Hunter Brothers heading from Sask. field to CCMA stage
Country group also nominated for 1 award
Five brothers in a country group from Shaunavon, Sask. farm are preparing for one of the biggest performances of their career.
Hunter Brothers will be performing at the CCMA Industry lunch and awards on Friday before hitting the stage that night in the CCMA Legends Show.
A year of firsts
The band has been nominated in the Interactive Artist of the Year category.
Ty Hunter, who is currently busy harvesting, said it will be their first time attending the CCMAs, which are coincidentally in Saskatoon this year.
"It just is an incredibly humbling moment for us," Hunter said. "We grew up listening to country music on our [farming] implements, so to be nominated beside artists such as Tim Hicks and Brett Kissel is just a tremendous honour."
Their debut album Getaway was recently released, with a music video filmed in Florida.
Hunter said it represents a departure from their roots in gospel music and entry into the country genre.
The brothers got their start at a gospel music festival, which Hunter said debuted around the time he was born. This year, Hunter Brothers performed at the festival and so did Paul Brandt, one of their idols.
"It was one of those things that kind of turned full circle 24 or 25 years later," Hunter said.
Hunter said as the youngest brother, he was basically born into to music.
"Music has been an integral part of our lives for as long as I can remember," he said.
The five of them grew up listening to country music on the tractor and their mother taught how to sing harmonies at a young age.
Balancing two worlds
The now-coworkers on the farm are still best friends, whether they are travelling to different events or just living their day-to-day lives, Hunter said.
"Through life experiences, through the highs and lows, we've been standing beside each other through it all," he said.
Hunter Brothers have travelled alongside High Valley, which has earned three of its own CCMA nominations. Hunter said the group has been their mentors as they gain more success.
Through juggling two very difficult careers, farming and music, Hunter writes song parodies while on the tractor.
Hunter said it keeps the mood light, even when things aren't going well, like when they got their combine stuck during late harvest last year. This situation resulted in a revamped version of the song The Truck Got Stuck, which ended up getting more than 1.5 million views on Facebook last year.
"We're out here remembering to laugh even in the midst of seasons like last year when we're out here sunk in the mud and it's November and you're wondering why you're still in the field," he said. "What you need to do is sing about it."
With files from CBC Radio’s Saskatchewan Weekend