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Owen Riegling Celebrates The Tragically Hip's 40th Anniversary With "Bobcaygeon" Cover

The Amazon Music Original finds the rising country star from Mildmay, Ontario taking on an Ontarian folk-rock classic.

Owen Riegling for Amazon Music

Owen Riegling for Amazon Music

Courtesy Photo

One of Canada's best-loved bands is turning 40, and rising country star Owen Riegling is celebrating with a new tribute.

The Mildmay, Ontario singer has released a cover via Amazon Music of The Tragically Hip's "Bobcaygeon," celebrating the band's 40th anniversary.


Riegling, who was named an Amazon Music Breakthrough Artist To Watch for 2024, got his start playing covers in small town Ontario bars, and "Bobcaygeon" was one of his favourites to perform. The cottage campfire classic is one of The Hip's most famous, coming from their 1999 album Phantom Power.

Alongside the song, which is exclusively available on Amazon Music, Riegling has released a behind-the-scenes video of the recording process, where Riegling also describes his own songwriting process and what he loves about The Tragically Hip.

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"I just try to write songs that are honest and true to my experiences growing up, and I think that is exactly what Gord [Downie, the late lead singer of The Tragically Hip] was doing as well, writing what he knows, and a lot of that is small town Canada, small town Ontario," Riegling says. "That's where the majority of the hardest working people in this country come from."

"Bobcaygeon" is named after the 3,500-person town of the same name, and sung from the perspective of a police officer falling in love, dreaming of quitting his job and reflecting on a white supremacist riot.

Riegling, who earlier this summer undertook a tour of Canadian small towns, will perform the cover live next week at Cavendish Festival in Prince Edward Island.

The Tragically Hip, meanwhile, have been celebrating their 40th anniversary in style this year as Record Store Day Canada ambassadors, releasing a live album of original recordings from 1993 as well as an upcoming deluxe edition of their breakthrough album, Up To Here.

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Riegling's "Bobcaygeon" is available to listen on Amazon Music.

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Sam Fender on stage accepting the Mercury Music Prize for the album 'People Watching' at the "Mercury Music Awards 2025" at the Utilita Arena on October 16, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
JMEnternational/Getty Images

Sam Fender on stage accepting the Mercury Music Prize for the album 'People Watching' at the "Mercury Music Awards 2025" at the Utilita Arena on October 16, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

Awards

Sam Fender Triumphs in Hometown 2025 Mercury Prize Ceremony

Fender saw off competition from FKA Twigs, Fontaines D.C., CMAT & more

Sam Fender‘s People Watching won the Mercury Prize on Thursday (Oct. 16) in a ceremony held in his hometown of Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

Launched in 1992, The Mercury Prize is an esteemed annual prize that celebrates the best of British and Irish music across a range of music genres. For the first time in its history, this year the ceremony was held outside of London, taking place at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle upon Tyne.

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