Scott Roos
Special to the Herald
For Saskatchewan country artist Katelyn Lehner, the Waskesiu Lakeside Music Festival is shaping up to be more than just another stop on a busy summer schedule. It will be her first time performing at the festival, and she’s looking forward to making the most of the opportunity when she takes the stage as direct support for festival headliners The Steadies.
“I haven’t (played the festival). This is going to be my first time so I’m very excited,” Lehner said.
Set against the backdrop of Prince Albert National Park, the Waskesiu Lakeside Music Festival has grown since its 2015 debut into one of the area’s premier summer music events. Over three days, the festival brings more than 15 artists and 20 hours of music to Waskesiu, along with an Indigenous talent showcase, car show, street fair, beer gardens, food vendors, children’s activities and shopping. The festival also draws more than 6,000 music fans, offering a distinctly Saskatchewan combination of live music and lakeside summer atmosphere.
For Lehner, who grew up in Prince Albert, the setting makes the festival an especially fitting way to wrap up her summer.
“I think it’s just, it’s going to be perfect, like a kind of closing chapter on summer,” she said. “You know, for me with my summer shows, but I think also just for everybody in attendance.”
Lehner has had plenty to celebrate over the past year. She recently marked the one-year anniversary of her first Top 30 Canadian radio hit (on Hot AC Radio for “Something I’d Like”), a milestone she says has opened doors and created new opportunities as an independent artist.
“I feel like this last year has been really big for me,” she said. “It’s about coming up on exactly a year ago since I got my first top 30 on Canadian radio. And that has really just opened some doors for me and has given me some new opportunities and new connections in the industry.”
The past few months have also included performances at the Calgary Stampede, including an appearance at the iconic Nashville North tent, as well as a stop on Boston Pizza’s cross-Canada tour showcasing independent Canadian artists.
But Lehner’s career has been building steadily since the release of her debut single in October 2021. She says the lessons of those first five years have been just as important as the accomplishments.
“I think that everything I’ve done in the past five years has made me the artist and the performer and the businesswoman that I am,” she said.
That journey has included opening for major artists, performing for Saskatchewan Roughrider fans at halftime and earning four No. 1s on SiriusXM. Yet Lehner says some of the most meaningful moments are the unexpected ones – like hearing a stranger recognize her for one of her songs while shopping in Saskatoon.
“Those are the pinch me moments that you really have to kind of just sit with and appreciate,” she said.
Now, she gets to bring that experience home to Saskatchewan’s lake country.
Lehner will perform as direct support for The Steadies, with her set expected to begin around 7:15 p.m., giving festival-goers the chance to catch her music hopefully as the sun begins to set over Waskesiu Lake.
“We’re direct support to The Steadies,” Lehner said. “Hopefully we’ll have a nice sunset. I’m excited.”
And for an artist who has spent the past five years steadily climbing her way through the Canadian music industry, there may be no better place to celebrate how far she has come.
The Waskesiu Lakeside Music Festival takes place Aug. 28-30, with Lehner joining a lineup that also includes The Steadies, Blu Beach Band, Brock Andrews, Dakota Favel, Donny Parenteau, East Side of 2nd, Jay & Jo, Taya Lebel and Val Halla.
For Lehner, it’s one more opportunity to do what she dreamed of as a kid – stand on a stage, play music and share it with the people around her.
“That was my dream as a kid. And so, I mean, I’m doing that right now,” she said. “So that is super special in itself.”
