Country musician wants to focus message on Aboriginal students

Award-winning musician Clayton Bellamy wants all children to chase their dreams.

To that end, Bellamy has launched the Everyone’s A Dreamer school tour.

The event, named after his current single and album released in March, is a 60-minute upbeat performance featuring music, videos as well as Q and A sessions. The message throughout the event is to have students follow their dreams.

“I hope it will inspire kids to reach new heights,” Bellamy said.

The events were launched in early March at various northern Alberta schools. Over a five-day period Bellamy, who was born in Bonnyville but now lives in Nashville, performed for students from 16 schools.

Though the schools he’s performed at had some Aboriginal students, Bellamy is also working on getting his tour into various First Nation schools.

The reason he’s keen to perform for Aboriginal students? His wife Julie, who is also from Bonnyville, is Dene. The couple has a pair of children, aged two and seven.

“Obviously my kids and their heritage is important to me,” Bellamy said of the reason he wants to take his tour into First Nations schools.

Performances from his northern Alberta events were filmed. That footage is now being shown to officials from various school boards, in the hope they will bring the tour to their students.

Since the current school year is winding down, Bellamy expects that will start happening in the fall, when students return to their classrooms.

Bellamy is also keen to take the tour to schools outside of Alberta.

“The goal is I’d love to take this across the country and make it a nationwide tour,” he said, adding he would also be interested in taking his act to schools in the United States.

Bellamy has performed for students from Kindergarten through Grade 12.

“The message is universal,” he said. “But I have to tweak it if I’m talking to little kids.”

Chasing their dreams, as he did, is something Bellamy wants all to do.

“If kids can latch on to that, I’d like to think it will change the world,” he said.

The response he has received so far has been amazing.
“It’s been over the top,” said Bellamy. “They’re really excited. Teenagers are tough to crack. I’m an adult (he’s 35) but I don’t look like one. I’ve got the tattoos and the rock and roll mentality going on.”

Bellamy is thrilled to be involved with the project.

“I don’t know who gets more out of it, the kids or me,” he said. “It’s been really rewarding. It’s not like I’m doing another show or making a record or selling another T-shirt.”

Bellamy, whose music is a hybrid of rock and country, has been performing for more than 15 years. He won a Juno Award for Country Recording of the Year in 2006 with his band The Road Hammers.

Bellamy has also won four Canadian Country Music Awards.

The idea for the Everyone’s A Dreamer school tour started after Bellamy performed at an alumni event in Bonnyville for the Northern Lights School Division.
“I talked to various teachers and they thought I should do this all the time,” he said.