You can set the scene anywhere you like in Canada. It could be in a small town in the Rocky Mountains, a town or city of any size in Ontario, a small farming community on the Prairies, or a small fishing village in the Maritimes, but the story is always the same. Each week families gathered together in their living rooms to welcome home a man who had become a trusted family friend. He came no matter what the weather, or what the time of year. He brought music, laughter, new faces and legends, but most of all familiarity and a warm infectious smile. He was “Canada’s Country Gentleman”, Tommy Hunter.

When it was announced in 1992 that his show would no longer be a part of CBC’s annual lineup, fans literally wept.

Now over 14 years later Tommy Hunter continues the tradition by bringing his live stage show to the people who made his TV show a success for over twenty seven consecutive years. Many have described it as a warm trip down memory lane as Tommy and his band “The Travelin’ Men” sing the familiar songs, tell the stories, play the tributes, and in general re-live the memories of the longest running family variety show in television history.

Tommy Hunter – a man who “rules the stage” with a presence that comes only after decades of performing, with a voice that would be the envy of many of today’s top singers.

Tommy Hunter Live In Concert – it’ll make you feel “right at home again”.

• BACKSTAGE WITH 'THE GENTLEMAN'
  Belleville Intelligencer
  Saturday, January 28, 2006
  By Luke Hendry - The Intelligencer
  
  It has been a brutal 24 hours for Tommy Hunter. After performing in Quebec, he has come through a tortuous bus ride through a snowstorm and slept only a few hours. But amazingly, as he steps into the green room at the Empire Theatre, there is no trace of fatigue. Hunter is upbeat, personable, and ready to go. There are just 15 minutes to showtime.
  
  The Canadian music legend ducks into a dressing room, fiddling with the earphones that tell performers how they're sounding to the crowd. After a few adjustments, he slips on the jacket of his grey three-piece suit, a jacket which bears his Order of Canada pin. "Okay, let's go upstairs and see if we can do a show," says Hunter, breezing through the green room and into the wings.
  
  The band has been playing an instrumental for about a minute. Hunter strides quickly but easily onto the stage, slides on his acoustic guitar, and another Tommy Hunter Show is underway. The packed house, the first of two audiences Hunter will see today, loves the first set. Mostly seniors, they remember all the tunes and sing along, whether the number is one of Hunter's or something penned by Roy Acuff, Johnny Cash, and others.
  
  When the curtains close at intermission, Hunter immediately turns to his band, laughing as he admits rearranging some lyrics and talks with the band about tweaking a few things. "If there's anything wrong, I'll nail it right away," he explains back in the dressing room. Hunter brews some tea, but then spends most of the break talking with a few guests who've come backstage. When theatre owner and real estate broker Mark Rashotte pops in for a quick hello, the two talk about buying and selling homes.
  
  The performer then touches up his stage makeup and gets only a sip or two of scalding-hot tea before launching into the second set. This brings more applause and more laughs at his asides between songs.
  
  Hunter turns 69 this year, but his onstage banter reveals some fans think he's older -- and he's the first to make age jokes. "People forget I started when I was 19," he will later tell visitors backstage. After the better part of two hours on stage, the curtains close again.
  
  Hunter travels with a band of Steves -- Steve Petrie on lead guitar and fiddle, Steve Smith on steel guitar, and Steve Piticco on bass -- plus Ken Post on drums. Offstage and on, he is quick to credit some of his success to others in his group. "I've got excellent people who work with me. The absolute best. That's what makes the show a success. It's not me. "You get a bond when you're on the road with them," he adds. "We become a family."
  
  Hunter points to his relationship with business manager Brian Edwards, with whom he has worked for 26 years. "We did it all on a handshake," says Hunter, adding Edwards is "like a son to me."
  
  The theatre is mostly empty when Hunter walks into the lobby. He jumps onto a tour bus to say goodbye to some fans, then signs a few autographs. "As long as I have my fans, as long as I have my health, and as long as I can hit the mark." That mark, he says, is a high standard of performance. "If I can't hit that mark, it's time to say goodbye."

• TOMMY HUNTER SHOW COMES TO THE FORT!
  Country Legend shows off his famous voice, guitar licks
  by: Michael Spears, Staff Writer - February 10, 2006
  
  FORT SASKATCHEWAN RECORD - It's too bad that to be considered a legend you have to be either dead or in the later years of your life. That too was true for Canadian country legend and TV fixture Tommy Hunter who played to a packed house at the Shell Theatre Tuesday afternoon.
  
  Whether he had the audience laughing at his cornball jokes, or if he was showing off by contorting himself while paying a fiddle the crowd loved it.
  
  The spry 68 - year - old ruled the stage with a presence that comes only after decades of performing in front of live audiences and for TV Cameras.
  
  His set featured four extremely talented musicians, of which three out of four share the common first name of Steve, which lead to a long running gag.
  
  Though on the tail-end of his cross country Canadian tour Hunter showed off his voice with a vocal range that would be the envy of many other singers.
  
  His songs in the show featured tributes to many of the guests that graced his stage including Wilf Carter, and Johnny Cash.
  (reprinted with permission)

• Tommy Hunter to be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 27th annual Covenant Awards, October 22nd in Toronto. Canada's Country Gentleman Tommy Hunter will be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 27th Annual Covenant Awards, to be held October 22nd in Toronto Ontario.
  
  The Lifetime Achievement Award, awarded by the Canadian Gospel Music Association annually, is given to an individual or group that the CGMA board feels has had a profound influence on or significantly impacted the Gospel Music arts in Canada. This year the CGMA wants to honor Tommy for his years on television and the strong Gospel music content of his shows, particularily the great number of times he closed his show with the singing of a hymn or a inspirational reading. As well, Tommy has to his credit several albums that are either hymns or inspirational readings, including "Songs of Inspiration" Volumes 1 and 2 and "Tommy Hunter - Readings".
  
  His guests over the years included many Gospel music artists including Cristy Lane, Johnny Cash, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Ricky Skaggs and many others.
  
  The Canadian Gospel Music Association is a non-profit organization run by a board of volunteers to promote the growth of Gospel music in Canada. The organization started over 27 years ago and annually hands out "Covenant" awards, which like the Juno awards are industry awards voted on by Gospel music experts and CGMA members. Along with the awards, the CGMA sponsors educational seminars that deal with issues of record production, management, staging, licensing, publishing and album design.

• Tommy would like to extend his sincerest congratulations to Jack Jensen, former member of "The Rhythm Pals" who recently received  "The Order of British Columbia".  "The Rhythm Pals" were one of the Tommy Hunter Show's featured groups for many years. Congratulations Jack!
  

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• Tommy would once again like to thank everyone who expressed their concern following his surgery for Prostate Cancer in the summer of 2004. He has received a clean bill of health from his Doctors, and is feeling great!
  

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• Everyone connected with the 2005 Tommy Hunter Show tour would like to thank all the fans and friends who came out in such big numbers all across Canada. Tommy really does enjoy performing, and is already looking forward to his 2006 tour.