Medicine Hat's MacKenzie Porter will be back home to headline the Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede next Thursday. -- SUBMITTED PHOTO
MacKenzie Porter, at new heights in her career, is coming home to headline at the 2022 Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede next Thursday.
She is being called unstoppable and is the first Canadian female to have five No. 1 hits on country radio in this century. It’s been about seven years since Porter last played the Stampede, but she feels this time will be much different with her as headlining rather than being an opener.
The past two years haven’t allowed Porter to come home much, but this past Christmas she managed to get here to hang out with her family. Porter said it has been over three years since she played here.
Now living in Nashville, she said, “I miss the quiet. My life is hectic and stressful. I miss my family more than anything, the quiet of being up there and the simplicity of life, waking up and not hearing a million sounds and noises. Just quiet, it sounds crazy, but I miss that.”
There is no slowing down for Porter, who will be on the road the entire summer.
“I get home usually from Monday to Wednesday to see my husband and dog and then we are back out again on the weekend. It’s busy, but it’s the perfect balance between the two,” said Porter.
During the pandemic, Porter tried to make the best of what was happening.
“We really tried to make do with our, and everybody’s, circumstances at that time. I wrote a ton, I did virtual shows, we recorded lots of new music. I recorded my single with Dustin Lynch at that time,” she stated.
Thinking ‘Bout You was her fourth No. 1 in Canada and first in the States.
Things have changed quickly for Porter in the past and she said she has zero signs of slowing down anytime soon.
“I’m looking forward to coming home, I hope people have a really safe, fun night,” she said. “I’m going to hang out after my set and take photos and meet a bunch of people and see people I haven’t seen in years. It’s going to be a homecoming for me.”
