‘Things are looking good’ for Domino

Local country group Domino has been nominated for two awards for the coming Alberta Country Music Association Awards.

Four of the five members of the group live in Stettler, with the fifth residing in Red Deer.

This is the first year for the awards ceremony, which will be held at Westerner Park in Red Deer on Jan. 29.

Domino has been nominated for Group/Duo of the Year Award, as well as the Fans’ Choice Award.

A total of 37 Alberta artists have been nominated in their respective categories.

Vocalist/bassist Luanne Carl was understandably excited to learn of the nominations.

“We just found out this week,” Carl said late last week. “We are not sure if we will be performing yet. It would be awesome if we found out that we were, but we will definitely be attending.”

The group is a local fixture, playing a variety of events over the years, from performing outdoor summer shows in West Stettler Park to Christmas parties for Alberta Prairie Steam Tours.

Recently, Domino played an opening slot for Canadian rock legends Trooper.

“We took it a little quieter this year,” Carl said. “We had a few family things we wanted to attend and not miss out on, but definitely the Trooper concert was a big one.”

“We got to perform at Red Deer’s Westerner Days as a showcase artist for the ACMAs in the Molson Saloon. We performed at the Calgary Stampede and we were just asked to perform at the Stampede again next year, which will be our fourth year in a row. We are booking into July of next year already, so things are looking good.”

The group has released two full-length albums and released a single to Canadian radio. Despite the busy schedule, the group looks forward to releasing new songs in the future.

“Radio has been pretty good to us,” Carl said. “We only released one song to radio, but it was released to just shy of 30 stations across Canada. We have not released another, but that one is still getting play. We are writing and looking to record in the next year, so we will have some new stuff. We are just in the talking stages, but we definitely want to get something recorded, even if it is a three-song EP. We would like to get something back on the radio. That is our plan for next year.”

The five-member musical act is excited about their nominations for the upcoming ACMA awards, but they still retain their approachable modesty, which helps to make them fan favourites.

“Stettler is really awesome to us,” Carl said. “They really stand behind us and really encourage and support us. It’s really cool.”

The Alberta Country Music Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to country music artists and the country music industry in Alberta.

To view the full list of nominations, as well as cast votes, people must become members of the ACMA. Memberships can be purchased on the organization’s website at: www.abcountrymusic.ca.