“If you don’t know Fred Eaglesmith, you might not know your own favourite musician,” said North Peace Cultural Centre Executive Director, Bettyanne Hampton.

She told the Alaska Highway News that every time people go see Eaglesmith, who performs in Fort St. John on Saturday, they walk away with a new favourite artist.

Hampton said that the fact that Eaglesmith is coming to town at all is a testimonial to the community’s rising stature in the music community.

“He’s not only coming – Fred’s told me he’s really excited!” Hampton exclaimed.

Eaglesmith will be performing at the Cultural Centre Mar. 19 as part of the Primetime at the Cultural Centre Theatre series.

Joining him will be the Fabulous Gin Sisters from Texas, and local musician Miss Quincy, who will be belting it out in the concourse for a pre-show set.

It’s impossible to pigeon-hole Eaglesmith into one genre, but some people characterize his music as a unique blend of aching country and barroom rock with a mixture of hard-edged honky-tonk balanced between rock’n’roll sound that’s been thrown into the swamp for good measure.

Firing his own brand of locomotive power to play some 180 shows a year across North America as well as Europe and Australia and releasing his own records under his cheekily-titled “A Major Label,” Eaglesmith boasts an impact that far better known musical acts can only dream of.

He’s inspired comparisons to icons like Woody Guthrie and Bruce Springsteen. He tops the roots music charts, and his devoted fans include fellow musicians like Toby Keith and The Cowboy Junkies, as well as film folks like Martin Scorsese and James Caan, to name a few — who consider him one of the stellar musical and lyrical talents of our day. Fred’s even on Stephen King’s "Ultimate Playlist.”

His CDs hit the top 10 on the Americana chart, and he is also the only Canadian to have ever written a number one song on the bluegrass charts. He’s the subject of three tribute albums and enjoys critical comparisons to some of the most respected talents in music, as well as the respect of his peers.

Superstar Toby Keith included Fred's recording of "Thinkin' 'Bout You" in his movie Broken Bridges and on the soundtrack album. Keith also recorded Eaglesmith's song "White Rose" on his recently released Big Dog Daddy CD as one of the only two songs he didn't write. Alan Jackson recently covered Fred’s hard-rolling acoustic boogie tune “Freight Train” on his lastest CD, also titled Freight Train.

Eaglesmith is a prolific musician, with 17 albums under his belt during his three-decades career, which have elicited rave reviews from critics across the United States and Canada.

He’s been nominated for a Juno Award for Roots and Traditional Album of the Year, as well as making the shortlist for the Polaris Prize.

Eaglesmith comes by his exceptional musicality and lyrical command naturally and honestly, through dedication to his craft and delivery and building his following from the grassroots upwards ever since he left the family farm at age 15 to become an itinerant budding troubadour.

His life story could in fact be the subject of one of his songs, which is one reason why Eaglesmith has such a deft touch for finding the literary significance within the lives of seemingly common people and rendering their tales, thoughts and feelings with profound humanity and sensitivity alongside a knack for creating a contextual sense of time and place that resonates with reality.

“I have the weirdest career in the world, a little tiny career that works so well,” Eaglesmith concludes of the artistic niche he has carved out for himself. “I’m just so lucky and so fortunate, I try not to take it for granted.”

Eaglesmith’s show will begin Saturday night at 7:30 at the North Peace Cultural Centre.