Next Tuesday, Lynch will be performing at the Canwood Hotel and the following day at the Christopher Lake Legion Hall.
This is not his first time in northern Saskatchewan as he performed about a year ago in Spiritwood.
“I liked the area, so I wanted to come back,” he said.
On this tour he is also revealing his new album, Transitions. The album is so recently ripped, in fact, that it has not been officially released.
Transitions has a new flavour to it, as it is piano oriented, which is something different for Lynch. Coming after his folk and country albums, it is quite a transition in styles.
“I think it’s a love album. There’s a lot of ballads,” Lynch said.
Our Love talks about the ups and downs of relationship and how it is never perfect but that the love carries them through.
“It’s a little cheesy, but it’s great,” Lynch said.
“The girls love it,” he added with a chuckle.
Happy Days strikes a more humorous cord, calling on the characters from the show Happy Days.
This tour is one of many Lynch has made across Canada in places large and small. He has been performing on the road since 2004 and making CDs since 1996.
The music industry has changed and the sale of records has dropped dramatically over the past 20 years, due to factors such as the climb of the Internet.
One effect that has had is that indie artists are taking to the road in the style of old, peddling their music in bars, clubs and halls.
“The days of sitting around and waiting for a record deal are dead,” - Mike Lynch
“The days of sitting around and waiting for a record deal are dead,” Lynch said.
That doesn’t bother him though, as he is accustomed to the troubadour tradition.
Indeed his most successful album to date was the 2007 MLJ Was Here, which was all about life on the road.
“This has become a career for me,” he said.
Lynch enjoys the travelling and playing to all audiences, be they 20, 100 or 1,000 people.
That is not to say that he doesn’t enjoy playing for a large audience as well.
“I got to open up for Great Big Sea for 5,000 people, so that was pretty exciting,” he said.
In 2012 he performed onstage with Charlie Major during Dauphin’s Countryfest, Canada’s longest running country music festival.
Those who go to Lynch’s show can expect some classic country, some folk roots and some old-school story telling.
“If you’re a fan of Fred Eaglesmith, or Blue Rodeo or Stompin’ Tom (Connors), I think you’d probably dig what I do. There’s some stories about the road (and) there’s some songs that’ll break your heart.”
This tour is a duo with himself and fellow musician, Jay Reed.
The Canwood show begins at 9 p.m. and doors will open for the Legion performance at 7 p.m.
Originally the Legion show was set to be in at Northside Hall, but the building was recently condemned. Tickets sold at the door for $15.
