After two years of pandemic shutdown, the Niverville Olde Tyme Country Fair is planning to make a triumphant return to southeastern Manitoba this summer—specifically, on the weekend of June 10–11.
One of the highlights of the fair, which closes all of Niverville’s Main Street for the weekend, is always the live music. This year will be no exception, with Canada’s own The Reklaws headlining the show.
The Reklaws are composed of Jenna and Stuart Walker, a brother/sister pair from rural Ontario. At the moment they’re burning up the Canadian country music charts.
The Reklaws have received three JUNO nominations, four CCMAs, seven Gold singles, five Platinum singles, and a Gold-certified debut album. They also have the most domestically streamed debut album in Canadian country music history.
Homegrown Opening Act
Opening for the Reklaws will be Manitoba’s own Emma Peterson.
Peterson is making a name for herself in Canadian country. In 2016, she participated in Country Music Television’s Chevy Tailgate Contest where she was named one of the top four finalists in Canada.
In 2019, she won the Emerging Artist Award at the Manitoba Country Music Awards in Winnipeg.
Listening to country music on the radio spurred a lifelong passion for Peterson. At ten or eleven, she convinced her parents to buy her a $50 guitar—but in her hometown of 600 people, there was no guitar teacher.
“After school I would go to my room and watch [guitar lesson] videos again and again, trying to figure everything out,” Peterson says.
Peterson has a day job too, as a nurse who spent nine months working in a COVID-19 ward.
“Music and nursing are in a weird way kind of connected,” she says. “In both, you’re really trying to give to other people. Music is therapy.”
Peterson knows it’s been a long time since most people have been out to go see a live show, so she is excited to hit the stage.
“I was super excited to be playing the Niverville fair in 2020, but then [the fair] was cancelled so I feel like I’ve been anticipating this show for two years. You can expect high energy, lots of fun, and some good country music!”
