Last year Marty Edwards thought he was going to die.
The B.C.-based Kenny Rogers tribute artist had tested positive for colorectal cancer and was due for major surgery. Edwards said he didn’t feel any symptoms of the illness, aside from fatigue, but as he points out, “At that time I was 67 years old, so I expect to be tired, you know?”
Edwards said the first couple months after the procedure were “brutal.” He was forced to cancel all his bookings and he had doubts about his future.
“I had no idea if I could ever perform again. But the funny thing is after those eight weeks, I started getting stronger. And as it turns out my voice is stronger, I’m stronger because the cancer was draining me and I wasn’t even aware,” he said.
“It just sort of creeps up on you. It’s like if you’ve got a car and the brakes are slowly going, because you drive it every day, you don’t really notice it until you get new brakes and then you hit your brakes and … it puts you through the windshield.”
He booked his first post-surgery show in October 2016 and he’s been back to touring the world ever since.
The rejuvenated Edwards, who goes by the stage name ‘Kinda Kenny,’ will be performing alongside Dolly Parton tribute artist Wendy Engler for their Kenny and Dolly…Together Again show at the Port Theatre on Friday (Oct. 6).
Edwards, who has been a Rogers fan all his life, has been performing as Rogers for about 20 years. He did his first tribute act at a charity concert he organized with his wife. He said it was “just for a bit of fun, one-time type of thing” but after the show people were asking if he planned on reprising his performance.
In the two decades since, Edwards has met Rogers and Rogers has referred corporate clients to Edwards, but he said “one of the coolest things” happened last year before a show in Lloydminster, Alta./Sask.
“I was in the dressing room and I had my phone and it beeped on me about five or 10 minutes before going on stage, and I looked…” Edwards said, his voice slowing. “Kenny Rogers liked my Facebook page. And that just blew me away.”
Edwards said he’s become an “evangelist” for early cancer detection since his brush with the illness and credits his survival to finding the cancer at an early stage. A portion of ticket sales from the show will go toward the B.C. Cancer Foundation for colorectal cancer research.
“I think to myself, ‘This is what I’ve got to do,’” he said.
“I enjoy performing and I need to get that message [out] because I think it can save lives and I know a number of people who have taken the test based on what I’ve said. I was 67 when I had my first colonoscopy and I should have done it when I was 50.”
WHAT’S ON … Kenny and Dolly…Together Again is coming to the Port Theatre on Friday (Oct. 6) at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $48.
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