Merritt boasts being: The Country Music Capital of Canada. Merritt annually hosts the largest country music festival in Canada where over 150,000 visitors come to Merritt for the 4 day event. Some of Country Music biggest recording stars perform at the event.
To honor and pay tribute for their performance a plaque with their hand prints, signature, picture and some with a personal note are encased in a wooden frame display case and installed on the streets of downtown. The Walk of Stars walking tour highlights some of the historical, western and country music murals painted on the side of many of the downtown buildings. Many of these murals highlight some of Country Music biggest stars.
Keith Lionel Urban was born on October 26, 1967 in New Zealand. He is a country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, TV show judge and record producer. In 1991, he released a self-titled debut album and charted four singles in Australia before moving to the United States the following year.
Keith Urban decided to pursue a solo career in the late 1990s. In 2000, he released his first, self-titled solo album. In 2001, he was named the CMA's "Top New Male Vocalist." He toured in 2004, and was named CMA's "Entertainer of the Year" the following year.
Urban won his first Grammy Award in 2006, and went on to receive three more Grammys. In 2012, Urban was chosen as a new judge for season 12 of the popular singing-competition show American Idol, which premiered in 2013.
Source:
Biography