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Country artist Amanda Hagel returned to her prairie roots Saturday, launching a new concert series at the Lyric Theatre in Swift.
The tour, These Roots That Take Me Home Country Roads, celebrates her latest release—a heartfelt rendition of John Denver’s classic “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
The concert marks the first stop in a series that blends Hagel’s musical journey with her rural upbringing near Lancer. It’s a full-circle moment for the singer-songwriter, who’s long embraced her roots in her music.
“Well, we're starting kind of a little bit of a concert series in Swift so that the first stop will be at the Lyric Theatre,” Hagel said. “I've played there multiple times over the years. So it's a little closer to home for me. I grew up on a cattle ranch farm near Lancer, so I always like to come to the south and invite a lot of locals to come and celebrate.”
The Choke Cherry Band, a family act Hagel holds close to her heart, opened for her. The evening offered a mix of original music and tributes to classic country and folk icons designed to strike a chord with prairie audiences.
“Particularly the song These Roots, which is one of the titles of the whole show, I wrote that reflecting on my prairie roots,” Hagel said. “When I get to perform songs like that… people feel it. They understand what I'm singing about, and seeing their reaction is pretty special.”
Hagel’s new rendition of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” dropped last month, and the Swift Current performance was the first time fans heard it live.
“We're still kind of celebrating that release,” she said. “It’s a very special, beautiful rendition of that song, and I think people will enjoy hearing it live.”
The tour also aims to bring together fans from across southwest Saskatchewan, something Hagel values deeply.
“Oh, it's great,” she said. “You get a lot of people from… You know what Saskatchewan is like; a million little towns are everywhere. It's nice we can come to a city center like Swift Current and have people come from all those little communities… there's a lot of familiarity in the faces we see in the crowd.”
While the focus for now is on the tour, Hagel hinted that more new music is on the horizon, with another release expected by the end of 2025 or early 2026.
For Hagle, this tour isn’t just about performing it’s about coming home.
“Prairie people are great people,” she said. “And it's always special to gather together as a community and celebrate where we come from.”