Tommy Hunter is called Canada’s country gentleman for a reason.
In Moose Jaw Saturday evening for a concert on his month-long tour throughout Canada, Hunter won a boisterous round of applause when he commented on the clean-cut look of his band and other members of his touring entourage.
There wasn’t a pair of sneakers, a dirty T-shirt or a pair of torn blue jeans to be seen on the stage and that was Hunter’s message of respect to his audience.
He said performers who don’t dress decently for their concerts show a lack of respect for their fans — and similarly, performers who use smutty language and tell dirty jokes are adding to this disrespect.
Hunter’s three-hour show included what he called “corny jokes” that made the audience laugh without the smut, and his almost non-stop music and patter included nary a guttery lyric.
His devotion to these values is one of the reasons he is still drawing capacity audiences wherever he performs, regardless of how many times he’s visited over the 60 years of his career.
Hunter knows his crowds, knows what they will accept and what they expect from him, and he’s built a loyal following because he doesn’t deviate from this proven path.
His values are rooted in respect and hard work, and he’s been rewarded for those values by the music industry, his country, and unwavering loyalty of fans who cross over several generations.
