Ryan Cook's on the roll

The singer/songwriter boarded Via Rail in Halifax on April 18 and is performing all the way to Alberta where he has a show in Stony Plain.

Cook says he’s been wanting for some time to travel across country by train. He’s taking advantage of the company’s program in which travelling musicians are provided with free accommodations in exchange for two

 45-minute unplugged acoustic performances each day.

“I heard about this through other artists like Share and Old Man Luedecke who have both done it,” Cook told the Vanguard during an email interview last week.

In the past, he has composed most of his songs while driving and always found that the physical sensation of “being in motion, watching the world through a window,” was the best way to jump-start his creativity.

“I first discovered this on a Cook's Dairy milk truck, go figure,” he said.

He says that being a passenger instead of the driver gives him the opportunity to write without worrying about hitting the ditch. It also gives him a “much needed” break from the monotony of returning phone calls and updating websites.

The trip marks his first travelling experience on a Via Rail train and he says that so far “it has been a wonderful experience.”

He says he plans on “doing this again, given the opportunity.”

“In my performances I have been singing a healthy dose of train songs by Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Snow and Johnny Cash along with songs from my latest record Peaks & Valleys,” said Cook.