On Feb. 22, he’ll veer off the rails and perform at Olive Bistro. “I’ve travelled Canada extensively over the past years, but the train goes different places than the highways, so I’m excited to see the countryside in a different manner.”
Coinciding with the tour is Neilsen’s newest and first entirely solo album, The Shack Up Sessions. He also performs with his band, Ross Neilsen and the Sufferin’ Bastards.
Neilsen lives in Hampton, a “sleepy little town in the woods on the river valley.”
He had the opportunity to compete in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, thanks to the sponsorship of Fredricton’s Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival.
“They’ve been a huge supporter of my career for quite some time.”
After placing in the semi-finals, Neilsen drove to Clarksdale, Mississippi, birthplace of the delta blues, and recorded The Shack Up Sessions in the famous Shack Up Inn on the Hopson Plantation.
“It’s a pretty spooky place when the sun goes down, there’s a lot of dead vehicles and that kind of stuff.”
The musician was in his element in Clarksdale.
“It’s a pretty vibey place ... there’s lots of blues history there,” including Muddy Water’s childhood log home, Riverside Motel and the crossroads, where legend has it, blues guitarist Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil.
Collaborating with producer Kevin Houston was also beneficial.
“[The band] worked with him on the the previous band album, Redemption and he’s really, really good at what he does,” said Neilsen. “I probably wouldn’t have been able to do the record like I did, without him, because he’s so good at capturing a moment from a performance.”
A few singer-songwriter type tunes were meant to go on The Shack Up Sessions, but the blues vibes from Memphis and Clarksdale remained in the forefront of Neilsen’s mind.
“By the time we got rolling, it was pretty apparent that the blues songs were really what was working.”
He used only a stomp box, his voice and a National Steel Resonator guitar to record his album.
Neilsen’s music can be heard on his website, rossneilsen.com, where two of his albums, Alone, Vol. 1 and What You Need, Vol. 1 can be downloaded for free.
Neilsen plays Friday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. at the Olive Bistro. Cover is $5.
