Top spot for entertainment

If you're looking for entertainment this week, Annapolis County is the place to be. In fact for some, Saturday, Aug.16 will mean decision time as four nationally famous acts are coming to various venues.

-- Andrew White, renowned and internationally popular in guitar and folk circles, is stepping onto the stage at Evergreen Theatre in East Margaretsville. His show is always an immediate hit with new fans and he won't disappoint Saturday.

-- J.P. Cormier is performing at King's Theatre in Annapolis Royal, and if you've seen the 'Lord of the Strings' perform once, you'll want to see him again. The Cape Bretoner has performed everywhere -- on his own and with some of the most accomplished bands and musicians in the world.

-- Lennie Gallant will tune up for a concert at Upper Clements Park and the Prince Edward Island singer/songwriter draws a big crowd anywhere he goes. His ballads and working-man songs have inspired a generation of fans and fellow musicians.

-- Deric Ruttan, the 2007 CCMA award winner will walk his cowboy boots onto the Riverside Concert Stage at the Annapolis Valley Exhibition in Lawrencetown. He's been compared to Waylon, and even Steve Earle.

And those four top-notch acts don't include Witchitaw tonight and Raylene Rankin Friday night at the Ex. Who could ask for more?

What to do? What to do?

There's no easy choices, and that's a good thing. It's a great problem for local music lovers to suffer. Drawing top names to the area suggests that Annapolis County venues are popular and the word is spreading. In fact, King's Theatre and Evergreen Theatre regularly pull in big names and music lovers from as far away as Halifax, Truro, and even New Glasgow hit the road for the shows in the Valley.

Sometimes, however, local residents are slow to support their own entertainment venues. Stacey Earle, the amazingly talented and lovable sister of rocker Steve Earle, performed recently at King's Theatre and the place was only two-thirds full. It was pretty much a chance of a lifetime for music lovers and they missed that chance.

All four above-mentioned venues have spent years building up reputations for top entertainment acts, quite often hiring performers who have later gone on to national or international fame. That shows insight. The Cottars were unknown when they first performed at Upper Clements Park years ago. David Myles had just become internationally known when he played at Evergreen. Charlie A'Court was just on the rise when he packed King's. And the Riverside Concert Stage has managed to attract top acts on the rise.

Our theatre managers know there stuff, and when Evergreen's David O'Leary says Andrew White is worth seeing, we should have some faith in his judgment. Or when the exhibition's entertainment committee is excited about Witchitaw, we should believe them and support the cause -- and spend an evening being entertained.