Alberta-born country music star to take stage with Calgary Philharmonic

She is the winner of two Academy of Country Music awards, two JUNOs and over 15 Canadian Country Music Association Awards.

But this will be completely different.

Join Tenille Townes April 23 and 25 with the Calgary Philharmonic to hear her music in a way even she has not heard before, played with a full orchestra.

But a word of warning, there may be tears.

“I’m just — I’m going to be so emotional, I can’t even handle it, honestly,” she tells 660 NewsRadio.

Townes says while the background work of the show has been underway for months, she will only get one or two runs through the music with the orchestra before taking the stage in front of an audience.

The performances are split into two nights, a more intimate performance at the Bella Concert Hall on the 23^rd, and then a larger performance at the Jack Singer on April 25.

Townes says she is in awe of the talent that will be present in the room. 

“I think there’s going to be, like, 60 of us making noise at the same time, which is insane.  I’m, like, thinking about the cumulative hours of everyone’s music lessons.” And particularly the skill level of those around her, admitting she is really only proficient on the guitar: “OK — instrument-wise, I’m mostly a guitar girl.  I can maybe get by on some piano, but it would be very minimal.  I can do a little bit of bass or mandolin, but nothing fancy, and certainly no stringed instruments without frets.”

Adding more instruments to the mix will be quite the stretch from what she has been doing recently. Townes parted ways with record label Sony Nashville mid 2024 after seven years of working together. She said at the time that moving forward as an independent artist would allow her the freedom to write and produce her own music.

Her first independent album, “The Acrobat,” is set to drop on April 10.

Compared to her upcoming performances, it contains very few instruments. Townes calls it a stripped down acoustic collection of songs.

“Since parting ways with the label system I just sort of like felt really hungry to kind of tune out all the noise around me and just get back to the truth underneath,” Townes says. “And so this record is very much about vulnerability and honesty, and it kind of helped me find my way back to myself.”

When asked what parts of her catalogue she is most looking forward to hearing with an orchestra, the new material takes the lead because it is essentially just voice and guitar.

“It’ll be so interesting to hear the interpretation for the first time of, like, an entire orchestra,” she adds.

But, some of her classics make the list as well, like “Jersey on the Wall” and “The Most Beautiful Things,” both dealing with love, loss and nostalgia.

“With an entire orchestra is going to be very emotional and wild,” Townes says.

Looking to the future, post album drop, Townes says she has some exciting collaborations, tours and new music coming. And she hopes to play with a full orchestra again: “It’s definitely planted a bug in my heart.”

Tenille Townes plays with the Calgary Philharmonic April 23 and 25. Tickets at calgaryphil.com