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Lookalike filling big shoes

A bearded British Columbia musician is keeping one of America’s best selling musicians on the stage, thanks to his likeness to the retired country music legend.
Marty-10 Crop(1)
Kenny Rogers Tribute artist Marty Edwards is bringing the icon to the stage with a concert at the Black Diamond Hotel & Bar May 10.

A bearded British Columbia musician is keeping one of America’s best selling musicians on the stage, thanks to his likeness to the retired country music legend.

Kenny Rogers Tribute artist Marty Edwards has travelled the world the past 20 years performing as the Grammy Award-winning artist.

Edwards and his band, The Gamblers, will perform such hits as The Gambler and Lady in a tribute show hosted by Rock-a-Billy Entertainment in Black Diamond May 10.

The concert features music by Nashville recording artist Pam Ferns, with a Dolly Parton look-alike contest beginning at 7:15 p.m. and the show commencing at 7:30 p.m. in the Black Diamond Hotel and Bar.

“I grew up listening to his music and I was always a fan from the First Edition days,” said Edwards of Rogers. “When he went into country I was performing in bands in the late 60s and I started in a three-piece country band. Country has always been in my roots. I always like the material and thought it was great stuff.”

It wasn’t until Edwards was recording an album in Vancouver about 20 years ago that his co-producer said he looked like Rogers and asked if he ever considered doing tribute shows.

This wasn’t the first time Edwards was compared to the legendary singer.

“Lots of people would say, ‘You look like Kenny Rogers,’” he said. “I always had the Kenny Rogers look.”

Edwards said he didn’t think much about it until preparing his lineup for a benefit concert. He decided to throw in three Rogers’ songs and they were such a hit that Edwards was asked to sing Rogers’ songs again and again.

“It just mushroomed from there,” he said. “I was just giving back to the community, but it turned into a career that’s taken me around the world and it’s really good for me.”

Early in his tribute days, Edwards was performing at a motorcycle rally in Montana when people kept requesting his autograph.

“They thought I was Kenny Rogers because he was in town,” he said.

When a promoter of Rogers’ invited Edwards to the icon’s show backstage, he readily agreed.

“It was really surreal for me,” he said, adding they spoke mostly about music. “When I left he said, ‘Don’t go out and get me in any trouble.’”

It wasn’t long after those first tribute shows that Edwards began feeling like a star.

“People would want a picture with me and I would think, why?” he said. “They’d say, ‘Do you have any CDs?’ I would say ‘why?’ and think, go buy a Kenny Rogers CD. They wanted that little piece of that night.”

When touring in Malaysia, Edwards was booked in five-star hotels, greeted by a huge press conference and was given a vehicle at his disposal.

“Kenny Rogers wouldn’t have been treated any better,” he said.

Edwards’ music selection is endless with Rogers having sold more than 100 million albums worldwide and producing more than 120 hit singles.

“Kenny Rogers doesn’t write a lot of the songs he does, but he knows how to pick great ones and they all tell stories,” he said. “There are so many number one and top 10 hits you can’t get them all in the show.

Sometimes Edwards sings songs that his audience doesn’t know were sung by Rogers.

“A lot of people will say, ‘I’ve forgotten that song’ and ‘I didn’t’ realize that was Kenny Rogers,’” he said. “It’s a reawaking for some people when you look at the discography of Kenny Rogers.”

This weekend, Rogers will sing alongside Fern, the show’s opener, in duets for songs like Islands in the Stream and Rings of Gold that Rogers often sang with Dolly Parton.

“Kenny Rogers had that iconic voice and Kenny and Dolly are still country music’s favourite couple,” Edwards said. “It’s great music and we enjoy ourselves and the audience does as well.”

Tickets to see the show cost $40 and can be purchased at the Black Diamond Hotel or Okotoks Sobeys. To register for the Dolly Parton contest call 403-612-7046.

To learn more about Marty Edwards go to Kindakenny.com

A portion of the proceeds from each of Edwards’ shows goes to the B.C. Cancer Foundation. Edwards was diagnosed with colon cancer three years ago and underwent major surgery, which was successful due to early detection.

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