..and what a wonderful April this shall be.

First and foremost a big Thank You to SaskMusic for the opportunity to perform at the 2012 Juno Weekend. On Saturday, March 31st I will be performing alongside Jordan Cook, The Deep Dark Woods, and Donny Parenteau at the Government Conference Centre in Ottawa, ON for the 2013 Junos Host Committee Party. Our showcase will begin at 11 pm. Congrats to Donny and The Woods for their Juno Nominations.

Upon returning to Saskatchewan, I will also be performing at the 2012 Mayor’s Arts and Business Awards In Regina on April 19th as a nominee for the Emerging Artist Award – the competition is stiff so fingers crossed my friends. That weekend will also host the the 2012 Saskatchewan Country Music Awards in Prince Albert where we are nominated for Roots Artist, Keys Player, and Manager of the Year. Keys playin’ manager of roots music….now that would be a cool nod.

Appreciation all around.

Blaker.

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Thank you to Telemiracle for giving me the opportunity to be a part of something truly important and special to our Saskatchewan identity this past weekend. As a child, I remember the sleepovers had in attempts to take in the all night telethon and hopes that one day I could do my part and perform on the stage. An astounding 5.9 million dollars ($5,906,229) was raised through the event in a province recently reaching a population of 1 million (for the second time.) Regardless of where my travels take me and the distance I end up, this is another reason to my boasting of the place I call home. Another one in the books for Saskatchewan

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Tonight we embark on the final show of a 2 month run, performing under the pseudonym “Grassroots & Cowboy Boots.” Ending 2011 and beginning 2012, myself, along with Chris Henderson and Jess Moskaluke performed across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba a collective of 54 shows. From community halls to theatres, nightclubs to highschools, private house concerts & a wedding we racked up four-thousand kilometers and took out a transmission to play for a collective of thousands. The time spent in such closed confinement traveling the highway forced all of us to pick up on each other’s personality traits and steal performance quirks. Darkness Radio kept us awake through the all-nighters from Winnipeg, MB to Langenburg, SK (home of Kelly Buchberger – Go Oil!!) An enormous thank you to all forms of media for the promotional efforts put in and stories ran, truly making or breaking attendance in areas we’ve never ventured. Our trusty tour manager, Travis Harris kept us from arriving late to interviews, drove through the nights while we slept, sold merchandise, set up equipment, guitar-teched, sound-teched, and arcitected routes via backroads to save on fuel costs and time – the smoothness solely is credited to him. There’s something special to be said about the power in numbers – there’s also something to be said about leaving on a high-note. [...]

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Happy belated January 1 dear friends.

As one does with a new year at hand, planning and execution has begun. So much to be announced and excited about, but quickly in retrospect; 2011 fared well.

The new album began it’s recording process under the production and direction of John Ellis in Ashcroft, BC. Above his abilities to share my vision and his repetoire in Canadiana music, John plays the pedal steel…excuse me, slays the pedal steel. Getting him to record your album is akin to getting Hugh Hefner to throw your party. The new album will be titled “Coyote.”

Recording ended as the diesel was warming up for touring; a 22 performance run with songwriters Chris Henderson and Jess Moskaluke throughout Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba hitting small town theatres and big city clubs. We fought on Twitter and loved onstage, enough to make the three of us want to do it again…we’ll get to that. The tour proved very successful and ended with the three of us being a part of the New Years Eve performance and Casino Regina.

The Blake Berglund Team (Myself & @TravEHarris) are currently developing performance packages for 2012 including “The BBBQ” where I BBQ organically self-raised beef and perform organically self-written songs with a side of home grown garden potato and harmonies, respectively. Perfect for your backyard summer evening. Also the Love Package which includes a self cooked pasta supper for two, wine, and a private background performance…making V-day, anyday.

In closing, it’s 2012, the mythical year of destruction. Personally, I believe it’s hype and projected fear…but before I believed it, I wrote a song about it – “Harvest Stars”

Peace around,

Blaker.

Harvest Stars by Blake Berglund [...]

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Thanks to Nicole and Crystal for bringing a song I recently wrote to life. It sounds great Ladies, I’m quite excited to hear this diddy on Vinyl…or casette, CD, digital…whatever the kids are releasing music on these days

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I graciously accepted the request to perform at CBC’s 75th Anniversary Open House in Regina, SK on Saturday, October 1. I will be playing an acoustic set beginning at 1 pm following the likes of my friends, Jeffery Straker and Jack Semple. Please come out and support an institution that has given opportunities like this to artists across the country for a very celebrated 75 years.
2440 Broad St. Regina, SK.

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Regardless of dedication held towards the team that developed an unparalleled powerhouse throughout the 80′s and an admitted lament upon the southern move of the franchise in which the family farm resides closest to, as a youngster I built a romance towards the white and blue. Never would I sport the vintage crest and, in fact, made habit of offering up Andreychuk, Gilmour, and Clark as a first choice in any card trade but the house they called home always aroused a sense of excitement knowing one day I’d be old enough to stand outside the famed grounds and see what all the fuss was about. Maybe it had nothing to do with the historic team and more that fact that it was one of the only Canadian venues Elvis had ever played (’57.) But now, across the street from the view of a ninth floor Carlton St condo reads “future home of Loblaws” – a 70,000 square-foot supermarket amid the “new” Gardens. What once fed fantasies now feeds.
There really is no merit in my sense of disappointment. I really had no connection other than the fact of what I hoped to see – possibly pleasing a childhood anticipation.

“All those things that don’t change, Come what may.
but our good times are all gone,
And I’m bound for moving on. ”

Surely it was something more dramatic that evoked those “Four Strong Winds” lyrics than a corporate resurgence of an old building but who’s to say what makes anybody think of home. Maybe Ian was sitting on the balcony of a ninth story apartment on Carlton after leaving B.C., staring at his saddle in the corner of his new urban setting, and longed for that same comfort zone. He probably cracked a beer and grabbed his guitar. In an emulated attempt, I put on a pot of boiling water to re-curve my hat damaged in the flight out east and shaped it as taught. Threw it on and polished off a bottle of red wine picking his songs until 3 am. I think I’ll go out to Alberta, weather’s good there in the fall.

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A shy tardy on this release but regardless, in regards to the previous post – much appreciation to my voting fans and givers of effort. We ended up in the top three of the Symphony Under The Sky performance to take place in Wascana Park, Regina, SK on Sunday August 21 at a time slot of 1:20 pm. In all professionalism, there will be overload of sexiness attached to the line-up – be it in Stephen Maguire’s soul filled sound or just Belle Plaine in general. My honour to be performing with such a talented line-up. Oh, and it’s free.

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We have been chosen as a finalist for Symphony Regina’s “Symphony Under The Sky” along-side 10 other Saskatchewan Artists!
The Regina Symphony Orchestra has opened up three available slots for the performance of the winning artists to have the chance to play infront of thousands during their “Symphony Under The Sky” in Wascana Park, Regina, SK on August 21st.
After a preliminary judging round the competition has been opened to the public in an online voting fashion where “plays” on the Symphony’s Band Page on Facebook count as votes – so, as the drill goes – please click the link and give “Hudson Bay Belle” by Blake Berglund a spin, or two, or a couple hundred. I really appreciate the help everybody.

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Last year’s boundary pushing “horse & rider” photoshoot served as the artwork to the recently released “Ends of the Earth” album and went on to win the Independent Music Award for publicity photo of the year. This, thanks to the creative mind and ingenuity of renowned photographer, Jason Grover. Schedules opened last week, allowing Jason and Myself to work together again. Here’s a preview of our efforts.

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