Parker Graye started her “Halfway to a Tour” in Orillia, Ontario, at the Opera House, and she’ll be making her way to the Burdock Brewery in Toronto, Ontario, on May 13, and then The Painted Ship in Vancouver, British Columbia, on May 30. I had the great honour of having a small conversation with her before the show.

I got to learn a little bit of what the process is like for how she picked the artists for this special half tour.

“I’ve known Mackenzie, Amber, Dayna and Haley just because of the music industry. The Canadian music industry or country specific is so small. Mackenzie has played guitar for me at the CCMA’s last year. It was really important for me to have some females on this, especially being in my hometown and having them be so close. So it was really easy, and was just like, who do I think is going to be a really good fit and who’s working their tail off and who do I think is going to be excited about doing this with me? Because it’s not just about me. It’s about these girls too. Some of the people in this audience might have no idea who they are, and that’s cool for them, and maybe they’ll make a new fan.”

Selling out Orillia about a week before the concert, and already selling out the Vancouver location, here’s some words from Parker, to everyone located in the GTA or Downtown Toronto:

“Just come out and cry with me. Sad country all night. I think it’s a really cool and interesting approach to a country show. I don’t know a lot of people who have done a writers round as an opener. Obviously my stuff. It’s cool because it’s a bunch of songs that people already know, and then a bunch of new stuff that nobody knows, so there’s lots of little treats in it.”

Some artists have some major pre-show rituals they do before their show, such as going to a favourite restaurant or bar, to help make them feel more comfortable.

“No, no, rehearse. It’s like, get my guitar and we run things like a million times. I’m so nervous about forgetting lyrics that I need to just run things over and over and over again, still trying to stay calm. I’m mostly sitting in the back steaming my voice.”

Asking how it feels to play Toronto, because almost every band or solo artists come to the city on their tours. It’s a city where everyone who loves going to see live music or to attend a concert of their favourite artists.

“It’s cool because Toronto has been one of those places where it’s like the music industry is there, and I haven’t really had enough. I haven’t played Vancouver, Toronto or Orillia yet. This is my first time playing all three spots. I was in Vancouver for 15 years and I’ve been in Toronto a lot just because of all my friends. It’s just cool because I get a chance to kind of meet the industry where they’re at, and it’s not because of somebody else, it’s me putting on this show.”

Parker came onto the stage at 8 p.m, and started the set with her song “One That Got Away,” performing with total ease and confidence. After a few songs, she shared a small conversation with the audience, since it was a small, intimate venue. She told us some stories about how she goes about writing her music. Her third song of the night, she sang a song “Write About You,” which she explains was written because of her telling friends who her crush was. The fourth song of the night, “Lyin’ to Me,” is also the title of her 2024 album. Excited to perform this song because she shared that this song was displayed on the Billboard in Toronto at Young and Dundas square.

“Halfway,” the name of her tour, is a song she had released in 2024 and it was her first song to ever break 1.1 million streams in four months, making this the biggest streamed song for her career thus far. Playing “songs everyone knows and songs that nobody knows” is a great way to showcase and tease new upcoming music to old and new fans. 

After the show had ended, Parker stayed back at the merch table to be able to meet everyone who helped sell out her very first show. Taking photos, having some small conversations, and signing a little something special, made fans very excited. I cannot wait to see where this will take her next.

Writers Round Openers: The way this works is they’ll share a short story about the song they’re about to sing in each round.

Amber-Jo Bowman is from a small town north of Toronto, Ontario. Bowman started releasing music in 2018 with her debut EP, Gravity. Singing a song she wrote during the pandemic, she also sang a couple songs coming out in a couple weeks. 

1. Late Bloomer
2. Never Say Forever
3. Friendly Fire

Mackenzie Leigh Meyer, from Toronto, performed a song from her very first EP released in 2018, Dive Bar Diva, a savage song about a house husband instead of house wife, and a song to an ex-friend about a bad relationship. 

1. More Than a Memory
2. House Husband
3. In Love With a Loser

Dayna Reid, from Elmvale, performed her rounds with songs from her She’s Me (Deluxe) album about a liar in a relationship, a house, and the girl she was telling herself to be when she was a kid, which paved her way into country music.

1. The Way You Lie
2. This House
3. She’s Me

About the “Halfway to a Tour” Tour: 

Join Parker Graye and some special guests for her first-ever acoustic tour—that’s not really a tour, but almost is. It’ll be full of evenings filled with stories and songs, bringing the Nashville-style writers round to Canada. Followed by Parker for the rest of the evening, oversharing her stories for all the sad girl country lovers, this will be her first time playing in her hometown, Orillia, and her second homes, Toronto and finally Vancouver. Save the dates – she hopes to see you there!

Orillia – Opera House – May 9, 2025

Toronto – Burdock Brewery – May 13, 2025

Vancouver – The Painted Ship – May 30, 2025

Tickets are available now – https://www.parker-graye.com/shows

TORONTO LINK:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/parker-graye-tickets-1297583670689

PARKER GRAYE SETLIST:

1. One That Got Away
2. Something About You
3. Write About You
4. Lyin’ To Me
5. Cheap Dopamine
6. That One Guy
7. Gas Station Flowers
8. When You Stop Loving Me
9. Watered Down
10. Halfway
11. Good at Gettin’ Gone

PARKER GRAYE | INSTAGRAM |TIKTOK | THREADS | YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC

Photos By Courtney Page