As with many artists, Charlie A'Court's preferences were informed by the music he heard growing up. Given that he hails from Nova Scotia, most would assume that's the brand of Celtic folk music that has come to be known as 'Maritime music.
As with many artists, Charlie A'Court's preferences were informed by the music he heard growing up. Given that he hails from Nova Scotia, most would assume that's the brand of Celtic folk music that has come to be known as 'Maritime music."
However, A'Court says his father's record collection was filled with rhythm and blues - the works of noted sings like B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Albert Collins.
'Having grown up on the East Coast, there was a part of me that ... wanted to tap in to the heritage of Irish music. At one point I went down that road as a teenager," said A'Court.
'For whatever reason at the time, it didn't really speak to me the same way as hearing an acoustic guitar or a blues man wailing away on love lost and that sort of stuff," he added.
‘There's something very fundamental about the emotion in rhythm and blues."
The Canadian singer-songwriter-guitarist will be performing in Westlock on Friday, March 6 as part of the Westlock Cultural Arts Theatre Series for the 2014-2015 season.
The concert begins at 8 p.m. in the Cultural Arts Theatre, located at R.F. Staples School.
A'Court has been performing most of his life, appearing on local stages with his father before he was of legal age. His professional recording life has netted him a 2013 East Coast Music Award for Blues Recording and R&B/Soul Recording, as well as a 2014 Maple Blues Award nomination for Male Vocalist and Songwriter of the Year.
Besides numerous collaborations with other musicians, A'Court has released four award-winning solo albums, the most recent being his album Triumph & Disaster.
A'Court said a show like Westlock is likely to heavily feature songs from Triumph & Disaster, particularly for western audiences who he hasn't performed in front of for some time.
That said, he has been working on a new album entitled Come on Over, which is set to release this spring. A'Court said the concert will probably feature one or two songs off of his newest album.
A'Court has performed extensively across Canada and Australia, where he actually recorded two of his albums. In fact, he just returned not long ago from a tour in Australia and expects to go back in May.
'I've been going there a little over three years," he said, noting he was recently down in Kansas City, Missouri to play in the International Folk Alliance.
When asked about what he brings to a show like the Westlock concert, A'Court said, 'I think for new audiences that come out to the show, they're going to be in store for a really dynamic range of emotion."
'There's acoustic, there's electric guitar, there's times when you can almost hear a pin drop and there are other times when we're raising the roof," he said.
A'Court said his songs are generally very rootsy and relatable. Much of his music relates to his time on the road, and a few feature a bit of comedy.
'Usually, whether we're in front of a dancing audience or a sit-down audience, our stuff goes over very well," he said, adding that he likes to create the feeling of being at a big house concert.
'We're able to tailor what we do to either be more of a story teller or more crank and wail."
Besides growing up with the genre, A'Court said he prefers R&B because you can find facets of it in almost any other genre of music.
'When you get right down to ... the DNA of (R&B) and you play that raw source material, there's some really, really beautiful songs that come out of that genre," he said.
Tickets for the concert are available at The Flower Shoppe in Westlock, which can be contacted by phoning 780-307-3703. Individual tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for students, though there are family and season packages available.
