“Jerry Sereda is a country rocker from
Winnipeg, Manitoba making his mark on the Canadian Country Music scene”
(APTN, 2008). Jerry has shared the stage with Shane
Yellowbird, Donny Parenteau, Jason Blaine, and many others while
playing shows throughout Canada, and the United States.
Having played venues ranging from acoustic performances in
small lounges, to larger settings such as Dauphin Countryfest, and We
fest Jerry continues to “expand his fan base with his upbeat rhythms
and commanding stage presence”(Winnipeg Sun, 2008).
Jerry’s performances engage
audiences with a mix of original music, mixed with a variety of upbeat
cover tunes ranging from classic western, to modern country.
Drawing inspiration from the classic country troubadours
like Hank Williams, and Johnny Cash to the modern rockers such as Keith
Urban, and Dierks Bentley, Jerry has loved to entertain and sing to
audiences since his debut at the Centennial Concert Hall. This love of
singing inspired Jerry to learn how to play guitar in 2002.
Jerry Sereda began writing
songs in 2003 and has a style of writing that combines the descriptive
storytelling of classic country with the upbeat rhythms of modern
country music. Jerry’s style of singing has been compared to the
“styles of country rockers Keith Urban and Tim McGraw” (Grassroots
News, June 26, 2007)
In the Spring of 2007 after
many attempts at establishing himself as a country artist, Jerry was
ready to hang up his cowboy hat and settle down. But under the constant
encouragement from his mother, he decided to enter one more contest
called “Star Catcher” headed up by the Manitoahbee organization. Much
to Jerry’s surprise he placed 2nd in the competition, and with the win
came the support to record his first single “Time”, and support from
Manitoahbee to book his first year of shows. This support from
Manitoahbee, and the Aboriginal Community rekindled the drive in Jerry
to pursue his dream of becoming a country music singer. Jerry’s first
single “Time” was released and featured on the Star Catcher compilation
CD on June 21st, 2007
In 2008, Jerry auditioned for
Canadian Idol, and made the top 200 contestants in Toronto, ON. After
arriving in Toronto, Jerry made the first round of cuts to the Top 100
contestants where they were required to sing one song from an approved
list. Jerry managed to maintain his calm cowboy composure until after
singing his song in front of the judges. When deliberations began there
was some disagreement among the judges, and they finally came to an
agreement to bring Jerry back to sing another song at the end of the
list of contestants. This event lead to an entire day of camera’s
following Jerry, as he set out to learn a new song from the list that
would impress the judges. After an emotional day Jerry took to the
stage to sing one final song which put him through to the next round on
the following day. In the end it became a technicality with footage
filmed back in Winnipeg which was not cleared for broadcast that sent
Jerry back to Manitoba.
With a firm resolve to make a name for himself, Jerry
continued to write, and perform songs across Canada and the USA, until
finally deciding to fund his debut album “Campground Cowboy” in the
spring of 2009. The album was released on July 1, 2009 and it “displays
a hint of the traditional music the Winnipegger grew up with, balanced
with today’s contemporary country, all delivered with a pleasing vocal
exuding confidence.” (Bruce Leperre, Winnipeg Free Press,
July 25, 2009)
Jerry is currently back in the
studio working on a music video, and his second album that includes
writers, and co-writers such as Dierks Bentley, Willie Mack, Eric
Church, and Steven Lee Olsen. With a release date attentively set for
the fall of 2010