Nicholas Donaldson
“Keith and Renee,” the Manitoba-based country music duo of Keith Macpherson and Renee Lamoureux, have had many memorable performances in their career.
But last Thursday evening’s barn concert at Cornell Farms on La Vallee Road North seemed to have an especially big impact on the two musicians.
Having played with Jann Arden, Blue Rodeo, and Chad Brownlee, the unique nature of the barn concert was not lost on the pair, who cracked several jokes about it during the show.
The inevitable “It’s nice to see the whole town came out” quip, along with Macpherson’s insistence that he could sense the spirit of John Denver (leading to a rendition of “Take me Home, Country Roads” later in the night), drew some genuine laughs from the crowd of nearly 100.
During their set of original songs and a few covers, the duo also shared stories about Jann Arden sticking up for them after a bad review and the eye-opening experience of playing in Kenya and Dubai in the same week.
They also related how thankful they were that crossing the border back into Canada from the U.S. was so easy.
“We told them [border officers] we were going to play in a barn in Devlin and they just said, ‘Oh, you’re playing at Cornell Farms? Just go on through,'” laughed Macpherson.
Overall, they were very happy to have the opportunity to play–and thanked the Cornells many times during the show for inviting and hosting them.
“It takes some amazing people to hear us on CBC, research us and look into our background, and then contact us to come play in their barn,” Macpherson told the audience.
In introducing the pair, Pat Clysdale-Cornell talked about how she and her husband, Kim, heard the duo on CBC Radio and instantly added their names to the list of potential barn performers they keep on their fridge.
Macpherson admitted that at first, he thought being contacted to play in someone’s barn was a bit strange. But as soon as they arrived and he saw the barn, he could tell it was a place full of love, heart, and soul.
“It’s an amazing centre for the community that brings everyone together,” he remarked.
Keith joked the barn was a little different from other venues they have played.
He said the chickens clucking loudly below them during the sound check, having to move hay bales in front of the stage, and feeling like they might fall through the floorboards made the experience unique.
The duo also said the show was special because they don’t perform together very often anymore.
Lamoureux currently is working on a solo album project while Macpherson has been working in schools and writing a book on the topic of mindfulness, set for release soon.
“This show is the highlight of our summer,” Macpherson said.
“It is so inspiring being here.”
The duo was well-received by the crowd and as they left, many thanked and complimented the Cornells for getting them to play in the barn.
Also garnering praise was district musician Orville Councillor of Naicatchewenin First Nation, who opened the show accompanied by guitarist Jay Wilson.
Clysdale-Cornell told the audience she had been trying to get Councillor to play in the barn ever since his performance at the former “Harmony of Nations” Music Festival in Fort Frances two years ago.
The second barn concert of the season will take place Tuesday, Aug. 8 with Joey Landreth performing.
Landreth is one half of The Brother Landreth, who played a concert at the Cornell barn back in 2013.
In related news, the Cornells had just returned July 4 from a trip to Scotland and the World Angus Forum.
Unfortunately, they both got sick while touring Scotland and still were fighting off illness as they prepared for last week’s concert and as Kim made his usual Wednesday trips to sell products at the farmers’ market in Kenora.
Cornell did say the trip was a very worthwhile experience and with attendees from 28 different countries, they made a lot of world-wide connections.
He noted running into the people from Kazakhstan who had bought some of their cattle a few years ago, as well as spending time becoming friends with a couple from Uruguay.
Cornell said the next World Angus Forum will take place in 2021 in Australia and they are hoping they can make it.
“It’s not that we have to go again,” he remarked. “But if we have the time for the next one, it would be nice to.”
