CD combines country classics with new material

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Saskatchewan son Donny Parenteau first made his mark in the entertainment business playing with other performers, including Brian Sklar and Neal McCoy, but these days the talented singer, songwriter and musician is standing centre stage.

Parenteau spent more than a decade as part of McCoy's band then, in 2002, he decided to leave Nashville and move back to his hometown of Prince Albert. The next year he formed his own band and in 2004 he recorded The Great Unknown, his first vocal album.

The CD is a showcase of Parenteau's versatility-he sings and plays fiddle, octave fiddle, mandolin, mandocaster, dobro and acoustic guitar on the album. He also wrote three of the 11 cuts on the CD-You Make Me Happy, Where Would I Be and the title track-and he produced the album.

In addition to his own songs, Parenteau filled the CD with his renditions of some of the great country songs from years gone by-Truck Drivin' Man, Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down and Jambalaya among them.

While this is Parenteau's first CD, the Metis musician is already a hit in his home province, having received the Saskatchewan Country Music Association's Fiddle Player of the Year award for the past three years and being named Aboriginal Artist of the Year for the past two. He's also been nominated for a Canadian Aboriginal Music Award for his work producing The Great Unknown.

You can find out more about Donny Parenteau on his Web site-www.donnyparenteau.net.