Country artist Shawn Austin shoves aside would-be guitar thief on way to Saskatoon CCMA gig

Nothing was going to get between Canadian country musician Shawn Austin and his gig Saturday night — certainly not the Saskatoon man he says tried to rob him of his guitar five minutes before the show.

'The show must always go on,' says Austin of his resolve to make show on time

Guy Quenneville · CBC News · Posted: Sep 10, 2017 6:51 PM EDT | Last Updated: September 10, 2017

Canadian country music artist Shawn Austin says he warded off a man who tried to steal his guitar in Saskatoon Saturday night. (Shawn Austin Music/Facebook)

Nothing was going to get between Canadian country music artist Shawn Austin and his gig Saturday night — certainly not the Saskatoon man he says tried to rob him of his guitar five minutes before the show.

"For my rookie year at the [Canadian Country Music Association awards], it's kind of turned out to be a memorable story," said Austin of the "quick kerfuffle" outside his Saskatoon hotel.

"It's one more thing to put under my belt for the four days I've been here."

Legend status achieved?

Austin said he was running back to his hotel to grab his guitar for a last-minute performance at an event tied to the CCMA awards and Canadian Country Music Week.

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"On my way back I guess someone decided that they would have liked to have that guitar as well," he said.

"We had a little exchange and I managed to get away from him and just went back and played my show."

Fellow artist Dallas Smith — who recently signed Austin to his label — posted about the incident on Instagram on Sunday, with the hashstag #legendstatusachieved.

Dallas Smith's Intagram post about the incident, some of which Austin has debunked. (Dallas Smith Music/Instagram)

But Austin was quick to debunk his own legend.

"I didn't give him a good cock," he said. "I just kind of gave him a good shove and he was coming back so I made sure the distance was good enough so that I could get away.

"Thankfully, there were a couple of people a couple of blocks away that were walking towards us, so I think he saw that too and kinda disappeared."

Austin said the incident hasn't soured his experience of Saskatoon "in the slightest."

"It happens everywhere," he said.

'The show must go on'

For him, the prime directive was making it to his performance on time.

"The show must always go on," he said.

The first song he played when he reached his destination, guitar in hand, was oddly appropriate.

"The single we just put out couple weeks ago, Paradise Found — the whole meaning of the story is finding that situation, that place, those people, that you love to be around.

"That's the song I played."