominee last November.
“I can’t wait to hit the stage at the Meridian Centre and celebrate the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games. It’s going to be so much fun!”
We can also assume Doug Hamilton, Board Chair of the Niagara 2022 Host Society, is equally pumped about the April concert as he, too, was in November.
“We are thrilled to be bringing this exciting concert to the Niagara Region and to begin celebrating what will be a very special year for our community,” said Hamilton. “Embodying words from our national anthem, ‘Rise with Glowing Hearts’ encourages us all to come together in celebration as we continue to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and look ahead to next year’s 2022 Canada Summer Games.”
Ooops, not so fast there, St. Catharines
country music star Tim Hicks…
Toronto-based singer/songwriter POESY is even more connected to the 2022 Niagara Games than the headliner Hicks.
She created the games’ official musical anthem “Steel Heart” which she will perform on April 27, as well as the Games’ Opening Ceremony on August 6 at the Meridian Centre and the Closing Ceremonies at Queen Victoria Park in Niagara Falls on August 21.
POESY, aka Sarah Botelho, said when she was selected to create the games’ official song, “I am honoured to have not only created a song that will be the anthem to the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games, but also to be afforded the opportunity to perform it live at the Games’ Opening and Closing Ceremonies.”
She added, “Steel Heart is meant to serve as an inspiration to aspiring athletes, artists, and more to always persevere in the pursuit of their dreams. I’m excited to finally be sharing this song and its music video, which was also an absolute dream to make. Not only did I get to wear a full on princess gown and have fireworks on set — I got to meet some amazing young athletes from our country.”
She met those athletes, creating a video for the song filmed in various parts of Niagara, including Glenridge Quarry, Niagara Shores Park, and Charles Daley Park.
Loverboy is a familiar name to anyone familiar to the Canadian rock scene in the 1980s. Hits such as “Working for the Weekend”, “Turn Me Loose”, “Lovin’ Every Minute Of It” and “The Kid Is Hot Tonight” cemented their multi-Juno-Award-winning status as classic Canadian rockers.
POESY, left, wrote the Niagara 2022 Summer Games anthem “Steel Heart” and will join country star Tim Hicks and classic Canadian rockers Loverboy at the ‘Rise With Glowing Hearts’ concert, slated for April 27 at the Meridian Centre, set 100 days before the Games begin.