NORTH BATTLEFORD — It's been a long run for the Louisiana Hayride Show, a live musical performance that's been playing in Western Canada since 2010.
Lori Risling, who founded the show with her husband Gil, said it was finally time to retire the show.
She said it was getting harder to keep the show running at her age. She is now 72 years old.
Risling said it was a difficult decision "because we love it so much. It was a hard decision but it was one that was necessary."
The couple are based in the Scott and Meota areas.
The farewell show was performed in North Battleford in October 2025. The last performance of the final tour was in Airdrie, Alta., in May 2026.
The Louisiana Hayride Show is a stage concert performed live by Canadian musicians that relives the era of classic country music.
The Louisiana Hayride Show is inspired by a live radio show that ran from 1948 to 1960 and featured performances by popular country music artists of the day, such as Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley.
Risling got the idea for the show from her love of the music from that time period.
"I love music and my love of writing," she said. "I always liked to write and just had an idea that I wanted to do a music show."
"I host, introduce the songs and tell a little story about either the song or the singer, and then talk about the history of the Louisiana Hayride, the show itself," Risling said.
Her husband Gil played guitar and bass guitar in the show. At one time, he performed as Hank Williams.
The Louisiana Hayride Show featured Western Canadian artists playing the part of many famous musicians from the golden age of country music.
Risling said creating the show was a lot of fun for her.
"I just like music and I like writing, and putting a show together," she said. "I knew I wanted this type of music. When I started researching, I discovered the Louisiana Hayride Show, and thought that would be a really good umbrella in which to showcase all the music that I wanted to have in the show."
"The way it went is that we got the people that we wanted and then I picked the characters that I knew would suit them," Risling added. "It wasn't that I went searching for a particular artist. I went searching for a musician that would fit personality-wise and talent-wise. Then, I geared the songs to them."
She said she and Gil will miss the show now that it's over, since they've retired.
"Right now, it's pretty early," Risling said. "We're just sort of catching our breath."
The show also had a lot of fans.
"They are so sad too that it's over, but they understand the necessity," Risling said. "So, it's bittersweet for everybody."
