George Canyon brings ‘Our Country’ tour back home

It's been a minute, but country crooner George Canyon sure is happy to be home.

The Pictou County musician will find himself back in the area for the first time in over three years, and he couldn't be happier.

“I'm really, really excited. My mom, my uncles and aunts are still there. I'll get to see them. Mostly, I'm happy because we haven't been able to tour in three years,” says Canyon, who will hit Casino Nova Scotia's Schooner Room on Valentine's Day.

“We have a five-week run for our first leg, and to start it in Nova Scotia is incredible. You can take the boy out of Nova Scotia, but you can't take Nova Scotia out of this boy.”

Canyon called from Calgary, Alberta, during a rare moment of cell reception up on the farm, and talked about everything from future NHLer Connor Bedard's sell-out of the Saddledome to a disappointing Calgary Flames season, and Halifax donairs.

“My drummer Adam lives in Calgary now, but he's from Charlottetown originally. We're excited to get to the Maritimes, visit old haunts, and eat up a storm,” he said.

“We joke because a lot of bands party after shows. We're of an age where we're all about coffee, red wine and good food.”

Canyon is excited to get back to the area and visit the Schooner Room, a venue he says has always been supportive of him.

“We get to stay in the Maritimes for a while. We have Halifax, Summerside, Moncton and more,” he said. “I just feel really blessed to be able to go and play down there.”

He has some great memories of growing up in Nova Scotia, and they inform his feelings and responses when he comes back home.

“Everywhere I look, I have memories of a time when I was younger. I get to see things and people from back when, and I see places where my dad took me. I think of things we did as a family,” he said.

“I remember one time, we were driving home from church in Westville and it was freezing rain. He was trying to get up the driveway, and I got my skates and started skating around. Our bus driver won't like that too much, but other than that, I love being home.”

The 'Our Country' tour starts on February 14 in Halifax, and there are over 30 stops in this leg into late March.

“I do still get apprehensive with these big tours. I always get concerned about keeping my voice. There are also 10 people living on a tour bus. If one person gets sick, you all do,” he joked.

“But I get to go play for family – The fans down there are like my family. And I'll get to play new music too.”

Canyon just released a new single titled 'My Country', and he's just thankful he still gets support from fans and inside the industry. A two-time Juno winner and favourite for years at the Canadian Country Music Association Awards, he's proud of his accomplishments.

“I've been blessed to have an incredible career and be played on the radio. Now I still make music for the fans, and I'm just happy people want to listen,” he said.

“I just love touring, and there have been a lot of great times on tour. Sometimes we're in tears from laughing, can't play a note, and need to collect ourselves on-stage. We need more happiness and laughter in the world.”

A country icon, Canyon has recently moved into the world of publishing, with his new memoir titled “My Country” out now. It's been 12 years in the making, and he's glad to see it come to fruition.

“A company asked me to do a biography, but I felt too young. I had nothing to say, and I needed more life experience,” he said.

“But then I was on a CBC show for Canada Reads as a judge, and I was representing Jesse Thistle's book. We got talking, and he asked why I hadn't done a memoir.”

Canyon was introduced to the folks at Simon & Schuster Canada, and the process began.

“It took 18 months, and a wonderful guy in Edmonton by the name of Michael Hingston helped me put it together,” he said.

Canyon laughs that author and journalist Michael Hingston is called a ghost-writer, though he sings the scribe's praises often.

“That book would have been the length of War & Peace. It would have taken a year to read, and thankfully Michael left a lot on the cutting room floor,” he said.

“I think everyone should write a book about their life. Reliving experiences – good and bad – is an important spiritual process. It allowed me to heal from things in the past I buried. I was grateful to do this.”

A man used to writing songs, it was a whole new proposition for Canyon to write a book.

“Initially I wrote six chapters and handed it in. My whole things is I've always written books that last three-and-a-half minutes. Now I needed to elaborate,” he said.

“Eventually the process became I would sit in the studio and just talk. I'd send the recording to Michael and he'd transcribe. He made it sound like it wasn't a five-year-old writing it, and he captured my voice so well.”

Now, Canyon can't wait to get home. He says everyone should check under the seat at their show for a little surprise his team (including his wife) put together – A surprise even he didn't know yet.

“I'm just excited for people to come to the show. I'll be signing my memoir before the show, and I'll be signing merch after the show. I just need to say 'hi' to everyone, because it's been three bloody years,” he said.

To learn more about Canyon's February 14 show at the Casino Nova Scotia Schooner Room, visit georgecanyon.com.