The Road Hammers rock the stage Saturday night as thousands come out for Coaldale’s Summer Fest

Posted on August 15, 2025 by Sunny South News

By Kristine Jean
Sunny South News

Another successful Coaldale Summer Fest is in the books. 

The three-day summer celebration Aug. 8-10 saw thousands of people pack the streets and venues to enjoy the “Proudly Canadian – Locally Driven” live entertainment, activities and family fun. 

 Despite rain on Friday, that saw the Movie in the Park move indoors to the Shift Community Recreation Centre –  It was a successful plan ‘B’, as dozens of families gathered for Moana 2 with free pizza served by members of town council and coffee, hot chocolate and timbits from Coaldale’s Tim Hortons.   

The weekend did see plenty of sunshine Saturday and Sunday as the celebration continued with a pancake breakfast, candy parade, show n’ shine, free swim, main street scavenger hunt, a barbecue lunch for the Coaldale Food Bank, family zone activities, live entertainment, food trucks, fireworks and a family faith fellowship gathering. 

“I am extremely pleased with how Summer Fest went this year. The turnout was incredible and it was wonderful to see our community and visitors enjoying everything Coaldale has to offer,” said Coaldale Mayor Jack Van Rijn. 

The mayor gave a special shout-out to the town’s community services team, who “quarterbacked the event from start to finish,” and whose planning and leadership contributed to the event’s success, as did the dedicated town staff and volunteers who worked tirelessly behind the scenes.  

“Summer Fest is a true reflection of community spirit,” said Van Rijn. “From the people who attended, to the teams and volunteers who pulled it together, this event showed once again why Coaldale is such a special place to live and visit.”

One of those visitors who took note of that was The Road Hammers frontman, Jason McCoy. 

Canadian country-rock band, The Road Hammers headlined Summer Fest Saturday night, in a music-filled weekend that also included rising country star Megan Dawson and local favourite, Bow City Underground. 

The Juno award winning trio, The Road Hammers features Jason McCoy, Clayton Bellamy and Chris Byrne and since releasing their first album in 2005, the group has had much success including six Top 10 hits and four Top 20 singles. They’ve also won several Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) awards, a Juno Award and have earned gold and platinum certifications.   

The Road Hammers rocked it out at the Coaldale Civic Plaza Saturday night, performing their first show in town. In a pre-concert interview with the Sunny South News, McCoy said he was impressed with Coaldale’s friendly, small town charm.  

“It’s perfect. Don’t tell anybody (about Coaldale), because it shouldn’t get any bigger,” said McCoy pointing out his Alberta roots, including several years he and his family lived in Camrose before moving back east to Ontario. “My first memories are of Alberta.” 

McCoy, a CCMA Hall of Fame inductee and recipient of Nashville’s Country Music Association (CMA) Global Artist Award, said he and The Road Hammers were thrilled to hit the stage in Coaldale and help raise funds for the Southern Alberta Chapter of Ride for Dad, in support of prostate cancer research. 

Saturday’s concert raised an unofficial amount of about $12,000 for the Ride for Dad.  

“We know how much it takes to put on a show like this. The town’s behind it and it’s a big deal,” said McCoy, noting their role in the Ride for Dad fundraiser. “That means a lot. The fact that they could have any band here and we’re here. That’s a big deal for us.” 

While The Road Hammers have been touring this summer, with upcoming stops in Australia later this month and Ontario in September, they have been writing some new songs, including one that hits the airwaves this week on August 15, called “Dirty Hands, Clean Money.”   

Coaldale fans were treated to a sneak preview of the song during Saturday’s performance. 

“The folks who have dirty hands, clean money – this song talks about exactly the people we’re singing too and the people we are,” said McCoy. “With this single, we have a contest going on with Traction,” he added, noting the heavy duty parts and equipment supplier. 

Fans will have a chance to win a $5,000 shopping spree from Traction and a private, acoustic concert by The Road Hammers at their place of work in November 2025.  

“Dirty Hands, Clean Money” is The Road Hammers first release since 2021. McCoy said the summer’s been going well and there are plans for an upcoming tour announcement to support the new single. 

The band is also celebrating two decades of their unique blend of country-rock music. 

“We do have some tour stuff coming up to support the single and we’re celebrating 20 years as a band,” said McCoy. “That’s the big thing for us, is the milestone.”