As the Hunter Brothers wrap up their headlining tour in Thunder Bay on Dec. 4, it will also mark the end of a major fundraising event the country band has embarked on over the last month.
The group from Shaunavon, Sask., which is located about an hour southeast of Swift Current, has been raising money for Food Banks Canada through auctions on the 19 different jackets that lead singer Ty Hunter has been wearing on stage.
“We wanted to do something in a little bit different type of fashion that was a little more exciting than just clicking on a donate button,” Hunter said.
“We got together with a good friend of mine Andrew Robertson who is a professional visual artist and he hand-painted every single one of the jackets with images from the tour, our discography and a number of different things.”
Ty says that the farming background that he and his brothers Luke, J.J., Brock and Dusty — who are also members of the band — have made it a no-brainer to get involved with Food Banks Canada.
“We discussed a number of different charitable options because there’s obviously a lot of different needs out there,” Hunter said. “It seemed like a consistent theme from when I was talking to people was how in need the food banks are, especially right now.
“With that farming correlation, and where a lot of people are in need right now as they deal with inflation and everything like that, it just made the most sense to give back in this way.”
Hunter says that the feedback from fans has been great so far, whether it’s through social media posts or at the live concerts.
“We had a lot of people coming up who were looking at the coats after one of our shows in Medicine Hat just so they could see a lot of the details that Andrew put into them,” Hunter added. “The job that he did with each coat is really exceptional, especially since fabric paint is not exactly the easiest thing to work with.
“Not only are the coats something different in terms of having a great memory from the show you were, but it’s also going towards a great cause.”
The Thunder Bay concert, which takes place at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium at 7:30 p.m., is the final show in the band’s Burning Down the Barn tour.
“That last concert always has some moments that are unforgettable,” Hunter said.
“When we came through Thunder Bay back in 2018 when we were touring with Paul Brandt, it was one of our favourite stops. Everyone was so receptive to us and we made sure that we would come back there on our first headlining tour.”
