The Canadian-born, sibling country duo The Reklaws left an impression, and a pause for mental health awareness, during their debut appearance on America’s Got Talent on June 11, 2024. Made up of brother and sister, Stuart and Jenna Walker, the Nashville-based duo took turns singing through an original song they wrote in 2022 following the death of their mother and her mental health struggle, “People Don’t Talk About.”
“I usually don’t respond to lyrics like I’m responding to this,” said AGT judge Howie Mandel, who was visibly moved following the siblings’ performance. “I’ve been very open and my soapbox is mental health and there’s a stigma attached. The thing that allows me to survive is the ability to talk about it. This song is an important song and I think you’re going to go a long way in this competition.”
Before going to AGT, The Reklaws already had a collection of albums in their catalog—and some hits on the Country charts with some recognizable collaborators.
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As the Reklaws—their last name, “Walker,” spelled backward—embark on their journey on America’s Got Talent, here are five things to know about the brother and sister singer/songwriters.
1. They Grew Up on the Yee-Haw Adventure Farm
In their AGT interview, the siblings shared that they grew up in the town of Kirkwall in Ontario, Canada and their family ran the Yee-Haw Adventure Farm on their property. The amusement-style farm featured hay rides, a pumpkin patch of 10,000 squash, a 10-acre corn maze, and more. During the half-time show for the pig races, brother and sister would perform for patrons at the farm with Stuart on banjo and Jenna singing. The Reklaws wrote and recorded a song about growing up on a farm, their 2024 single, “I Grew Up on a Farm.”
2. They Had Their First Country Hit in 2017
Before releasing their debut EP, the duo already had a country hit with “Hometown Kids” in 2017. The song, which the duo co-wrote with Gavin Slate and Travis Wood, peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Canada Country chart and was later released on their 2019 debut album Freshman Year.
“We wanted everybody to understand that we are just college kids at heart,” said Stuart Walker of the song in 2017. “Everybody that we meet, we always want to try to become friends with; we never want anybody to feel, like, intimidated to come up and talk to us at a show or after a show. We just want to hang out, have a beer and that’s kind of why we wrote ‘Hometown Kids.'”
Jenna added, “The song is important to us because it was our first major, like, [time to] sit down [and] really configure who we are as artists and what we want to say.”
3. The Reklaws Released Four Albums and Three EPs
Already on the country charts, by 2018, the duo released their debut EP Long Live the Night and Feels Like That, followed by Where I’m From (Deluxe) in 2020. Before auditioning on AGT, The Reklaws also had four albums under their belt, including their 2019 debut Freshman Year in 2019, Sophomore Slump in 2020, and their 2022 release Good Ol’ Days. In 2023, they also released the live album The Reklaws: Live at History.
4. They Have Four No. 1 Country Hits
The Reklaws’ first No. 1 hit on the Canadian Country chart with “Feels Like That” from Freshman Year. By 2020, The Reklaws had a second No. 1 hit with “Can’t Help Myself,” featured on Dean Brody’s album Boys. The Reklaws’ 2022 album Good Ol’ Days also earned them another chart-topper, “11 Beers,” featuring Jake Owen and written by Michael Hardy, Ashley Gorley, Hunter Phelps, and Ben Johnson, followed by their fourth No. 1 in 2023 with an AGT-grad.
5. They Released a No. 1 Hit Single with Season 17 ‘AGT’ Alum Drake Milligan
In 2023, The Reklaws also released their fourth No. 1 single “Honky Tonkin’ About” featuring season 17 AGT-alum Drake Milligan. Written by Stuart Walker, along with Blake Redferrin, Callum Maudsley, and Tawgs Salter, the song was also Milligan’s first No. 1 on the Country charts.
Photo: Trae Patton/NBC
