It is the long weekend, and for many people across the north, that means heading out to the cottage — or camp, as they are often called in the northwest.

This long tradition of going to camp is something that Thunder Bay producer and songwriter Tyler Raynard has memorialized in his brand-new song called "Lake Life."

Raynard, who records under the name "1sland," said he wanted to capture the feeling he gets when he gets out to the lake on a warm summer weekend.

He said most of the songs lyrics reflect his summer experiences at camp through his life.

"When my dad and I went fishing, we'd always load up the truck, at night, so we could get as early a start as possible," said Raynard. "That is where the chorus came from. And then a sauna and jumping in the lake. Well, everyone from Thunder Bay and northern Ontario in general has some memories of getting hot and steamy in the sauna."

Raynard, who also plays in the Thunder Bay-based band Rock Steady, said the songs reggae feel reflects his own taste in music.

"I'm a huge fan of Sublime," he said. "And I love reggae in general so I kind of wanted to put my own spin on it. But ... all of my songs that I write personally through my artist name are basically reggae influenced."

The song "Lake Life" also features two other Thunder Bay-based musicians: Clay Breiland and Richard Tribe. Besides performing together in Rock Steady, the three musicians also share a friendship that runs back to their high school days.

Raynard said both musicians brought something positive to the track.

"After I had the first verses and the chorus ... Clay came over and listened to it," Raynard said. "He really liked the track, so I just said, you know, do you want to write a verse? And being [the] super talent that Clay is, he came up with something that's in my opinion perfect for the song.

"Then Richard came up with that super deadly hook line on the keyboard," Raynard said. "All those little keyboard hooks and then the solo at the end, that's all Richard. So yeah, I definitely credit Richard and Clay for making the song a lot better and bringing their musical talent to it."

Raynard said the song dropped Friday, May 15 on streaming platforms, but was live on Youtube the day before.

He said the response so far has been positive.

"It's got about 650 or so views on YouTube (as of Friday) and you know I'm not I'm not a famous guy," Raynard said. "For me, that's pretty good. It seems like everybody is enjoying it and that's the main thing."

"I just want to put out a song that hopefully people can take to the lake with them and listen to it," he said. "Like I said, crack a couple cold ones and have a good time and kind of take their mind off everything that's going on right now."