Ronald Beaupre grew up surrounded by music. His mother was an accomplished vocalist; his father a consummate fiddle player. Growing up in that environment led him to teach himself guitar by age 12. By age 15 he was quite happily (and quite illegally) playing in a band in a dance club near his home. Ronald will tell you that his school mates went to each others houses after the senior prom. He and his date went to the nightclub downtown where he spent 4 nights a week playing his music.
He started out playing lead guitar, and along the way learned bass, fiddle, drums, and keyboards. He has played almost constantly since his first outing those years ago when he was in high school, moving from rock and roll bands, to oldies bands, and finally, a few years ago, to Smokehouse. Having grown up in the age of rebellion and rock and roll, Ronald wasn’t convinced a country band was for him, but at the urging of his brother sat in at a few gigs with the rest of the band.
A club owner where the band regularly played noticed the difference, and told the band he thought Ronald should become a member permanently- happily, the band agreed that Ronald’s smooth keyboards added a richer component and fuller dimension to what was already an extraordinary sound. Since that time Ronald has played full time with Smokehouse, and still occasionally sits in with an oldies band that plays in the greater Hartford area. He was with the band when they competed on the national level at the 2001 NACMAI competition in Pigeon Forge, TN, where they were named “Most Promising Band- Adult New Country”.
Staying true to his roots, he chooses to still use a Leslie Organ on stage because he feels it gives him more versatility than a lot of today’s instruments, though he recently added a new Hammond keyboard to the mix. Whether he’s playing lead on a slow ballad, or back-up on a rockin’ Brooks and Dunn tune- one thing is certain- Ronald has been a fabulous addition to an already amazing band.
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