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Our History - The year Bryan Adams came to town

StettlerLocal.com January 24, 2022 @ 2:15pm

The Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose County is a long-standing country music festival that draws fans from all around the province and beyond. However, many people don’t know that it started as a rock concert near Big Valley in 1992, and many around here still remember it fondly.


When the event’s promotor announced Stettler County was on the list of stops for Bryan Adams’ WAKING UP THE NATION concert tour, people were stunned and ecstatic. The Canadian performer was slated to hit ten communities across the country, and the Big Valley concert would include Sass Jordan and the band Extreme.


However, the Alberta weather refused to cooperate that weekend, and the outdoor concert had to be postponed until Monday. The cold, rain and snow were too much for most of the 15,000 attendees, many of who moved to hotels in the surrounding communities while others simply gave up and went home. Despite having 15,000 attendees Friday night, the Saturday winter storm reduced that number to a mere 2,000. The on-site camp area was dubbed “Mudville” giving you an indication of the condition of the site left by the weather and the campers.


Despite nearly 10,000 ticket holders backing out of the original 40,000 attendees expected at the event, the concert did go off. Those who refused to give up on the Bryan Adams show were rewarded on Monday when the skies cleared and the show started.


Despite the extra costs of the two-day delay, MCA’s Alberta representative said that they were happy with the overall attendance of the concert and looked forward to coming back to the Big Valley area. Many of the crew that worked the event and performers themselves had remarked how much they liked the area.


Despite the crowds and the extended duration of their stay, only two or three people were reportedly arrested for drunken and disorderly conduct, and there were no serious incidents.






Carson Ellis, Local Historian

Our Town Stettler

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