Ridley Bent is no stranger to the Kamloops stage. The Vancouver-based country singer has played numerous shows here, dating back at least 10 years when he opened for the Sam Roberts Band as a last-minute fill-in for Bedouin Soundclash.
That was back when Interior Savings Centre was The Store (slang for its former name, Sport Mart Place) and audiences were still trying to figure out if Bent was a rapper, a country singer, a bluesy rocker or a male reincarnation of Patsy Cline.
Bent has since played to Kamloops fans everywhere from Cactus Jacks to Merritt Mountain, while his hip-hop-inspired alt-country sound has slowly drifted closer and closer to honky-tonk and traditional country and western.