On Friday, May 22, High Valley will drop their long-awaited EP, Grew Up on That. The duo, made up of brothers Brad and Curtis Rempel, planned all of the songs on their next set of tunes, including the poignant “River’s Still Running,” long before the coronavirus pandemic, although it takes on an entirely new meaning now.

“I wrote it with Randy Montana and Corey Crowder,” Brad told Everything Nash. “Randy had just come off of a six-week No. 1 with Luke Combs‘ ‘Beer Never Broke My Heart.’ All we were honestly trying to write was a super positive song that your average country bumpkin could identify with, that was from a very backwoods, small town. It’s the positive: if the river still runs and if the sun still shines, and I wake up in the morning and I want to think it’s a great day.

“That is kind of our motto for life,” he continued. “And now it’s just taking on a whole new meaning and it’s definitely resonated with people, which is super special.”

Brad makes it clear that, while he hopes to spread positivity with the “River’s Still Running,” and the other five songs on Grew Up on That, both he and Curtis understand what a challenging time this is, for everyone.

“I do know that more people today than in the history of the United States ever are unemployed,” Brad reflected. “It means they’re not thankful to be at home with their family because they actually can’t afford to be home with their family. That’s the reality for most people. And that’s where I don’t pretend that a song like, ‘Hey, the sun came up, who cares? You don’t need a job.’ I get it. You still need a job. We’re trying to see the glass half full as much as possible.”

High Valley, who has had success on the radio in both their native Canada and the United States, made peace with the ups and downs of life, long before the beginning of the coronavirus, thanks in large part to their strong Christian faith.

“What it has done probably for a lot of people including me, as people of faith –– money isn’t where we get our happiness from. Material isn’t what gives us joy. Climbing the ladder isn’t where we measure success. You can say all those things, but when you get your entire livelihood removed for a year or at least half a year, then it makes you assess, not just assess that, but it actually puts it into reality.”

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros.