A northern Ontario country singer has a pretty amazing gig coming up.
Larry Berrio is scheduled for an international performance at the largest gold mine in the world, halfway across the planet, when he'll be traveling to Indonesia later this month and says he's thrilled with the latest development in his career.
He is just arriving home in Sudbury after a summer concert tour that took him across Canada.
“We just got back late last night, that's why we are in the bus right now from Mont Tremblant, Quebec. We did a corporate show there, so we have been very blessed. We have done so many shows this year, Killarney, and it's been a really incredible summer touring.” said Berrio.
His next performance will be on an international stage, and in his words is the biggest highlight of his career so far and will be traveling over 15,000 kilometres to get there.
"To be able to sing overseas and for them to relate to the song I wrote, Rock Town, at first I thought the song would be written about Sudbury, about my hometown, and then it just broadens that horizon to see that mining is around the world." said Berrio.
Redpath Group, headquartered in North Bay, booked Berrio to perform at the Grasberg Mine in Papua, Indonesia, where the company is a sub-contracor and is hosting the Redpath Stampede.
“You have to envision a mountain, and he is going to be performing in a community called Tembagapura at an elevation of about 13,000 feet. People jump out of planes skydiving at 12,000 feet, so he is at a very high-extreme elevation in a community of about 20,000 people. It takes 20,000 people to run that mine.” said Laura Piche of Redpath Group.
During his performance overseas, Berrio plans to debut a new song called Breaking Ground.
“About when the geologists go out and they find areas to mine, and then they break ground. And then they are breaking ground with the business, and then breaking ground with the employees." said Berrio.
“He has always been able to send out a positive message about the hard working community of the miners. Certainly his Sudbury influence shows up in his writing and music style.” said Piche.
Berrio says he is proud of being a miner's son, growing up in a mining community, and that it will be a honour to share his music high in the rain forest with miners on the other side of the world.
