Organizers of the annual Hank Snow Tribute are calling this year’s event a rebuilding.
Aside from a mini tribute that was held in 2022 to mark the 30th anniversary of the show, the COVID 19 pandemic kept the event off the schedule for the past three years.
That was bad news for the Hank Snow Hometown Museum which relies on the proceeds of the Tribute to fund its year-round operations.
Museum administrator and chair of the Hank Snow Tribute Vina Moses says the Friends of Hank Snow Society are determined to get things back on track.
“COVID devastated us financially, it devastated us. Of course, you know, we were down, our feelings were down but we all kept saying we are going to make it,” said Moses. “So, this particular tribute is a rebuild. And it’s a rebuilding for all of the things that we have to do. Rebuilding with the musicians, rebuilding of a new type of tribute.”
Organizers are shaking up the event this year by expanding from one headlining act for the festival to four days of headliners. Included in the list are Ruth Manning and the Prospectors, the Nova Scotia Country Music Hall of Famers, Southern Breeze, the Rhinestone Romeos and Joyce Seamone.
Moses, who is also a long-time host and former general manager at QCCR, says keeping the legacy of Hank Snow alive is important. She says the Liverpool native opened the door to the Nashville Music scene for generations of Canadians to follow.
The former train station that houses the Hank Snow Hometown Museum was significant to Snow during a rough childhood.
“Well, it’s very interesting that Hank Snow called this particular train station his safe place when he was a child. He was an abused child and whenever he thought he was going to be abused, he came in here and laid down and slept here,” said Moses. “So, when they called him and told him they were going to have the train station as a museum he was so excited.”
Moses says roughly 3,000 people from around the world, including some prominent Canadian country musicians make the pilgrimage to the museum each year. She is excited to see the RVs rolling in across from the museum to set up base camp for the four-day tribute.
Tickets for the event being held at Queens Place are still available at Ticketpro.ca. More information on the Hank Snow Tribute can be found on the museum website and Facebook page.
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