Raised on a ranch outside the city, Morgan Klaiber says she calls Medicine Hat home. As an independent artist, she says the Sirius XM Top of the Country Contest is a career-changing opportunity to broadcast her music on the national stage.--Photo courtesy Morgan Klaiber Music
zmason@medicinehatnews.com
A Medicine Hat-area country artist has advanced to the semifinal round of a nationwide contest.
In her third attempt at Sirius XM’s Top of the Country contest, Morgan Klaiber has made it to the final eight.
Klaiber grew up on a ranch 30 minutes south of Medicine Hat in a household rich in both musical talent and authentic prairie culture.
The daughter of a country musician, Klaiber says she had always been drawn to music. She remembers playing back songs she heard as a kindergartener on a hand-me-down Casio keyboard. As she got a little older, her father began to include her in some of his performances.
But caught between the demands of full-time ranching, raising a family and music, Klaiber says her father never had the freedom to pursue his musical passions in earnest.
For many years, pursuing her own passions in agriculture, Klaiber also put music on the back-burner. She played in bar-band cover gigs while working a smattering of jobs in agriculture for years.
A few years ago, she and her husband decided to move back to the family ranch.
“We made the decision to come back home here to Medicine Hat. And I remember exactly where we were on the No. 1 highway between Brooks and Medicine Hat, when I looked at my husband and said, ‘I know what I want to be when I grow up.'”
With her family dividing the labour of the ranch, she suddenly had more time for music.
“It takes a village to make a music career for one person,” she said. “I’m in a really blessed situation where I have the flexibility and the family around me to be out there doing this.”
In 2023, she won the Ranchman’s Rising Star contest in Calgary. She says that experience connected her to industry contacts across Western Canada. Last year, her first full-length album, Hardgrass Country, won album of the year at the Country Music Alberta Awards.
Klaiber says she blacked out when her name was called.
“It was shocking. I did not expect to win. It goes to show though, that good, homegrown music does resonate with people,” she said. “I poured my heart – and my life savings – into that record. After that, we just grabbed another gear.”
Last year, Klaiber played 70 performances. Now, she’s up for her biggest opportunity yet.
After three years straight applying, the now semifinalist is close to a dream, and she knows how important winning the Top of the Country contest for three years running.
“I’m absolutely thrilled. It’s a really cool feeling to be in the top eight, I think it’s already career-changing. If I could make it to being in the top-three finalists, it would definitely be career changing. It would be life altering.”
On Monday, she’ll be the first of the semifinalists to record her original song and shoot the music video that will compete to make it to the final round.
The public votes on the artists to advance to the top three on the basis of the song and video they create in the semifinals. The three finalists are then invited to perform at a number of high-profile festivals, and the winner takes home a $25,000 grand prize.
Klaiber says she’s excited for the chance to bring attention to what she describes as a thriving local artistic community that is often overlooked on the national stage.
“There’s a whole world of artistry and music down here. I always say, there’s something in the water in Medicine Hat. Anything I can do to help put that on the map and shine that light on this area on a provincial and national level, I will always do that. I’m very proud of my home and the people and culture we have here.”
Last year’s winner, Noeline Hoffman, was also from this corner of the province, hailing from Bow Island. Klaiber also points to artists like Corb Lund and Colter Wall as examples of a flourishing and distinctive alternative country music scene.
“It’s very inspiring to see a couple people before me go out and do this. It makes you feel like maybe I have a shot.”
Klaiber hopes this journey is just beginning. But either way, she plans to enjoy the ride.
“I just plan to do my absolute best representing the southeast corner of Alberta,” she said.
Voting opens for the next round of the Top of the Country contest in April.
Morgan Klaiber’s music is available on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. She will share contest updates on her social media channels at Morgan Klaiber Music on all platforms.
