The Reklaws heat up Ottawa with Winter’s A Beach Tour

A snowy Saturday night in the Nation’s Capital was the perfect backdrop for The Reklaws’ Winter’s A Beach Tour to heat up the Algonquin Commons Theatre.

The stage was set with palm trees and a tiki bar, while the open, modern venue was littered with cowboy hats, flowery leis, and brightly colored glow sticks.

Opening the evening, Toronto-based East Adelaide got the crowd up and energized with their new country sound. The quartet showed off their powerful vocals and guitar riffs with a classic cover of the late Tom Petty’s Free Falling, followed by their new single You Don’t Get to Love Me as a finale.

Touted as a true country boy, Jade Eagleson hit the stage next with cowboy boots and the hat to match. His deep voice and acoustic guitar brings back memories of Johnny Cash. The 24 year old threw it back to his favorite song, covering Shania Twain’s Any Man of Mine to a loud cheer of approval from the crowd. Eagleson capped off the performance with two of his singles Got Your Name On It and the newly released Count the Ways.

With the audience well warmed, the headlining brother-sister duo came out with a bang. Jenna Walker took to the stage first, with the younger member of the Reklaws, Stuart, making his way through the crowd high-fiving fans all the way to his mic. A quick scan of the theatre and you could see (and feel) that it was now at full capacity. After opening with Missing You and Hometown Kids, the Reklaws explained that they love to write songs about going out and enjoying life.

In a fun, interactive segment of the night, two fans celebrating their birthdays, Roland (50) and Veronica (25), were called up onto the stage where they limboed with Jenna and Stuart holding each end of the stick. Afterwards the pair stayed to dance and sing with the Reklaws for another song, capping off quite the experience for them.

Jenna’s impressive vocals shone bright through a number of recent pop covers including Rhianna’s Umbrella, the Black Eyed Peas’ Let’s Get it Started, and Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus. Stuart also impresed with notable songs like Stacy’s Mom by Fountains fo Wayne and The Killers’ Mr. Brightside.

The duo reminisced about how unbelievable 2018 was for them before finishing the set with the ever-popular CFL anthem Long Live the Night. Their performance was not over though. After chants for an encore, they arrived back on stage and shared a story about losing their late grandfather last year. They performed the opening of John Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads, as a nod to him, before finally finishing the night with yet another hitL Roots.

The connection made between The Reklaws and their fans was undeniable. The duo delivered an evening of upbeat live entertainment to everyone attendance, with strong performances by both supporting acts. Next stop on the tour is Peterborough. You can get your tickets here.

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