After Bud left in 1963 for Montreal, The Jamboree went into hiatus for nine years until Jim Burns; a former City Councilor and country music performer founded the “Capital City Jamboree” on April 3, 1982 at the Playhouse in Fredericton. The “Jamboree” was telecast on ASN and featured local and national country music singers. On February 4, 1988, Jim changed the name to the “New Brunswick Country Showcase” and set it up as a non-profit corporation. Jim continued to produce and host the “Showcase” until he passed it on to Kevin Neilson in 1992.

Kevin, with the help of his co-producer, Tom Hoyt presented shows in Plaster Rock, Woodstock, Oromocto and Saint John as well as the Playhouse. Over the years they have had guest performers including Joan Kennedy, Jullian Austin and Chris Cummings as well as hundreds of local artists.

In the late 1990’s Kevin passed the lead role over to Tom, a position he still holds today. Hoyt says “We’ve tried to shake it up a bit to insure our audience doesn’t get tiered of the same old thing. We’ve presented shows with only performers up to the age of 16, had local favorite bands on like the “Hardcore Troubadours” and produced theme shows, most recently “The Legends of Country Music”. We’ve added sets to the stage and pictures in the background to make it a visual as well as an audio show. We also presented an Old Rock & Roll show based in the late 50’s and early 60’s. The artists get into character to take people back fifty years ago.”

The Legends of Country Music presented by the New Brunswick Country Showcase is currently on tour to Miramichi, Riverview and Saint John They hold six shows annually at the Playhouse.