Blab Music
St. Johns Line-Dancing Boom Drives Country Music Surge Across Newfoundland
St. John’s line‑dancing classes have turned the city into a country‑music playground, drawing people of all ages to twirl in cowboy boots and turning the province’s streaming charts and concert calendars into a new frontier for the genre.
Colleen Hann returned to Newfoundland from Texas eight years ago, and a month ago she launched a single weekly lesson that has since exploded in popularity. The class now fills three venues – The Old Mill bar in St. John’s, a West Side Charlie’s pool bar in Paradise, and a new country‑music‑themed bar downtown – and she reports teaching roughly 350 clients each week, about twice the number she taught last year.
“It’s all ages, it’s from 8 to 80 and all walks of life,” Hann told a session at The Old Mill. “It just blew off the charts. I’m busy, busy, busy all the time, which is fantastic.”
The surge shows up in the data. Spotify Canada lists Newfoundland as the top region in Canada for “Canadian Country Music” streams during the period from September 2024 to September 2025.
Live‑event activity mirrors the trend. Shania Twain and Blake Shelton headlined the Churchill Park Music Festival in St. John’s, and the current year’s lineup already includes The Chicks and Keith Urban. Bob Hallett, former Great Big Sea singer and current head of the East Coast Music Association, noted that “the source material for American country music and the source material for Newfoundland traditional music are the same.”
Hallett added that country stars visiting the province is not new. Commercial radio and U.S. military bases in Newfoundland historically attracted American country acts, such as Johnny Cash touring rural areas when Canadian bands were scarce.
The province’s sparse population and remote geography mean that promoters must appeal to a broad audience to fill a show. “There’s about 250,000 people within reasonable travelling distance for a concert,” Hallett said. “You can’t just have men, or just women, it can’t be 18 to 25 or 35 to 60. You have to hit the broadest territory.”
The line‑dance boom has rippled into local commerce. First Western Boutique in downtown St. John’s reports higher sales of cowboy boots and Western‑style apparel. “When you have these big festivals, people want to be dressed for the occasion,” boutique owner Ed Grace said.
Valerie Flynn, a long‑time student of Hann’s, explained that she is not a traditional country fan but enjoys the music’s accessibility. “With all the great artists now that are popular country, she plays such a genre that you can get into the song,” Flynn said.
The surge in line‑dance participation and country‑music streaming is reshaping Newfoundland’s cultural landscape. While the province’s population remains relatively small, the growing appetite for country music is creating new opportunities for performers, promoters, and related businesses.
The trend is likely to continue as Hann’s classes expand and more country acts schedule shows in the region. The next Churchill Park Music Festival will feature The Chicks and Keith Urban, and additional touring schedules for country stars are expected to follow.
In short, St. John’s line‑dancing classes are not only filling dance floors but also driving a broader country‑music revival across Newfoundland, reflected in streaming statistics, concert attendance, and retail sales of Western‑style gear.
Colleen Hann returned to Newfoundland from Texas eight years ago, and a month ago she launched a single weekly lesson that has since exploded in popularity. The class now fills three venues – The Old Mill bar in St. John’s, a West Side Charlie’s pool bar in Paradise, and a new country‑music‑themed bar downtown – and she reports teaching roughly 350 clients each week, about twice the number she taught last year.
“It’s all ages, it’s from 8 to 80 and all walks of life,” Hann told a session at The Old Mill. “It just blew off the charts. I’m busy, busy, busy all the time, which is fantastic.”
The surge shows up in the data. Spotify Canada lists Newfoundland as the top region in Canada for “Canadian Country Music” streams during the period from September 2024 to September 2025.
Live‑event activity mirrors the trend. Shania Twain and Blake Shelton headlined the Churchill Park Music Festival in St. John’s, and the current year’s lineup already includes The Chicks and Keith Urban. Bob Hallett, former Great Big Sea singer and current head of the East Coast Music Association, noted that “the source material for American country music and the source material for Newfoundland traditional music are the same.”
Hallett added that country stars visiting the province is not new. Commercial radio and U.S. military bases in Newfoundland historically attracted American country acts, such as Johnny Cash touring rural areas when Canadian bands were scarce.
The province’s sparse population and remote geography mean that promoters must appeal to a broad audience to fill a show. “There’s about 250,000 people within reasonable travelling distance for a concert,” Hallett said. “You can’t just have men, or just women, it can’t be 18 to 25 or 35 to 60. You have to hit the broadest territory.”
The line‑dance boom has rippled into local commerce. First Western Boutique in downtown St. John’s reports higher sales of cowboy boots and Western‑style apparel. “When you have these big festivals, people want to be dressed for the occasion,” boutique owner Ed Grace said.
Valerie Flynn, a long‑time student of Hann’s, explained that she is not a traditional country fan but enjoys the music’s accessibility. “With all the great artists now that are popular country, she plays such a genre that you can get into the song,” Flynn said.
The surge in line‑dance participation and country‑music streaming is reshaping Newfoundland’s cultural landscape. While the province’s population remains relatively small, the growing appetite for country music is creating new opportunities for performers, promoters, and related businesses.
The trend is likely to continue as Hann’s classes expand and more country acts schedule shows in the region. The next Churchill Park Music Festival will feature The Chicks and Keith Urban, and additional touring schedules for country stars are expected to follow.
In short, St. John’s line‑dancing classes are not only filling dance floors but also driving a broader country‑music revival across Newfoundland, reflected in streaming statistics, concert attendance, and retail sales of Western‑style gear.
