Canadian rockers drop the hammer on truck show

REDFORD, Mich. — Canadian country rock sensations the Road Hammers will descend upon middle America later this month when the band plays a invitation-only concert at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Lousville.

The Road Hammers will perform on Friday, March 24, 2006 at Western Star’s annual invitation-only party for its owner-operators and customers.

The award-winning group will also make special appearances at the Western Star Trucks booth (# 3300) on Thursday, March 23, 2006, at 3
p.m., and Friday, March 24, 2006, at 11:30 a.m.

“Their special appearance is part of our way of thanking our owner-operators, dealers and customers for their ongoing support,” said Ann Demitruk, director of marketing for Western Star Trucks.

Named the Canadian Country Music Awards’ 2005 Group of the Year and recently nominated for Best New Country Group/Country Artist by the 2006 Canadian Radio Awards, the Road Hammers are a five piece mix of country, southern rock and blues who deliver songs about maverick culture and the open road.

Minesing, Ont. native Jason McCoy teamed up with a few of his buddies in the music business — Clayton Bellamy and Chris Byrne — to form the Road Hammers.

“Truckers are traditionally country fans,” McCoy sai din an interview with Today’s Trucking last year, “but you’re also seeing them listening to classic rock. In my own backyard research, I notice a lot of truckers like AC/DC and Skynyrd, but then you’ve got your George Jones and Johnny Cash fans — not so much the new country. The Road Hammers fulfils a lot of the orders that they’re requesting from the trucking world.”

Western Star is a co-sponsor of the group’s 2005-2006 Canadian tour.

The Mid-America Trucking Show is scheduled for March 23-25 at the
Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky.