Country comes to Base31

The Pretty Excellent Country Music Festival

Cowboy boots and hats and big belt buckles, along with plaid shirts and denim shorts—and maybe a greater than usual number of pick-up trucks in the parking lot—were in evidence at Base31 on Friday and Saturday nights for the Pretty Excellent Country Music Festival in the Drill Hall. Friday night opened with the band High Valley from Alberta with their signature blend of country and bluegrass. The band has been around since 1997 and they have released six albums along with a number of EPs and singles, many of which have made to the Top 10 in Canadian Country music. Their accolades include several Canadian Country Music Association Awards as well as three Juno nominations.

Saturday’s headliner was The Reklaws (actually written with a backwards “R”) and the Drill Hall was packed with fans all the way from the front of the stage to the big open doors at the entrance. It was an all-ages audience, from those measuring their years in single digits to those measuring them in decades. Ten-year-old Anson Miron had the best seat in the house. He’s been a fan of The Reklaws for two years, and this is his second time seeing them live. “I listen to their songs every day in my bedroom,” he said. And he’s fully memorized them, as he enthusiastically sang along through the night.

The opening musician for The Reklaws was their label mate Nate Haller. Mr. Haller is from Waterloo, Ontario, and he released his debut single Lightning in a Bottle in March 2021, which made it to the Top 10 Canada County chart. He followed up with his first full album in 2022. On Saturday he sang a number of his own songs, including Budweiser with the line “Getting a little bit older, a little Budweiser”, which he says is about learning lessons in life.

The Reklaws are the brother and sister duo of Stuart and Jenna Walker and hail from Dumfries, Ontario. Their band name is their last name spelled backwards, hence the reverse “R”. They’ve come a long way from performing on their family farm during the pig races half-time show. They began their professional career in 2012, and in 2013 won the Boots and Hearts Music Festival, which led them to signing with Universal Music Canada. They have had four number one hits on the country music charts and have received two Juno nominations. Their 2021 single What the Truck was the fastest Canadian song to reach one million streams. They provided a high-energy show on Saturday night, opening with their 2023 hit Honky Tonkin’ About followed by Feels Like That. The music was not all about drinking beer, driving trucks and having a good time. In an acoustic set they sang People Don’t Talk About It, which they wrote and dedicated to their mother, who they lost two years ago to mental health struggles. The energy and fun quotient picked up afterwards with a beer squirt gun and a fishing game where they delivered cans of beer to the audience using fishing poles. The Reklaws could be on their way to a much bigger stage. Earlier last month they auditioned for America’s Got Talent and received a ringing endorsement from all four judges, sending them on to the next round.