With a milestone birthday fresh in his mind and society telling him to grow up, Sean Burns packed up his guitar, his band and his bags for a week and a half on the road.
鈥淚 turned 30 last week and I had to leave town just to try and forget about it,鈥� he said with a laugh.
A life on the run isn鈥檛 new to the Winnipeg-based singer-songwriter. He鈥檚 been touring since he was 17 years old.
But this short tour is a little different, it鈥檚 the first time Burns is joined by a full band.
鈥淚鈥檝e done a lot of trio stuff and solo stuff, and this is the first time with a four-piece.鈥�
Burns said having a band along for the ride is great because their contributions provide a fantastic compliment to the songs on his latest record.
Cold Beans and Broken Eggs, the country artists鈥� third album to date, was released earlier this year.
Although hesitant to call it 鈥渕ature,鈥� Burns said the sound is definitely more developed than his last two albums.
鈥淎s I鈥檝e gotten older it鈥檚 become less autobiographical because that gets old really fast,鈥� he said of his latest offering, which includes tunes about parental issues, alcoholism, cab drivers, whiskey drinking and truckers.
鈥淸My songs] are about being on the road鈥攏ot the whiny being on the road鈥攁nd about real people,鈥� he said, noting that 鈥淐ab Driver鈥� is about a driver he met in Saskatoon. 鈥淎nd I painstakingly thought of a title for the song鈥斺�楥ab Driver,鈥欌�� he said with a laugh.
After 13 years in the business, Burns said there鈥檚 no fallback plan: making music is his passion and he鈥檚 ready to play as many shows as he can鈥攅ven if it means resisting societal pressures to grow up.
鈥淚鈥檓 not qualified to do anything else, really. I could drive a truck or be a farmer, but I don鈥檛 think those are on the agenda.
鈥淚鈥檓 all in.鈥�
Nicole Veerman
[email protected]
