Five- time reigning Female Artist of the Year at the CCMA’s  Country music star Tenille Townes will kick off the 37th annual Peterborough Musicfest with a free concert at Del Crary Park on Saturday, June 29, 2024.

As a little girl growing up in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Townes first fell in love with music thanks to the eclectic mix of artists her parents played at home. She then discovered her passion for songwriting at age 14.

“My grandparents gave me a guitar, and I started learning the chords I needed to make songs out of what I was writing in my journal,” she recalls, naming singer/songwriters like Patty Griffin and Lori McKenna among her enduring influences.

Since then, her musical journey has been quite incredible, to say the least. She’s toured with legends like Stevie Nicks, Miranda Lambert, Shania Twain, Keith Urban, Reba, Zac Brown Band, and Dierks Bentley. Townes has won two 

JUNO Awards — all while building up a globe-spanning fanbase irresistibly drawn to her intensely honest storytelling.

Townes’ accolades also include 17 Canadian Country Music Association Awards, and two Academy Of Country Music Awards. Tenille’s remarkable tally of CCMA Awards places her among the all-time top award winners. Additionally, she has become a familiar presence on the esteemed stage of the Grand Ole Opry.

Her debut album, The Lemonade Stand, a 2020 LP, delivered standouts like “Jersey on The Wall (I’m Just Asking),” a profoundly moving track inspired by Townes’ experience in performing at a New Brunswick high school and learning of a then-recent car crash that took the life of the star of the school’s basketball team. That album won Country Album of the Year at the 2021 JUNO Awards. Townes followed that up with the release of Masquerades in 2022, which won the coveted prize again.

The Nashville-based star now begins a bold new chapter with her most fully realized work to date: a gorgeously sculpted batch of songs that bring a moodier and more unfettered sound to her compassionate lyrical outpouring.

Townes’ latest body of work, “As You Are,” released in February 2024, strays sonically from past hits like her gold-certified, chart-topping smash “Somebody’s Daughter” and leans toward a more spacious and hypnotic breed of Americana.

Written by Townes, Maggie Chapman (The Highwomen, Wafia), and David Pramik (Joy Oladokun, LANY), “As You Are” ultimately matches its mesmerizing sound with a tender meditation on shame, acceptance, and unconditional love.

Townes will bring her show to Del Crary Park on Saturday, June 29. This is her first appearance in the Peterborough area.