It might be a difficult time of year to hit the road, but Kim Stockwood is looking forward to coming home for a provincial tour.
"This is my first solo tour in a long while - I'm scared, I'm excited. I'm all of the above," she said, with a chuckle, during a recent interview with the Georgian.
"I'm scared about how much chips, dressing and gravy I'm going to fit in during the two weeks (of touring). I've actually had great chips at the mall in Stephenville. I was staying at the hotel near there once and I ran over there - and they had really good chips."
She'll have the chance to check out the local cuisine again in a couple of weeks. Her tour kicks off in St. John's and takes Kim across the island and Labrador before wrapping up in Stephenville on March 10.
"I'm going everywhere at possibly the worst time of year to be travelling in Newfoundland and Labrador. Schedule-wise, this is probably the only time I can do it, so I'm like, OK. I'll be carrying my little book of dates with check marks. There are check marks when I arrive at a place safely and the show is going ahead as normal and the audience all gets there. There are more checks when I actually leave that place to get to the next place."
Joining Kim are musicians Kevin Fox, who's played with the likes of Chantal Kreviazuk and Sarah Harmer, and Aaron Collis of the Dardenelles.
The trio will perform songs from Kim's newest album, "Back to the Water," which features 10 traditional songs, such as "Squid Jiggin' Ground" and "Now I'm 64," as well as the title track that was co-written by Kim and fellow musician Damnhait Doyle.
"This is my first solo tour in a long while - I'm scared, I'm excited. I'm all of the above." - Kim Stockwood
"I'm doing songs from this record and I'm also doing some of my songs that were on the radio," she said. "I don't like calling them hits, it just feels weird."
Kim has had success both in this province and across the country with such singles as "Jerk" from her 1995 debut album - and "12 Years Old" from her follow-up record, which was released in 1999.
In the years since, she's released a Christmas album and teamed up with friends Damhait and Tara MacLean to from the group Shaye, which released two albums in the mid-2000s.
Currently living in Toronto with her husband and two sons, Kim performs at various gigs, works as a commercial voice-over actor and volunteers at her children's school.
"I thought I'd go to Toronto for a couple of years and help my career, and then bam, you get stuck. I shouldn't say stuck, because I have a great life with a great husband and great kids - but if I didn't get home as much as I did, I'd probably lose my mind."
In addition to the provincial tour, Kim is looking forward to this year's East Coast Music Awards, taking place in New Brunswick in April. She's been nominated in the "Roots/ Traditional Solo Recording of the Year" category for "Back to the Water."
For more information about Kim's performance in Stephenville, call the Stephenville Arts and Culture Centre box office at 643-4553.
