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.
Alan Eugene Jackson was born October 17, 1958 in Newnan, Georgia. Jackson is an American singer, songwriter and musician, known for blending traditional honky tonk and mainstream country sounds and penning many of his own hits.
He has recorded 15 studio albums, three Greatest Hits albums, two Christmas albums, two Gospel albums and several compilations.
Jackson has sold over 80 million records worldwide, with more than 50 of his singles having appeared on Billboard's list of the "Top 30 Country Songs". Of Jackson's entries, 35 were number-one hits, with 50 in the Top 10. He is the recipient of 2 Grammy Awards, 16 CMA Awards, 17 ACM Awards and nominee of multiple other awards. He is a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2001.
In August 2014 the Country Music Hall of Fame opened an exhibit celebrating Jackson’s 25 years in the music industry. The exhibit highlights the different milestones in his career with memorabilia collected over the years.
Source:
Wikipedia