Country Music that doesn’t ask for permission
Kent McAlister’s songs hold the comfortable weight of your favorite coat on a cold prairie night. Singing modern tales of what is, and what used to be, he captures the honest grit of those weathered faces that belong to the cowboys and at the end of the long table.
About Kent
From winning songwriting competitions to selling out rooms across Canada, Kent McAlister delivers a distinctive brand of Canadiana Country.
Now returning to the studio and the road in 2026, McAlister brings new songs and a razor-tight backing band, reconnecting audiences with a sound that’s sharp, seasoned, and undeniably Canadian.
Not only an accomplished songwriter with three acclaimed albums to his name, McAlister's songs and live show are a force to be reckoned with.
His performances have earned him support-act duties with luminaries of country music such as Roseanne Cash, Johnny Cash's band The Tennessee Three, and multiple tour dates with Corb Lund.
McAlister has not only been a familiar face, but a fan-favorite at festivals such as The Big Valley Jamboree, North Country Fair, ArtsWELLS, and several others throughout Western Canada.
He is also a sought-after lead guitar player and has lent his skill to projects such as The Washboard Union, Carter Felker, and Mariel Buckley before they were household names.
McAlister's new music is slated for release in late 2026.
Upcoming Performances
January 30th Calgary, AB BMO Center, Private Function Check back here for upcoming Calgary Stampede dates and more
Past Performances
--- 2025 B.C. Solo Tour --- Friday August 22nd Kelowna, BC Three Lakes Brewing Ltd. 4pm Saturday August 23rd Kelowna, BC The Vibrant Vine Winery 1pm Sunday August 24th Kelowna, BC The Hatching Post Brewery & Smokery 6pm Wednesday August 27th Armstrong, BC Interior Provincial Exhibition & Stampede Community Corner Stage 12pm-1pm 4pm-5pm Friday August 29th Richmond, BC LuLu Island Winery 5pm
What They’ve Said:
“Kent McAlister’s music is fresh and inventive; and the band rocked every night on tour”
- Corby Lund
"A clever wordsmith with a well-wrought, light sense of humour." -The Vancouver Province
- The Vancouver Province
"Kent McAlister can definitely croon, and The Iron Choir are masters of some catchy soundscapes."
- The Edmonton Journal
McAlister covers a lot of ground in the best possible way. Intelligent lyrics married to elements of traditional Country, Swing, and Tex-Mex."
- BC Music Magazine
"McAlister and his band have locked into a spicy, play-it-again alchemy."
- FFWD Magazine, Calgary
"Live they are blistering hot. They play like family; instinctively and intuitively"
- Scene and Heard, Durham, ON
"Well-respected among Western Canada for being one of the best bands to showcase and unconventional style..."
- ObscureSound.com
"There will be no chance of gimmick-laden promotions, gratuitous headlines or salacious scandals to help generate some much-deserved interest for the Calgary born-and-bred singer-songwriter’s latest collection of ‘spaghetti western meets Leonard Cohen’ brilliance."
- The Tyee
"(How I'll Remain) is a collection of 10 straight up country-rock tunes standing tall on the shoulders of storytellers such as Alabama, and Johnny Cash"
- The Uniter, Winnipeg
"While there's a definite hard-edge Roots feel to much of McAlister's music, he delivers the material with enough grit and twang to attract country listeners' attention."
- Country Music News
"...sympathetically captures a love of pre-Urban Cowboy country music, but updates the sound for a modern audience...(it is) an immanently listenable country album..."
- The Red Deer Advocate
"...a great mix of old school Country music with an old fashioned urban sensibility to it as well. It's like that perfect pair of boots that you can go hiking in, and still polish up for a night on the town."
- Red Cat Records
"...a boot-stompin', tobacco spittin', heart-hurtin' affair...there's no room for filler here; every song stands up to further listening."
- VUE Weekly, Edmonton
Reach Out to Kent McAlister
Contact Kent McAlister for bookings