Canadian country music star Tim Hicks is on the road, bringing a more intimate concert concept for fans this time around.
Lloydminster fans will have a chance to partake in the unique experience when he presents his Campfire Troubadour show at the Vic Juba theatre this Saturday.
The St. Catherine’s, ONT. native said the idea for the Campfire Troubadour tour came to him during the pandemic, as a sort of ‘life-hack’.
“It’s two-fold. Campfire Troubadour is the name I gave these two acoustic pieces we’ve done over the last couple of years. It came out of the pandemic, at a time when I couldn’t go to Nashville to write. Nothing was going on in the world musically.
“We talked about doing an acoustic record with my producer for a long time and I just called him up and said ‘I think it’s time’,” said Hicks, explaining the next step was to pick a theme.
He and his colleagues toyed with theme ideas, but ultimately, they decided the campfire theme fit best.
“Every time the fires get lit the guitars come out and we do some singing. That became our life hack during the pandemic because we could light a fire in the backyard, a couple of neighbours could come over where we could be distanced and safe and of course, the guitars came out and we’d sing,” said Hicks.
“It started with these little EPs (Extended Plays) and wound up getting a Juno nomination, which was so bizarre because I cut my tracks in my home studio!” He exclaimed.
“So we did a second volume and we’re finally getting out to tour it, and what that means is, we’re playing the songs I’ve put out the last 10 years in a different way.”
Normally they tour with about 12 people total but on this tour, there are only six—three on stage, three crew members.
“Playing the hit songs and songs from the Campfire Troubadour EPs—just as if you had a party at your house and invited us over and we lit a fire and the guitars came out, so telling lots of stories is how the songs came to be,” Hicks explained.
“It’s a much more intimate side of me than what we have presented in the last 10 years. Venues I wouldn’t normally get to play, in places I wouldn’t normally get to play.”
Hicks joked they normally don’t allow him to book shows in theatres, for fear they’ll damage the place.
“I sort of have a reputation for being a Canadian party guy,” laughed Hicks, adding he’s looking forward to getting back to his roots with smaller audiences where he can interact more with fans.
“So this time around, we’re able to play these nice venues where people can sit down and it’s a much more laid-back show,” said Hicks.
“This time around, I can sort of look around the room and go back to my roots of playing in pubs and read what’s happening. ‘I think these people would really like Patio Lanterns’, or ‘Hey, what Tom Petty do you guys know?’ Which presents a really unique show for every audience we go to, and keeps it fun for us and it keeps it fun for fans as well.”
Lloydminster is the third stop of 21 he and his crew will be making between Oct. 25 and Dec. 1.
“We played Lloyd on our club tour in 2013, and we also played the chuckwagon cabaret a few years back. We’ve played there a couple of times, it’s been a little while and we’re just looking forward to getting back and saying hi to everybody,” said Hicks.
“We’ve released a lot of new material this year—a lot of new stuff people can check out, and hopefully buy a ticket and come out and see us.”
Tickets for the Lloyd show are available at www.vicjubatheatre.ca.
