Juno-nominee Tyler Shaw says his night at the Algonquin College Theatre was ‘the best show of the tour yet’
Tyler Shaw performed on Nov. 9, at Algonquin College as part of his cross-country The Wanted Tour with Craig Stickland and Neon Dreams band.
Shaw is a Canadian pop singer and actor. He was the winner of the MuchMusic Coca-Cola Cover contest in 2012. He got married to Alex Karolczyk Shaw in 2018 and he had his wedding in Ottawa. Alex Karolczyk Shaw is accompanying her husband on his tour across 21 stops in Canada.
Ottawa was his 13th stop where more than half of the theater was full.
The concert started with Craig Stickland who performed his song “Break Every Rule,” which made the crowd ask him for more songs.
Stickland is a model, actor and singer who was born in Vancouver and moved to Toronto after three years. He played the role of Brad in the movie Lies and Crimes in 2007 and the role of an elevator hipster in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World in 2010.
Tarah Campeau, a child and youth care student, says she connected with a lot of his lyrics. “His voice is very deep, I love it,” she said. She hadn’t heard him before and now she hopes he releases an album soon.
The show was better than what Stickland expected and the crowd was very engaging saying that it was, “one of the best shows on the tour.”
Big fans of Tyler Shaw came from Montreal to see him. Others got their ticket as an early Christmas gift.
Leila Weiler, a 12-year-old fan of Shaw, got her ticket as an early Christmas gift from Bernie Dawson, her grandmother.
Dawson who lives near the college saw one of the concert signs on her way home. “I’ve heard his music and I like it so I think both of us will be happy,” she said. Leila Weiler saw Tyler Shaw for the first time in person. “It’s one of my best Christmas gifts ever,” Weiler said.
Emma Laffim, a social science student at McGill University, came to the show in Ottawa because she has an exam on the date he plays in Montreal. She didn’t want to miss the concert. “I enjoyed all of his songs and I felt connected to each one of them,” Laffim said.
Jadyn Kaija, a second-year pre-health student, is one of Tyler Shaw’s biggest fans. “I’ve been in love with him since 2012,” Kaija said. She saw him play on Canada Day and she got a VIP ticket for this concert. “I am excited to meet him,” Kaija said. She enjoyed the concert even though she got tired at the end of it.
“I didn’t know Craig Stickland and Neon Dreams before this and now I’m in love with them,” she said.
Shaw loved the energy his Ottawa fans gave him. “I wasn’t joking when I said that’s the best show of the tour yet,” Shaw said backstage after the show. He was very excited about Montreal – his next stop – where all of the concert tickets were sold out.
Alex Karolczyk Shaw, who grew up in Ottawa and enjoys visiting her family and friends while they’re in town, loved seeing him on the stage. Her favourite songs are “With You” and “To The Man Who Let Her Go.”
“Those two songs are personal and they mean a lot to us, ” Karolczyk Shaw said. “I love seeing how people react to songs that mean so much to me.”
