This side of country
Ryan Cook brings his distinctive sound to Sydney, Baddeck
Somewhere between country, folk and punk, resides the music of Ryan Cook.
The Yarmouth native will be performing his distinctive mix of classic country with contemporary folk infused with satire during two Cape Breton shows this weekend that will feature tunes from his fourth album, “Having A Great Time.” His latest album explores the light and dark sides of being a snowbird in the sunshine states as seen through the eyes of a drifting folk singer.
When asked to describe himself during a recent phone interview, the 36-year-old got straight to the point.
“I grew up on a dairy farm and I grew up playing mostly punk rock music as a teenager in high school bands,” he says. “I started doing country music around 2007 — about 10 years ago — and in 2008 I put out my first album. Since then I have done over a 1,000 shows, I’ve played in a few different countries including the U.S. and overseas.”
He’s also toured with such artists as Dwight Yoakam, Rosanne Cash and Travis Tritt and among the 20 or so East Coast Music Award and Music Nova Scotia nominations are three Music Nova Scotia country album of the year awards.
Cook has also performed in musical tribute shows to Hank Williams Sr. as well as Merle Travis, Merle Haggard, and Johnny Cash.
“My music sounds like old country music but something just sounds a little off, there’s something different about it,” says Cook when asked to describe his sound. “I guess that’s the influence of all the other music that I listened to growing up.”
Cook is touring with a lead guitarist and a double bassist who will accompany his own thumb-picking guitar stylings.
“So with this record being my fourth album, I wanted to do a tour of Nova Scotia to begin with,” he says, adding he’s played in Cape Breton before, at the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre with Travis Tritt a few years back.
This time he will be performing in The Commoner at Hearthstone Inn on Friday fromt 7-9 p.m. It’s $10 at the door and reservations can be booked at 902-539-8101.
On Saturday, he’ll be performing
“My music sounds like old country music but something just sounds a little off, there’s something different about it. I guess that’s the influence of all the other music that I listened to growing up.” Ryan Cook
at the Alexander Graham Bell Museum from 7-9:30 p.m. as part of Big Spruce Brewing’s Small Halls Concert. Tickets are $15. Norma MacDonald will also be performing.