As a seasoned and popular artist and musician, Tracy Millar is considered one of Alberta’s finest and most talented disciples of traditional country music.

For the two decades, this singer, songwriter, bandleader and recording artist has shown she is all in for the long run, when it comes to championing her favorite brand of country music.

As a performer who is perfectly at ease singing her unique originals or a country classic tune, Millar’s impressive run has been in part, built on her ability to win over fans in honky-tonks, at rodeo dances, concert halls and via the airwaves.

Tracy’s success is the combination of being a proven and popular entertainer, a terrific singer, and a seriously focused recording artist. It’s all part of what has kept Millar’s profile in an enviable place.

Millar’s latest recording, I’m Not 29 No More, is one more example of her combined talents as a songwriter and singer, who seemingly walks into a song and inhabits it with complete authority as a vocalist and as a storyteller.

That songs like Loretta’s Moonshine and the title track have had serious traction at country radio, are a reminder that Millar’s persistence on sticking with “her” sound has continued to pay off.

“I have to say that I’ve always been headstrong about sticking to my roots and I’ve always listened to traditional country music,” says Millar who made her first impression with radio programmers with her first full-length recording, You Go Girl, twenty years ago.

The calendar pages in the ensuing years are filled with major highlights, and document a rise in recognition that has included main stage shows at major country music events and considerable radio play not only in Canada but across the pond.

“I guess I’ve always had realistic aspirations. Initially I wanted to have fun with my music. But when I took my first three song recording to CFCW in Edmonton I wound up in rotation. Things just snowballed from there,” recalls Millar of her entry into the world of being a professional working artist and entertainer.

Millar notes that she “wasn’t 19” when she started her artistic journey and that those aforementioned realistic aspirations are in many ways, still the foundation from which she works.

“I wanted real, honest feedback from the beginning, and I’d say my peers were the number one thing that drove me. Whether I was being mentored as a  singer, in terms of both vocal control or phrasing, or going into the studio with a great producer who had great suggestions, I paid attention.”

Millar has been blessed with tunes that resonate strongly with audiences. So strongly that her fans are often found singing along during her shows.

Loretta’s Moonshine is the most recent example of fans connecting in a major way with a Millar tune, but she’s seen the same audience and song connection with a tune like Spread A Little Love Around, which was released back in 2008.

“I think the lyrics to Spread A Little Love Around have a new and additional meaning after the pandemic. It’s sort of an anthem now, people really take the lyrics to heart.”

It also didn’t hurt that the tune went to number one at CFCW when it was released. Quite an accomplishment.

Millar is also an artist who proves that show business sensibilities do not negate artistic merit when combined properly.

“Entertaining and artistic credibility can go hand in hand and I work hard at that. I can remember when I first started out that I was terrified, and I would just close my eyes and sing,” says Millar with an accompanying chuckle.

“I think I eventually used my gifts that I first learned from being a nurse. I could convey a sense of comfort between myself and the audience. I rely a lot on humour, and I know how to get out of my shell.”

Respected figures in the industry agree that Millar’s sincerity, unwavering artistic focus, and dedication to her craft are the reasons she’s been nominated for Country Music Alberta awards, landed on the BDS Charts, and had additional regional number one’s with Girl’s Like Fishing Too, which is also found on her latest offering I’m Not 29 Anymore.

Jackie Rae Greening, the long-time program director of CFCW has been championing Millar’s talents since day one.

“I remember the first time I met Tracy,” says Greening.

“It was in the early 2000’s when she came into the station with that three-song demo. From that day forward, she has never wavered in her commitment to play “real” country music…..Tracy is the real deal, so talented.”

Larry Werner, who for years produced the hugely successful Big Valley Jamboree for years, echoes Greening’s sentiments.

“Tracy is the essence of country music, she feels it and she delivers. The music is pure, the personality infectious and the performance is what great Country Music is all about,” states Werner who booked Millar at a number of Big Valley shows.

It was 15 years ago Millar was asked to be part of the ensemble for a critically acclaimed show, The Gift: The Words & Music of Ian Tyson. While the ensemble has made a few changes in its line-up the last few years, Millar remains a featured vocalist in the show, performing Tyson classics like Springtime In Alberta, Navajo Rug, and Someday Soon, in theatres all over Alberta.

Millar loves being part of the show with an all-star cast and says that, “when I dive into the songs in the vast Ian Tyson library I realize what a storyteller he was and every time I sing one of those songs I can visualize it as I sing it.  Being a part of The Gift has given me much inspiration as a writer.”

Toss in the major festival stages Millar has walked on to, the die-hard rodeo crowds she’s had dancing til the wee hours, and the honky-tonk shows she dispenses to hard core country crowds and it’s easy to see why Millar has been a hit with some major radio market stations, secondary country radio stations across the country and been a nominee for Horizon Female Artist of the Year and a Fan’s Choice Awards in the Alberta country scene.

“The musicians in my band are so talented. Because I am so aware of their abilities, it gives me another reason to do the best I can no matter where or who we are playing for.”

So Tracy Millar continues to spread a little love around with her wonderful take on country music, and those who hear that music keep on spreading her name around.

Seems like a pretty good formula for enduring success.

July 1-3 | Rio Grande Rodeo | Rio Grande, AB

July 9-10 | Buck Lake Stampede

August 6 | Hallywood Music Festival

August 7 | Alder Flats | Private Barn Dance

September 11 | Ol’ MacDonald Music Festival

October 29th | Cook County Saloon | Buy Tickets Here

2020

Feb 6th | “The Gift” A Tribute to the Music of Ian Tyson
Empress Theatre | Ft. MacLeod

Feb 7th | “The Gift” A Tribute to the Music of Ian Tyson
Ironwood Stage |Calgary

Feb 8th | “The Gift” A Tribute to the Music of Ian Tyson
Chinook Folk Society | Braeside Community Centre |Calgary | Sold out

Feb 15th | Friends of the Eastern Slopes Annual Silent Auction/Banquet/Dance

Feb 26th | Track on 2 Songwriter Sessions
cancelled

June 13th | Private event in Daysland
cancelled

July 1-3 | Rio Grande Rodeo | Rio Grande, AB
cancelled

July 10-11 | Buck Lake Stampede
cancelled

July 18th | Private event in Alder Flats
cancelled