Saskatchewan Country Closeup – Donny Parenteau

Donny Parenteau is our guest on the Saskatchewan Country Closeup.

Donny was born and raised in Prince Albert Saskatchewan and had dreams like all Saskatchewan boys do ( Winning the Stanley Cup ). Eager to play the game he laced up his skates practiced hard and in his third year of hockey at the age of 10 he scored the goal of his life. Too bad it was against his own goalie. Donny then traded his hockey stick for a bow and pursued his dream of music

Donny Parenteau is a versatile vocalist & multi-instrumentalist who performs with energy and enthusiasm on the fiddle, mandolin, mandocaster, harmonica, acoustic and electric guitars.

Donny spent 12 years touring the world with Neal McCoy, recording on multi platinum selling albums & played on numerous shows along with performances on The Grand Ole Opry & The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Alongside McCoy Donny has shared the stage with country artists and genuine music icons such as Charlie Daniels, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Shania Twain and Reba McEntire, just to name a few.

Donny was invited to perform in Nov 2014 in Barcelona Spain and after returning continues to do his presentations to schools with Bully Free Zone. During the Anti Bullying Week in Nov 2014 Donny reached over 2500 students with this message in a 5 day span.

With 3 CD’s released since 2003 and without the backing of a major music label, Donny has garnered over 100 nominations at 7 major award shows which include 3 JUNO nominations and his first USA nomination for Best Country CD at the 2014 Native American Music Awards. His latest CD Bring it On is the only CD placed in a time capsule at the Regina Legislative Building to be opened in 100 years because of Donny’s song Deep in the Heart of Saskatchewan.

We talked life as a musician during the pandemic, his latest release and what’s on the way.