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Ticket demand crashes phone lines at Sidney’s Mary Winspear Centre

Country star Johnny Reid is set to play Sidney on May 7-8, 2022
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Scottish-Canadian country star Johnny Reid has sold more than 1.5 million records. He performs in Sidney on May 7-8 at the Mary Winspear Centre. (Photo courtesy of Mary Winspear Centre)

Greater Victoria may have come down with a case of Johnny Reid mania.

Demand for tickets to the country singer’s two upcoming shows in Sidney at the Mary Winspear Centre on May 7-8, 2022 apparently caused a box office crash.

Coun. Scott Garnett, council’s liaison with the Memorial Park Society which oversees the centre and Blue Heron Park in trust for the communities of the Saanich Peninsula, said the incident happened on Nov. 26, when tickets for Reid’s national tour went on sale.

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“They had $29,000 in box office sales that day. There were 65 phone calls and 62 emails that were unanswered by the end of work hours. But the staff, as dedicated as they are and a reflection of our community, stayed and answered every single one of them. That’s absolutely amazing,” he said.

Born in Scotland, Reid has won six Canadian Country Music Awards, six Juno Awards and sold out multiple national arena tours on way to selling 1.5 million records. Reid is also a recipient of the Slaight Music Humanitarian Award and the SOCAN National Achievement Award.

A teenager when he first arrived in Canada, Reid has made a name for himself on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border, including Nashville, the country music capital, where he recently purchased and renovated the Soultrain Sound Studios, a legendary studio where previously giants of country, folk and Americana have recorded albums.

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wolfgang.depner@peninsulanewsreview.com