Minett resident and country singer Johnny Kennedy released his fifth single, Cottage Country Girl, on June 2 to all listening platforms and the song’s music video to YouTube on June 9.
“Cottage Country Girl showcases the lifestyle of girls who grew up visiting their family cottages and spending the summer on the water, learning to love cottage country for what it has to offer – things like water skiing, fishing and driving a boat,” said Kennedy in an email to Muskoka411.
Navigator Visuals’ Taylor Nullmeyer produced the video that was filmed at various locations around the Muskoka lakes.
Kennedy’s songwriting, which he often does while driving north to Muskoka, takes inspiration from his life growing up on a farm in New Tecumseth and cottaging in Irondale. Working for the local John Deere dealership as a teenager, apprenticing as a boat mechanic, and his passion for cottage activities such as boating, fishing, and other watersports are all infused into what he calls “Cottage Country Music.”
Several of Kennedy’s songs have been played on local radio stations. “Having my debut single Dock Days aired on Huntsville’s Hunter’s Bay Radio Station was the highlight of my career,” he said.
In August 2021, Kennedy was selected as Bayshore Broadcasting’s Fresh Pick for his single Gone Fishin Catch You Later. The single aired on all of Bayshore Broadcastings’ radio stations all over Ontario, including Muskoka 102.3 and Kennedy’s hometown radio station Country 105.
The 26-year-old artist has performed at many popular events and locations around Muskoka and Toronto, such as Clevelands House, Clear Lake Brewery, Steam Whistle Brewery and the Winterfolk XVI Blues and Roots Festival.
Kennedy graduated from Seneca College’s Independent Music Production program in 2018 and is currently pursuing a singer-songwriter degree at Carleton University.
You can catch Kennedy tonight opening up for the Summer Water Sports Ski Show in Bala at Windsor Park and every Tuesday night this summer and at special events around Ontario’s cottage country. All his shows for this summer will be posted on his website, www.johnnykennedy.ca.
