New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Last night, as TSN dropped the puck on Canada's favourite holiday hockey tradition, the 2019 IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP, it was announced that the CCMA Award-winning Canadian Country duo The Reklaws will deliver the anthem of the tournament with the release of new single "
Roots" as the TSN World Juniors Song. "
Roots" was written by Jenna and
Stuart Walker (The Reklaws), with Jenson Vaughan (First Time, This is What It Feels Like) and Massimo Alonzi, and will be featured throughout TSN's live coverage of the tournament. "
Roots" was released via Universal
Music and is available to stream/purchase now.
Watch the 'Roots' 2019 IIHF World Juniors video, which debuted during the Boxing Day game on TSN, on Top40-Charts.com
"The moment we wrote this song we knew it was something special. We also knew that the release of this song had to be around something just as special. What we didn't know is that it would eventually be linked to one of the most important hockey tournaments in the world. It couldn't be more "meant to be" in our eyes, as the lyrics fit perfectly with this game and the situation these young athletes are in," said Jenna and
Stuart Walker.
"As Canadians, we feel this song will speak to all players and fans alike. It reminds each of us that no matter how far you get or how many lucky breaks you have in this life, we must always be thankful and reminded of what got us there in the first place! Lyrics like "When the pressure's way too much but the Diamond starts to show" were written for the young men playing in the tournament for the first time and seeing what the big leagues are all about. We couldn't feel more honoured to represent this incredible country and team with this song and are truly blessed to have this opportunity. You can bet we'll be wearing the Red & White every time our boys step out onto the ice!"
"We're thrilled to feature The Reklaws' music once again, after their rendition of "Long Live the Night" served as our CFL ON TSN
Thursday Night Football theme song this past summer," said Paul Graham, Vice-President and Executive Producer, Live Events, TSN. "This talented duo has created another terrific song for those watching the World Juniors, with an inspirational message encouraging young athletes to remember where they came from and those who helped them along the way. We're very excited for viewers to hear it."
Born and raised on their family farm in Cambridge, Ontario, siblings Jenna and
Stuart Walker first made waves in the Canadian country music scene by winning the biggest country music talent competition in Canada, the SiriusXM Emerging Artist Showcase at Boots and Hearts in 2013. They have since played all over Canada opening for the likes of Luke Bryan,
Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley, Brothers Osborne,
Thomas Rhett, and High Valley.
Raised in rural Ontario, The Reklaws (Walker backwards) are comprised of the brother-sister duo Jenna and
Stuart Walker. Growing up on an "adventure farm", The Reklaws have had a love of entertainment from a young age, performing at different venues across Canada and began to turn heads in 2012 when they were awarded the CCMA Discovery Artist title followed by the 2013 Boots & Hearts Emerging Artist Showcase title. Since then, they have shared the stage with some of country's best including Luke Bryan,
Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley, Brothers Osborne,
Thomas Rhett and more. The pair have spent long hours in Nashville crafting their songs and their efforts have paid off as they came back with an infectious sound, with an authentic mix of pop and country and a "soundtrack-to-your-life" vibe. The Reklaws took the summer of 2017 by storm with their major label debut on Universal
Music and the release of their debut single "Hometown Kids" which quickly charted at #15, garnered over 1 million streams, and major playlist adds including Canada's Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau's "PM Mix".
The Reklaws have had a massive start to 2018 with their second single "Long Live the Night" being the most streamed song of all Canadian country artists released in 2018. Achieving Gold certification and being selected as the theme song for
Thursday Night Football on TSN as an integral part of the weekly CFL broadcast, the Reklaws have solidified themselves as the next Canadian superstars in country music. In August of 2018 they released their debut EP, Feels Like That, which over the weekend was the #1 selling Canadian country album in Canada again on iTunes and has earned adds on some of Spotify's biggest country playlists. The duo performed on the live broadcast for the 2018 CCMA Awards on Sept 9 and won the SiriusXM Rising Star award along with their nominations for Video of the Year (for Hometown Kids), and Group or Duo of the Year. While their original half-time kickoff performance in Winnipeg was unfortunately cancelled due to rain, The Reklaws were soon surprised by CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie and TSN host Kate Beirness live on TSN with an invitation to perform on the
Sirius XM Kickoff show at the 106th Grey Cup at The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium on November 25, 2018.
The duo recently announced their first ever headlining tour, Winter's A Beach, which will make eight stops across Ontario and Quebec and feature labelmates Jade Eagleson and East Adelaide as direct support for all dates. Stay tuned for much more to come as The Reklaws continue to solidify themselves as the next superstars in country music in Canada.
