The Very Best of the Louisiana Hayride Show comes to Stettler this Sunday for a 7 p.m. performance at the Stettler Community Hall.
Gil Risling, one of the show’s performers and promoters, said this is the fifth time the Louisiana Hayride show has been in Stettler.
“This tour has all the very best songs from three different shows in one performance,” Risling said.
The show, in story and song, depicts the Louisiana Hayride — a live radio show broadcast over KWKH Radio in Shreveport, La., that ran successfully from 1948 to 1960.
It was instrumental in establishing the careers of such artists as Hank Williams, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash.
The list of artists who performed at the Hayride is impressive and also featured Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves, Roy Orbison and many others.
The cast, all from the interior of B.C., includes Risling, William Brookfield, Mike Melnichuk, Andrea Anderson as Patsy and Adam Fitzpatrick as a young Elvis.
Fitzpatrick won the amateur division at the Pacific Northwest Elvis Festival in 2008. Those who attended the Hayride show in Stettler this spring will recall Fitzpatrick was set to compete in the World Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist contest in Memphis this summer.
Risling said Fitzpatrick placed in the top 15 in the world competition. Of local interest, Fitzpatrick has relatives at Stettler.
The show is written, produced and narrated by Lori Risling. It is a nostalgic look back at classic music, performed live. The narration tells the story behind the songs.
Tickets for the Stettler show are available at Panda Flowers in downtown Stettler.