Aaron Pritchett is no stranger to the Suntan City.
The Canadian country music singer said he lived in Kelowna for about six years, and has had friends all around the Okanagan. In fact, playing this yearѻýs Penticton Peach Festival wonѻýt even be a first for him ѻý he played the 2012 festival as well.
ѻýMy agent and manager lives up in Penticton, as well, so weѻýre there a fair amount, but I think the last time we were there was last year when we played at The Mule,ѻý he said, adding that he shot a music video for Out of the Blue in the area as well.
ѻýWe had a really great night that night at The Mule, so hopefully we have an even better night at the Peachfest.ѻý
Having played both Pentictonѻýs night scene and the free festival, Pritchett said he likes to play both kinds of show ѻý the smaller club and the larger, outdoor festival ѻý but said Peachfest was ѻýkind of my show.ѻý
ѻýI remember the last time we played there, we had thousands and thousands of people, it was like a massive crowd, and just crazy,ѻý he said.
ѻýThatѻýs kind of my show, like we try to start off with a bang and play a lot of the hits, or all the hits, really, but try and end it off with an even bigger bang, and hopefully people want to keep coming back for more.ѻý
That said, he felt he could keep The Mule, a much smaller venue, bumping, adding that during the summer he likes to see a diverse crowd from across B.C. and as far as Alberta in attendance.
But the 2017 nominee for CCMA male artist of the year said he likes to visit the Okanagan every opportunity he gets ѻý so much so that he took an unreleased Luke Bryan song, Suntan City, and localized it to B.C., particularly Penticton and Kelowna.
ѻýMy manager said we should record this song, and I did a little Canadian version of it, and itѻýs become sort of one of my goto songs for people to sing along to,ѻý he said. ѻýIt fits Penticton, thatѻýs for sure.ѻý
Pritchett said he plans to arrive in Penticton a day early and spend some time with his manager and his family and friends.
ѻýWe might ride the channel. Pretty sure weѻýre going to take a floaty down the channel,ѻý he said. ѻýThatѻýs kind of what we try to do every summer if we can, if weѻýre around. Itѻýs a guaranteed thing, youѻýve got to do it.ѻý
As it is, Pritchett said heѻýs on his first extended summer vacation in over 15 years, but after Peachfest heѻýll be doing some live shows across the country, with a live tour likely to follow early in the New Year.
ѻýIf we do (the tour), then Pentictonѻýs definitely on our list of places to see if we can stop in at again,ѻý he said. ѻýHopefully itѻýs not too soon since Peachfest by then.ѻý
While he said heѻýll be bringing his usual hits to Peachfest, he also intends to bring some of his newer songs.
The latest single, When a Mommaѻýs Boy Meets a Daddyѻýs Girl, has played well, making the top five in the country music charts, but come Peachfest, heѻýll have another single fresh off the press.
VW Bus will be coming out on his birthday, Aug. 2, making it only nine days old when he plays Peachfest on Aug. 11.
ѻýYou donѻýt expect radio to give you traction right away, but weѻýre hoping we have some success with this single as well,ѻý he said.
ѻýEvery single, so far, off this album has gone top 10, so weѻýre really excited to get this one out and see how it does, as well.ѻý