Although the Amanda Jackson Band got the votes needed to make it to the final stage of the CBC Music’s Searchlight 2018 competition, in the final tally, the P.E.I. band didn’t make it to No. 1.
“While it would have been an incredible honour to win CBC Searchlight 2018, we feel so thankful for the experience we had,” says band members Amanda Jackson, Dale McKie, Todd MacLean, Reggie Ballagh and Jon Rehder in a statement released Monday.
“We were in excellent company in the Top 10.”
Band members did everything from appearing with a rooster to distributing voting cards to playing a pop-up concert in Charlottetown and debuting their video, “Dance into the Light”. But in the end, the winner of the national music competition was Lance Sampson, a.k.a. aquakultre, from Halifax, N.S.
He will receive a placement at the week-long 2018 Allan Slaight Juno Master Class in Toronto, Canada's premiere artist development program, as well as an industry showcase in front of a selection of its top players at the end of the week. He also wins a trip to the 2019 Juno Awards to perform at JUNOfest, plus a week-long recording residency at Studio Bell in the National Music Centre in Calgary. Finally, aquakultre will perform at the 2018 CBC Music Festival at Echo Beach in Toronto.
The Amanda Jackson Band wishes him well.
“We’re excited for the opportunities that await Halifax-based Aquakultre and wish him much success!”
Reflecting on the opportunities members received, the band is also grateful.
“We feel confident that ‘Dance Into the Light’ was a strong contender and represented who we are and we feel heart-warmed and humbled by the outpouring of support from our fans near and far for believing in our music,” the statement says.
As for the future, keep tuned.
“We have some exciting plans in the near future, new songs in progress, and we can't wait to share it all with our fans.”
