You might think it tough going to be a country and western singer-songwriter based in a ski resort.
Not so, says Christine Sherrington, even though the West Coast of B.C. isn't the first place that comes to mind for the genre.
"Out here there is definitely more of a country following than I think people realize. I went to a Kenny Chesney concert in June and they sold something like 20,000 tickets for Ambleside Park (in West Vancouver)," she says.
"It was huge and the park was packed. A lot of country artists that come through, their shows sell out, which is awesome."
And Sherrington adds that there is a lot about Whistler that is "kind of country," like being outside, nature, and the ever necessary trucks and beer.
"The more I tell people here I play it, the more I realize they love it," she adds.
The 24-year-old, originally from Erin, Ontario, performs in the resort under the moniker Small Town Runaway.
"I came out west right after high school and I felt it was an appropriate name, especially being out here where so many people are from everywhere but here," Sherrington says.
"When you're from a small town, you don't see as much and it was a scene that was imbedded in country music... You grow up with certain values, a simple life and stuff. But then you run off to figure out things and experience the world. You follow your dreams elsewhere.
"But country music was my piece of home that I held onto."
One of the reasons she came was snowboarding, which she trained in, arriving on the coast almost five years ago. When that fell away she went back to her music.
"It was the way my words came out, naturally country. I grew up in a really rural agricultural place, and it shaped my music in a lot of ways," Sherrington says.
Small Town Runaway performs at The Brickhouse Pub on Thursday, Nov. 19.
She describes her influences as changing all the time.
"There was a lot of folk when I was growing up, too. Right now I listen to a lot of Kip Moore. Chris Stapleton, his new album is amazing. I listen to a lot of country playlists with the older stuff and the newer," Sherrington says.
She tried to play her own music when she could, but hasn't really performed it until this past year. After recently graduating from the University of British Columbia, she has a lot more time to play.
So, like many Whistler musicians, Sherrington is moving from small venue to small venue, working on demos and her first major single.
"I dove into the studio this past summer and we're just working on the video, which was shot in Birken," Sherrington says.
Called "Boy in the Bronco," it comes out later this month.
"Like the Ford, not the horse," she laughs. "I love telling a good story, it's the thing I like the best."
