Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look at the week's news and decides who's hot... and who's not. This week's list inclu...
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When the lights came up inside the Saskatchewan Country Music Awards (SCMA) hall in Regina, Kurtis Kopp walked out with more than hardware in his hands.
He carried a history that began in front of a record player nearly four decades ago, a moment when an eight-year-old boy listened to Elvis: As Recorded at Madison Square Garden and felt something shift.
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“Ronnie Tutt, the drummer for Elvis Presley, starts the show off with a very large drum beat after a brass section opens up the song and is very heavy rhythmic,” he said.
“And that moment has stuck with me till today, and I’m 41 years old right now.”
That early spark led him through basements full of drum kits, long after-school practices, teenage jam sessions, televised gigs on Access TV and tours that carried him across the country.
But on award night on Nov. 30, it all circled back. Kopp took home Drummer of the Year, the first time he has won after previous nominations, and the 2025 Humanitarian Award for his volunteer work with the Battlefords District Food and Resource Centre (BDFRC).
Both honours, he said, still feel a little surreal.
Battlefords drummer Kurtis Kopp performs during a past live show in this photo. (Kurtis Koop/Facebook)
‘Am I really a part of this?’
Kopp’s years in music have delivered moments that feel almost otherworldly.
He remembers the déjà vu of stepping onstage in Jasper, Alta., playing on the side of a mountain, opening for Street Heart at the Edmonton Grand Prix in 2007 and recording in studios where the energy feels electric.
“There were some shows where it’s so perfect and so surreal that you almost feel like you’re having déjà vu,” he said.
“Sometimes magic happens on stage with the drums … you’re not sure if you’ve even really trained for that. It’s almost like you’re channeling something from outside, from the ethers, from the spirit world or however you want to put that and whatever you believe in.”
Those memories sit at the heart of his musicianship, a sense that rhythm is older than any one drummer, something that can pull you into a trance.
“It’s actually hypnotic. There’s a rhythm to life and a pulse to life and that goes with music and drumming is the fundamental aspect of creating that.”
Winning Drummer of the Year, Kopp said, feels like recognition for the miles he has put in, but also a reminder of why he plays in the first place.
“It really all boils down to showing up for yourself and showing up to others and always being good to others,” he said.
“It comes down to repeatedly honoring the point to it, and that’s to serve the music.”
Kurtis Kopp receives the King Charles III Coronation Medal during a June 4 ceremony. The honour later helped support his nomination for the Saskatchewan Country Music Association’s 2025 Humanitarian Award. (Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW)
A humanitarian honour rooted in community
Kopp’s second award, Humanitarian of the Year, shared with fellow musician Justin Labrash, grew from the work he has done far from the stage.
Erin Katerynych, executive director of the BDFRC, describes him as the volunteer who shows up before he is even asked, the man hauling boxes onto trucks, stepping in on pickup days and painting the front windows with shifting artwork that has made the building feel “welcoming, warm, and full of life.”
He is also one of the food bank’s strongest public supporters, someone who, as she put it, “always makes volunteers feel included, staff feel supported, and families feel seen.”
That community commitment led to him receiving the King Charles III Coronation Medal earlier this year.
But in his view, the spotlight belongs to everyone at the food bank.
“It was something that wasn’t just my lone effort,” he said. “It takes a group of volunteers and people who are there, not just for some people that are directly affected in that regard, but a community as a whole.”
He paused before adding a message he hopes people carry long after the award ceremony fades.
“It really doesn’t take anything extra to help those in need at all. A person needs to just show up and help because you don’t know what that effort you put forward will do to impact someone.”
Looking ahead
With two awards now sitting on his shelf, Kopp says he feels both humbled and re-energized.
“This is really coal to the fire of a passion that I’m going to carry forward in a greater way … that means that 2026, 2027, I’m going to be working a lot harder. You can expect a lot more out of me.”
He continues to work on new collaborations and original music, writing and recording in the moments when inspiration arrives, whether behind a drum kit, a guitar or a mixing console.
In the meantime, he returns to what has always grounded him: community, rhythm and the belief that one moment, one beat, can change a life.
“If anyone or everyone in our little community could do one kind thing for somebody every day, what an impact that would have on our community,” he said.
“And it’s all about being friendly, relating to everybody, taking interest in what other people’s passions are … give them a little extra push forward so that they can succeed in their life.”
