Canadian rockers The Trews, now from Toronto but originally from Antigonish, Nova Scotia, consisting of lead vocalist Colin MacDonald, guitarist John-Angus MacDonald, bassist Jack Syperek, and drummer Sean Dalton, will headline the Nickel Days dance at C.A. Nesbitt Arena June 21. The Trews will be on stage at 11:30 pm.
This year marks the 45th edition of Nickel Days, which dates back to 1970. Nickel Days and the National King Miner Contest were first held in July 1970, the year Thompson was elevated from town to city status by the province.
The Trews started their Canadian rock n' roll journey in 1997 named One I'd Trouser, a line taken from a song in Monty Pythons' The Meaning of Life. They got together to form their band while in high school in Antigonish. They later changed their name to Trouser and eventually to The Trews.
The Trews have shared the stage with the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Guns N' Roses and KISS, and have multiple Juno Award and East Coast Music Award (ECMA) nominations to their name. In 2005, they won the ECMA Group of the Year Award. Their song "Hold Me in Your Arms" was named "Best Hard Rock" song at the U.S. 8th Annual Independent Music Awards. You can listen to it here on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA2lHoJzhwM
Last year, Nickel Days Corporation, the non-profit corporation charged with running Nickel Days, brought in 60-year-old Toronto classic rock deejay Kim Mitchell, at a cost of $23,100, as its headliner for the main Saturday night dance. Mitchell was the lead singer and guitarist for the band Max Webster from 1976 to 1981 before going on to lead a solo career. Nickel Days Corporation has been producing the annual Nickel Days event for nearly 40 years. The Nickel Days Corporation board of directors is comprised of chairperson Wendell Fitzpatrick, treasurer Mike Krentz, secretary Tamy Burton and board members Lona Barnowich, Dallas Bray, Graham Brown, Darwin Graham, Jim Howitt, Conrad Hykway, Serena Kraychuck, Bill Loke, John Maskerine, Joe Roque and Torrence Sukhbir.
Chilliwack, fronted by guitarist and vocalist Bill Henderson, were the headliners for the Nickel Days Dance in 2012. You can relive some of their Thompson Nickel Days dance performance by clicking on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AyNSeBavig
Honeymoon Suite headlined in 2010; Doc Walker was the main act in 2009; Glass Tiger did the honours in 2008, preceded by Trooper in 2007.
