Local country music fans are abuzz with the news that Canadian Idol favourite and rising star Karen-Lee Batten is performing at the Ocean Port (OP) Hotel Saturday (May 17)."They're very stoked because we don't have enough country music coming to Squamish," said OP event organizer Darlene McNeil. "The Ocean Port is trying to improve on that, and we're probably having at least one country music event a month."This weekend's audience may be able to say "I saw her when" since Batten's popularity is only expected to skyrocket with the April release of her debut video Hearts On The Run on the highly-rated television station, Country Music Television (CMT). "Karen-Lee is a talented artist with a killer voice and a sparkling, infectious personality...she's beautiful inside and out," said Dayna Bourgoin, music director CMT Canada. During the show, OP audiences will get a chance to view Batten's new video on the bar's big screens, according to McNeil.Batten is a three-time winner of the 小蓝视频 Country Music Association top female vocalist of the year, and placed within the top 10 Canadian Idol winners in 2005. She released her debut album, Every Moment, in December 2005. The album's cover of Deryl Dodd and Kenny Beard's song A Bitter End received a significant amount of radio airplay on Canadian country music radio stations.Batten makes her way to Squamish through a connection with a local country music singer who is also quickly gaining fans in the industry, Nadine McNeil, daughter to Darlene. Nadine has gained massive accolades on the competition circuit, most recently earning the right to represent the province on the national stage after winning CMT's Chevy Karaoke Star contest.
