Country trio has its eyes on the prize

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This article was published 27/02/2020 (2353 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Over the course of a six-year career, Winnipeg country trio Petric has moved its way up from the stages of the Hi Neighbour Festival in Transcona, to playing bars all over the city, to logging a few performances at Dauphin’s Countryfest.

On Saturday, Feb. 29, Petric takes one more big step up the performance ladder — headlining a show at the Burton Cummings Theatre.

“This is going to be a fantastic night for us as a group and I think our whole support group, our family, friends and fans who have been following the band for years, this is going to be a big night for everybody,” says guitarist Jason Petric, 30, who started the band with his brother, singer Tom Petric, in 2014.

At that time, the then-duo caught the eye of Canadian country singer and Countryfest regular Dallas Smith, who signed Petric to his newly minted label and artist development firm, SteelHead Music.

Petric was the first act Smith signed, and while it ultimately didn’t work out, Jason says he and his brother learned a lot during that time and “experienced some amazing opportunities” under Smith’s guidance.

More recently, the Petric brothers added longtime guitarist Jordan Day as an official member. Day had taken a step back from the group to focus on his personal life and new marriage; it was only then that the brothers realized how much a part of the group he truly was.

“It’s been absolutely amazing having him be more involved musically, but also with the team and just the brotherhood,” Jason says. “It has always been there, it’s just better now.”

Petric has a full album recorded and in the bank, though Jason says the band is still deciding the best path to take in terms of its release. Petric’s newest singles have racked up more than a million streams and one track, Single Problem, found a spot in the Top 20 on Canadian country radio.

“This past year, it kind of really restarted for us when we brought in Jordan late in 2018; we refocused, we acquired a new manager, new producer, have written probably 100 songs and worked on about 100 other songs and we’ve been working really hard to put this project together,” says Jason.

“We’ve been fortunate to see some results from it.”

In addition to Petric as the headliner, this weekend’s concert also features three other Manitoban acts — country singers Kendra Kay and Aaron Starr, as well as singer-songwriter Allanah Jeffreys, who recently reached the semifinals in a competition to fill an opening slot at the annual We Can Survive concert in Los Angeles at the Hollywood Bowl, which was headlined by pop superstar Taylor Swift.

“Petric has always tried to provide a platform for other artists in our area to get up and play, and again we’re doing that,” Jason says. “It’s important to me that these other artists get a chance to see their name up there and sing some songs.”

erin.lebar@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @NireRabel