Country Music prevailed over Mother Nature for night 1 of Festival Country de Lotbinière

It’s been quite a week for festival organizers going from losing a headliner to the very real threat that severe weather could silence the music at the fifth anniversary of Festival Country de Lotbinière.

Heavy rain, hail and thunder rocked the venue early in the afternoon on Friday but by about 3pm it appeared as though Mother Nature had run out of steam…the rain let up, the clouds started to part and at one point even the sun made a brief appearance just before it set for the night.

The party started with Quebec based Justine Blanchet. Minor technical issues, likely related to the weather, didn’t knock her off her stride. Spending the majority of her set on the catwalk as close to her fans as possible Justine delivered a mix of covers and a handful of originals to the delight of her fans who braved the threat of rain to come out early and get a place close to the stage.

Following Justine was one of Warner Music Canada’s newest artists, Kris Barclay. It was my first time catching Kris live and I can see what attracted the folks over at Warner to him. Kris is currently promoting his debut single “Loved You Like That” but takes to the stage like he was born there. When you cover as much live music as we do it’s not uncommon to see newer artists taking their time to feel out a new stage and get comfortable with the performance aspect of a big stage show….not Kris. Kris had it mastered, and he powered his way through his set, certainly, gaining a few more fans in Quebec along the way (he definitely gained an Ontario fan right here too). If you’re in Ottawa you can catch Kris tonight as he kicks off the FREE CMAO New Faces Showcase & Concert on Sparks Street at 7pm. Kris is also nominated for Rising Star at tomorrow’s CMAO Awards.

The Reklaws hit the stage next and wasted no time winning over the hearts of everyone in attendance. This brother and sister duo from southern Ontario started their rise to fame 6 years ago at Boots and Hearts when they won the Boots and Hearts emerging artist competition. In the years since they’ve had quite the ride, a nationwide tour, performing at the Grey Cup, a JUNO Award Nomination and won the 2018 CCMA for Rising Star. This weekend they’re nominated for 5 Country Music of Ontario awards at the awards being held in Ottawa.

The Reklaws really surprised me during their performance. It’s common these days for artists to throw a couple of covers into their set but I’ve NEVER heard a country artist cover the Killers in their set…until last night. I was hanging side stage with James Barker when they started into the chorus of “All These Things That I Have Done”.  As a huge fan of the Killers this took me from an on the fence Reklaws fan to a true fan…honestly that was the coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time…would be cool to see them perform the full song sometime. I think The Reklaws just getting started and fully expect to see some big things out of the Walker camp in the next little while. I had the chance to sit and chat with Jenna and Stuart earlier in the day yesterday, watch for our interview coming up soon. The Reklaws will be performing in Ottawa tomorrow at the CMAO Awards and will return to Ottawa on July 20 for Pure Country 94’s Crazy Horse Parking Lot Party (Saskatchewan boys The Hunter Brothers will be performing on July 19).

Two years ago, at our first ever visit to St. Agapit, we had an afternoon chat with James Barker Band ahead of their performance opening for Tim Hicks. The guys had just released their debut EP, Game On, a few months prior and were just starting to get rolling. Their performance that night remains one of the most talked about performances at this festival. Fast forward 2 years, almost to the day, and we’re both back in St. Agapit. They just released their latest EP, Singles Only, and last weekend they performed at the CMA Festival in Nashville where they were also nominated for a CMA Award. Not bad considering it’s been only 4 years since they themselves won the Boots and Hearts Emerging Artist Showcase.

What can I say about the performance by one of my personal favourite country groups in Canada? Let’s put it this way the start of the show was delayed by about 30 mins because so many fans showed up at once it was taking longer than expected to get them all into the park. And what a treat as a late threat of rain passed and the guys hit the stage for one of their best performances to date. The surprise for me? If the music business doesn’t work out James Barker can fall back into a career as an auctioneer…he jumped into that role while performing a cover of John Michael Montgomery’s “Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)”. The band delivered all of the new songs on Singles Only as well as all of their other smash hits capping off the night with “Chills”. Watch for our interview with the boys coming soon!

What a great start to the weekend. It’s awesome to be back in Lotbinière again, nice to see some familiar faces from previous years and some familiar faces from Ontario making the trek into Quebec. We can’t say enough great things about this festival, it’s organizers and the artists that come here. There’s a reason we keep coming back year after year!

For those coming tonight Mother Nature is gearing up for another swipe at us just in time for Cold Creek County so be sure to dress for the weather because the show will go on…afterall country music fans aren’t afraid of a little rain. Dallas Smith is in the house as well so be ready for one heck of a night!

If you don’t have tickets for tonight yet head over to www.countrylotbiniere.com. Be sure to come early and support tomorrow’s stars. Véronique Labbé kicks things off at 5:45pm, followed by Jade Eagleson and then Cold Creek County sets things up for Dallas Smith.

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