'I feel nothin’ but love': Scottish-Canadian country star Johnny Reid returns to the Maritimes

Johnny Reid is back in the Maritimes this week, as he makes several sold-out stops on his cross-Canada tour.

The Scottish-Canadian musician is beloved on the East Coast – and the feeling is mutual. Reid says the region feels like his second home.

Reid’s tour includes 14 Maritime stops, with shows in Moncton, Fredericton, Saint John, Summerside, Halifax, Pictou and Glace Bay.

“Every time I come here I feel nothin’ but love, so it’s very nice to be here.”

So far, he says the shows have been “amazing.”

“You know, the idea of this whole thing was an intimate evening. Having a chance to get out, get reconnected, tell a few stories, play some music, make some memories - that’s really what it’s about.”

On Tuesday night, during his first show in Halifax, he played “People Like You,” a special song he wrote for the province of Nova Scotia after the April 2020 mass shooting.

“I had never played it live. I’d never really played it since the day I wrote it,” says Reid. “But I decided… this is it, this is what it was written for. So I sang it and the whole place got up. It was amazing. It was a very emotional moment for, I think, everybody in the room.”

He also says the response has been “incredible” to his album “Love Someone” which came out in October of last year.

“I continue to be humbled by the love that I’m shown from coast-to-coast in this country. Especially out here – maybe it’s just a geographical thing, being a wee bit closer to Scotland. I just love it out here and I love the people and they give back to me.”