Lacombe native Gord Bamford will be releasing his eighth studio album later this month titled Neon Smoke.

The album, slated for release Jan. 19th, precedes the Neon Smoke 29-date Canadian Tour, which kicks off in Ontario Jan. 24th.

Bamford said with this being his eighth album, it has him feeling old and young at the same time.

“I’ve just been really lucky to have the success I’ve had over the years and I’m really excited about this new project. I think it’s our best one yet,” he said in a recent phone interview with the Express.

Bamford said he spent a lot of time on this album, which he said was a fun process.

And its songs have seen great success already.

The album’s debut single, Livin’ On Summertime, broke the Top 10 on the Canadian Country music charts, while the follow up single Ain’t it Grand saw Bamford joining Blue Rodeo’s front man Jim Cuddy.

That song debuted at the 2017 Canadian Country Music Awards on Sept. 10th in Saskatoon.

“I’ve lived down in the States the last couple of years so I’ve missed Canada a lot and I was looking for the perfect Canadian to record it with, and I obviously got really lucky with having Jim Cuddy be a part of it,” said Bamford.

He added that the song is a patriotic song about Canada, which people seem to like, and that the record has a little bit of everything for all of the different types of country music listeners.

Growing up on an Alberta farm in Lacombe, Bamford was always involved in singing as a young child, but never thought he’s be where he is today.

“I played a lot of sports and I got into country music pretty heavily back in the early 90s when Garth Brooks was doing his thing, and I fell in love with it,” he said.

He caught his first big break when he entered a local radio station’s Search For The Stars contest and won.

He added that back when he was cutting his teeth, there were lots of places to play live music.

“You could go pretty much anywhere in Canada and play the club for four or five nights and hone your skills. That’s really what I did.”

Bamford said looking back at 2017, one of the best moments was moving back to Canada.

“It’s been good to be home, and making this record over the last year has been a lot of fun.”

He and his wife are currently building a new place out by Bashaw.

Although Red Deer isn’t on the first leg of the tour, there is still a second part, which could see opportunities in the city at a later date.