Queen of Me Tour: Shania Twain and Lindsay Ell Electrify Budweiser Gardens

The pride of Timmins Ontario, Shania Twain thrilled a sold out crowd at London’s Budweiser Gardens this past Wednesday, June 21.

I had never attended a Shania Twain show before although I’ve always admired her music. I expected a good show, but nothing prepared me for the experience I was about to have. Entering the arena on a wheeled platform through the main floor seating, Shania started the show with the song Waking Up Dreaming off her newest release and interacted with the fans along the way.

For Shania’s stage entrance, a large LED screen behind the stage showed an animation of a rocket blasting off and the Canadian Country Queen rose through the floor at the top of a large set of stairs in a plume of smoke singing the song Up.

This is the show of a Las Vegas performer and it’s well worth the money to see. The large video screen behind the stage played various scenes during the show including that of a large western saloon which was attacked by aliens as Shania’s band members playing on the platform behind her dodged the aliens and a couple panicked horses. For the song I’m Gonna Getcha Good, she reclined on a custom chopper with a metal stallion head.

Before performing the romantic ballad From This Moment, bar tables were placed on either side of the stage with electric candle lights and what I assume to be either VIP ticket holders or contest winners at each table. Shania went to each table and posed for a photo with the couples before singing the song. During the song she danced with one of her backup singers/dancers and it was a touching performance.

She spoke about how important her fans are to her and she proved it by reading a fan’s letter and inviting him and his partner on stage at one point during the show. She had them sing along with her a couple lines of a song before sending them back to their seats. She also paused to sign a banner with a bunch of her song titles on it for a fan in the front. She read the songs and sang bits and pieces of some of them before handing it back and continuing on with the show.

For her encore she performed That Don’t Impress Me Much, and Man! I Feel Like a Woman! She wore the same leopard print robe that she wore in the video for That Don’t Impress Me and the crowd loved it. It was truly an entertaining evening and an event to remember.

Opening the evening was Calgary, Alberta native and Canada’s Got Talent judge Lindsay Ell. And yes, Canada does have talent… and it was on full display this night. Lindsay has made quite a name for herself in a short period of time and is truly a talented singer, songwriter and guitarist who has toured with Buddy Guy. She performed a dynamic set that included a cover of Lizzo’s About Damn Time and her guitar playing impressed the heck out of me. I’m looking forward to seeing her perform again sometime as headliner.

Shania Twain with Lindsay Ell

Budweiser Gardens

London, ON