Most musicians are known for their non-stop work ethic, but Scott Cook is in a league of his own.
The Alberta-born singer/songwriter makes his debut stop in Westlock at the Cultural Arts Theatre Jan. 6.
Having just finished a tour the included stops in South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States, Cook is on the verge of releasing his sixth album, Further Down the Line, which will be coming out later in January.
“Roots music and storytelling is my thing,” he said. “We’ll probably be playing heavily from the new album. I’m just working on the finishing touches of the book that’s going to go with it. It’s a 130-page book, the last 10 years in words and pictures.
“I’ve been in kind of a mad rush to get it done in time for the show.”
With only a few days to chill out over Christmas, Cook is gearing up for promises to be a non-stop 2017.
“We’ve got all these shows in January through Alberta,” he said. “Then off to Kansas City for the Folk Alliance (international) to try to shop my new album around, then off to Australia with the trio. Then when I come back, I have a gig in Chicago, a few gigs across the prairies and then off to Texas.”
He explained that his path to Westlock came through Fort Saskatchewan.
“We’ve played a thing called Alberta Showcase last October in Fort Saskatchewan,” he said.
“Basically, it’s a bunch of acts that come in and do 15-minute sets and then a bunch of presenters come from across of Alberta and pick who they want to come to their town.
“We ended up getting a lot of work out of that gig, actually. We’ll be playing a whole bunch of places we’ve never played before.”
Cook noted that he wanted to move to a more serious, down to earth sound after his last album, Go Long, which he put together with his band The Long Weekends, felt more like a party album to him.
“Go Long was a seven piece honky-tonk band,” he said.
“This is a lot more stripped down to the acoustics and with more of a narrative focus. It’s a lot mellower of a record, covering more serious subject matter than the last one, which was a bit of a silly record.”
As he puts it, there is no rest for the professional, self-employed musician. After he serenades Westlock he will continue his tour of the area, visiting a number of small towns before heading off on the next world tour.
Doors for the show open at 7:30 p.m., and the strings sing at 8 p.m. Cook added that if his new album isn’t released yet he will be taking orders and mailing it out to interested fans. Alternatively, they can visit his page at http://www.scottcook.net and order it there.
