Award-winning country music veteran Aaron Pritchett is back in Fort St. John for a two-evening acoustic performance at the Lido Theatre wrapping up tonight, his second trip to the energetic city in six months.
He says he liked Fort St. John and wanted to come back based on his reception in March.
"I got to be honest with you, the first show we did in Fort St. John, it was an acoustic show, went over huge and the guy that put on the show, Brian Kirschner, said 'I could have done a bunch of these shows' and I said 'Why don't we?'. I finished up my new record, which will be released in mid-November, and we found some time. It is going to be so much fun," Pritchett said.
"It is acoustic - just me, my guitar and a whole bunch of stories."
Turning the big 4-0 last month didn't seem to phase him.
He chuckled, "I feel like I am still 20. I try to have the mentality of one, that is for sure. It is not a big deal to be turning this age as long as you don't feel it. People put on a stigma on being 40, but it still feels like I am 20, nothing has changed."
Pritchett started performing in Vancouver clubs in 1993 and had his first studio album three years later.
Some might argue he became a household name with his 2006 megahit, 'Hold My Beer' which hit number nine on Canadian country music charts.
When asked about something few people know about him, he said, "It used to be my height, but everybody knows how short I am now. I have three kids and I am extremely proud of the people that they are turning out to be. My oldest son, Jordan, is 20 and is playing in a band called Faber Drive. They are doing phenomenal right now. It is so hard to track him down. He is all over the place. I call him one day he is in Newfoundland, the next day Quebec City and Brandon, Manitoba the next."
He talked about the evolution of his music, which has culminated with far more artistic control on his forthcoming album.
"It has definitely come around to the way I want it to sound. The first few albums I went with the sound that the producer and engineer wanted. I chose the songs, but it was not up to me to make those sounds come together on a record - they did that.
"The last record was good but it was not really me. I wanted it to be a little more edgy and rock-based. I am not necessarily a rock guy, I am a country guy but trying to mix those two together is something that I have really struggled with, up until this new record," he said.
"When it comes out everyone will be able to hear the real Aaron Pritchett."
