Origins
Since 2022 I've been performing with the Berta Boys, an ironic country band. As we were all born in Alberta and now live in Quebec, our songs reflect this unique blend of Canadian cultures. This is surprisingly (to me as much as anyone) my most successful musical project to date. Since our inception we've been ambitiously overactive, releasing three albums and five singles, running the gamut from classic honky-tonk country to Christmas country-rap to nü metal.
In February 2022 we won the Diving Bell Battle of the Bands. I immediately bought a thousand fake followers on our Instagram account in order to qualify for brand ambassador status. It payed off with our first corporate sponsor: BioSteel, a sports drink (use promo code THEBERTABOYS_BAND to get 20% all all Biosteel products).
In order to fund our trip back to the homeland of Alberta to visit the Calgary Stampede, we organized the inaugural Montreal Stampede. This was the first of a series of multi-disciplinary events where we tried to recreate the entire 9-day Calgary Stampede experience in under three hours. The event combined live music, burlesque performances, games like wheelbarrow races, celebrity guests, and a line dance lesson. The event was a huge success, selling out the venue and receiving rave reviews from attendees.
In preperation for our trip to Calgary, we hounded local brewery AGD on social media. It payed off — they gifted us 8 cases of their finest Alberta-made beer to take with us on our journey.
Country DJs
That summer, while I was on tour with pop singer Marilyne Léonard, the Berta Boys got invited to to be resident DJs at our favourite lesbian sports bar, Champs. I hurried back to Montreal and we began our bi-weekly DJ residency every Thursday night. I leveraged my influence at culture blog Urbania to get an ad in the cowboy edition of their online magazine Micromag (which I was developing at the time).
In November 2023, I happened on an article saying Montreal was finally getting a country bar. I reached out to the owner and offered our services as DJs. They accepted and we began a weekly residency every Friday night at Spaghetti Western. Somehow, the bar became the new hip spot in town for the local youth. At its most popular, we had a full house every night and lines all the way down the block. It's now been over two years and we're still there every Friday night spinning rodeo rhythms.
Our popularity as cowboy DJs spread. Other bars wanted in on the action. In 2024 we had a weekly residency at Bottes & Whiskey. We have also DJed at bowling alleys, wine bars, indie venues, corporate events, and, eventually, festivals.
Festival Appearances
Although we're always trying to push our music performances, people can't get enough of the Berta Boys as cowboy DJs. In September 2024 we were invited to perform as DJs at Festival Tempéo, a dance festival organized by Place des Arts in Montreal. We played to a huge crowd of enthusiastic dancers.
In June 2025 we played at Festival Mello in Repentigny, opening for hit Quebec artists Matt Lang and Québec Redneck Bluegrass Project.
That's not to say the Berta Boys have never performed as a band at festivals. In December 2024 we played a very chilly show at Noël dans le Parc as part of their outdoor stage series, where we were introduced by Santa Claus. We played to a small but dedicated crowd of country music fans who braved the cold to see us perform.
This summer, we'll be flying out to Alberta to play at the Fête franco-albertaine in Nordegg.
We bring a little Alberta to every bar in Montreal.