CFL
CFL.ca Staff
TORONTO – The Canadian Football League and SiriusXM Canada are proud to announce that acclaimed Canadian recording artists Dallas Smith and Nikki Yanofsky will perform during the SiriusXM Grey Cup Kickoff Show in Vancouver, British Columbia on Sunday, November 30.
The SiriusXM Grey Cup Kickoff Show, which launches the official start of the 102nd Grey Cup game, begins at 6 p.m. ET with an opening performance from country star and British Columbia native Dallas Smith, followed by a bilingual rendition of O’Canada by Universal Music Canada’s platinum selling jazz-pop sensation, Nikki Yanofsky.
The kickoff show will be broadcast live on TSN and RDS and SiriusXM subscribers can also catch all the action starting with the Grey Cup Kickoff Show on SiriusXM channel 167.
“Fans are going to want to be in their seats and in front of their TVs for this year’s kickoff show,” said CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon. “Dallas Smith’s performance will energize the country while the singing of our national anthem by Nikki Yanofsky will unite us all. We are so pleased that they will be featured on Canada’s biggest stage as we get ready to kick off Canada’s biggest game, the Grey Cup.”
“SiriusXM is proud to present the 2014 Grey Cup Kickoff Show in Vancouver, and making it part of our ongoing tradition of promoting and elevating the best emerging Canadian music,” said Paul Cunningham, SVP Sales and Marketing, SiriusXM Canada. “We’re looking forward to Dallas and Nikki bringing CFL and music fans a thrilling opening performance to cap off an exciting season and to help make this Championship battle unforgettable.”
Hailing from British Columbia, Dallas Smith is skyrocketing to the very top of the country music scene. On November 24th, Smith will release “Lifted” his second full-length country album and the follow up to 2012’s JUNO Award nominated release, “Jumped” Right In”. “Lifted” with its mix of guitar-goosed corkers, rollicking sing-alongs and tender ballads drawn both from 2014’s critically acclaimed Tippin’ Point EP and new recording sessions sees Smith reunite with prized producer Joey Moi (Florida Georgia Line, Jake Owen). The 11-track album includes the PLATINUM selling hit, “Tippin’ Point” which set the record as the fastest Canadian country single to go Platinum and is the highest selling Canadian country digital single in history. Over the years, Smith has attended BC Lions games as a fan and has performed during a halftime of an Edmonton Eskimos game at Commonwealth Stadium in 2012.
“It’s not every day that you get to perform at the Grey Cup,” says Smith. “I’m super excited and honoured to have the chance to kick off the party at home in front of 50,000+ fans – it will be a moment to remember for sure!”
Nikki Yanofsky released her second studio album, “Little Secret”, earlier this year and debuted at #4 on the SoundScan Album Chart. She will soon be kicking-off a Canadian tour in January (2015) – fans can visit nikkiyanofsky.com for ticket information. Yanofsky’s debut, platinum-selling album, “Nikki” (2010), hit #1 on the jazz chart and #6 in pop, was nominated for the Vocal Jazz Album of the year and also an international hit, reaching gold status in France and the United States. A native of Montreal, Quebec, Nikki’s quadruple-platinum single, “I Believe”, was the theme song for the 2010 Winter Olympics on CTV.
“I’m excited to be a part of this country’s biggest and greatest sporting event,” says Yanofsky. “I can’t wait to kickoff the 102nd Grey Cup in style and soak-in all the amazing events happening that weekend.”
