There’s no dust on Rocanville, Saskatchewan based country star Jess Moskaluke, who is returning to Lethbridge, Monday, Nov. 27 to play the Yates Theatre on the second date of her Winter Wonderland Tour with Prairie States.
She has played Whoop Up Days as well as Enmax Centre with Paul Brandt, but is excited to do something a little different for this tour.
“It’s going to be a different experience. It will have a little warmer feel. And because it’s a Christmas tour, there will be a lot of Christmas songs,” Moskaluke said from her home doing interviews and getting ready for the tour.
“ We’ve played quite a few soft seat theatres. About 90 per cent of this tour is theatres,” she said adding she is reorganizing her show to provide a more intimate, personal experience.
“It will be less about lights. But it isn’t like a songwriter in the round or a bluegrass circle,” she said.
She released her new EP “ Heartbreaker” and in a week, will be releasing the deluxe edition of her Christmas album, "asmall town Christmas deluxe edition."“ The new single is " Counting Down Christmas,” including a couple of new songs. She released the title track a month ago.
“It’s too early to say what the response to a Christmas song is in mid November, though we have snow here,” she said.
“I released the Christmas album five years ago, but recorded some new songs and rereleased it as a deluxe edition,” she said, adding that includes original music as well as Christmas classics.
“ I’ve done some Christmas shows, but this is my first Christmas tour. It’s a great excuse to celebrate. I’m really looking forward to it,” she said.
“There will be a lot of music from both albums,” Moskaluke promised.
She is excited about the “ Heartbreaker” EP which was recorded in a variety of places including at home.
“ It’s not necessarily a heartbreak album, it really covers the different phases of a relationship — falling in love, falling out of love. Love in general. So ‘Heartbreaker’ really is the perfect title for it,” she said, adding she started releasing videos for the new EP over a year ago.
She co wrote one of the songs , “Knock Off,” with Jade Eagleson.
“We’ve been friends for a long time. He’s one of my favourite country musicians playing today,” she said.
Moskaluke hasn’t given much thought to her next musical project, as she is involved with the tour and promotion for “Heartbreaker” and “ Counting Down Christmas.”
“I need time to eat and sleep and live. So you won’t be seeing much of me in January,” Moskaluke said, adding still living in her home town helps her write music that is relatable.
“It’s not hard to write relatable music living where I live, it’s easy to keep things relatable. Country music starts in small towns. I need to stay in my small town to keep it relatable,” she said.
Jess Moskaluke plays the Yates Theatre, Monday, Nov. 27 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $62.50.
— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor
