Country starlet comes home

Victoria Banks, Canadian Country Music Association’s female artist of the year, plays her hometown of Port Carling for the first time

HOMECOMING. Country music singer, songwriter Victoria Banks will be playing her first-ever show in her hometown of Port Carling. Submitted photo

THE MUSKOKAN — Victoria Banks has accomplished just about everything one would hope to accomplish in country music.
She’s toured with superstars like Reba McEntire, written a Number 1 song and been named the Canadian Country Music Association’s female artist of the year. However, the one thing she’s never done is play a show in her home town of Port Carling.
That’s about to change with the Victoria Banks: Hometown Concert on Sunday, Aug. 19. The Muskoka-raised singer says she is very excited for the show.
Banks believes that growing up in Muskoka had a profound impact on her work as an artist. She said that all the time spent outside as a child was pivotal in developing as a songwriter.
“I spent a lot of time outside watching nature, and seeing the patterns of nature and how things grow and die,” said Banks. “Those things have sort of found their way into my songs, and I think maybe the reason I am a songwriter is because I grew up looking at life that way. Songwriting is all about life and death and joy and pain and the kinds of things you see in nature.”
As a child of a musical Muskokan family, Banks said she spent most of her time either outside or listening to antique phonographs. After developing a passion for music, she worked a wide range of jobs, from waitress to house painter, in order to finance her goal.
Once she saved up enough money, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue her dream of working as a professional songwriter. She said the key to successful songwriting is working consistently and finding ideas in every part of your life.
“I had to learn how to adapt to writing on a schedule because it’s really about going to the office and writing 40 hours a week. If I can collect ideas everywhere I go, then I can walk into an office or co-writing collaborating situation and have all kinds of little things to start from. Then I take it from there,” said Banks.
Being able to confidently enter a collaborative songwriting session has been a key skill for Banks as she has worked with a who’s-who of country musicians. Banks has worked on songs for everyone from Jessica Simpson to Sara Evans to Johnny Reid.
She’s also toured with some of the biggest names in country music including Randy Travis and Reba McEntire, who she sang a duet with at the end of the tour. Following the show in Port Carling, Banks will be hitting the road once again for a tour with Wynonna Judd.
For other young songwriters in Muskoka who want to make it to the big time, Banks said the best advice she can give is to just write.
“You’re not really a master songwriter until you’ve written 1,000 songs, and it’s hard to write 1,000 songs. I’ve probably written about 100 songs a year since I started writing seriously, and that’s the only way you can find your way and your true craft,” said Banks. “The more you write the more you’re going to figure out who you are and what you want to say.”
To get your tickets to Banks’ Port Carling show visit her website at victoriabanks.net or visit Auntie Doodie’s Antiques in Port Carling. The show starts at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 19 in the Port Carling Memorial Community Centre.

Small - Large
|
Print
|
Email
|
|