Ahead of his performance Thursday, October 10 in Westport, Zachary Lucky, grandson of famed Canadian western singer Smilin’ Johnnie Lucky, takes some questions from The Cove Inn's Seamus Cowan. Details and ticket information here: web link

Seamus Cowan: I so enjoy hearing your sound. It's honest and true and real. You have heard a sound in your head and you are creating it with your being. I know your grandfather was a touring country musician, so would you say you come by all of this honestly?

Zachary Lucky: There is a part of me that definitely feels like touring, and country music is in my blood. That is my birthright so to speak - whether I wanted it to be or not. My grandfather was a country music pioneer and his life and legacy are definitely something I think about all the time. I also believe that how I came to this path I’m on was by my own means. It’s all at once similar and yet totally separate from what he did. There is a duality to it. I can see and feel the connection, but I also feel like I’ve carved my own path apart from his legacy.

Q: It seems like since you have been writing, you have had an old time country sound in your head. It comes off like you are one and the same. I have heard some great classic country singers and if you were of a past era, you would have been one of them. Does that kind of statement encourage?

Zachary: That kind of statement is encouraging and also disheartening as well. I definitely feel that what I am doing is from a different era. There is an interesting movement of young singer songwriters who are crafting timeless roots music and finding audiences that appreciate the honesty that comes with that kind of music, so I also feel hopeful. I’ve truthfully never considered myself a country singer - or a folk singer. I’ve just tried to write my (and other people’s) stories into song - to paint a picture that people can find themselves in and ultimately connect with people along the way.

Q: You have recorded many records and have toured a tonne. It's all part of the journey, the game, the life of a musician. Is all of this all of what creates the stories and the songs you create?

Zachary: This life of mine is full circle. The songs lead to touring and the touring leads to songs. I like to think that I’d be writing songs even if I were to stop touring and even if the songs were written just to sing for myself. It’s hard to say though. It has been nearly 15 years of grinding on the road, almost nonstop. Then writing, recording and getting ready to go back out when I am home. I don’t really remember what normal life was like before I started doing this. I’m always either coming from or going to somewhere. I don’t reckon I’d have it any other way.

Q: Living on the road a lot takes a dedicated person. It's a solitary existence that takes you down roads and around corners that make you more and more of who you are. Now that you have a family, what has changed there? I always think about that as I have toured a lot less over the last few years.

Zachary: I used to love living on the road - the solitude - the openness - the raw feeling you’d get in your soul from playing night after night. That person still lives inside me, but there is also a part that has grown to love being at home. I have two kids and the older they get, the harder it is to leave. Touring and my life in music isn’t just my own though, it is all of ours. We’ve got a rhythm and have it figured out pretty good. I think the biggest thing I’ve realized over the past few years is that it is all about balance. I need the time on the road and at home equally. Trying to find the right balance between the two is what I’m working on these days.

Q: Your music continues to grow but adhere to its roots and have such solid character. Classic recording situations, analog techniques, acoustic instruments. It's got a style that will stand the test of time. Do you think this aesthetic will continue to last as we creep into the digital age?

Zachary: Acoustic roots music has been around for a very long time. I like to think of what I do as akin to how folks used to share stories and songs around the campfire. Folk music is music of the people and for the people. I don’t think any amount of TikTok/Spotify or the digital age can change that. Folk music will find a way to persist and continue growing and changing as our society progresses. I’m happy to be a small cog in that big old folky machine. Posted: Oct 3, 2024 Originally Published: Oct 2, 2024