Hawksley Workman has spent the last 25 years in the music business, constantly going through a metamorphosis with his sound.

He is currently touring Canada on a tight schedule, a new place every night with little downtime. But he loves the road.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no idle time on the road and I love that part about it. I love that every second is spoken for and that there鈥檚 purpose in every moment. Makes my life feel like there鈥檚 real value going on,鈥� shared Workman.

Workman explains that his music has changed over the years and what he presents on stage can be different from the albums. He is currently touring as a duo with his long-time piano player, Mr. Lonely. 

鈥淚 definitely have done whatever I felt like doing and the current single, Obsessed, is a three-minute pop diddy. The record before that was a thoughtful indie rock album. I don鈥檛 stick to my lane.鈥�

Not sticking to his lane has made him a versatile artist. When he looks back over his albums he still finds his favourite to be an early one - Treeful of Starling.

鈥淚 think it might be my best record. There鈥檚 just something effortless about it. There was no real agenda when it came to making it,鈥� shared Workman. 鈥淧eople in the industry were saying that the record was going to destroy my career because everyone was hoping that I was going to do a follow-up to Lover/Fighter. I think there is something really successful about that record artistically, so that's the one I鈥檓 most proud of.鈥� 

Workman looks forward to playing smaller venues in smaller towns such as the Waverley in Cumberland. He understands that his demographic is closer to his age and many of those fans have left big cities and made their way to small towns to raise their kids. 

鈥淭here鈥檚 a thing of a small town being underserved for live music and you find the audiences in smaller places are often way more hungry to see live music.鈥�

Workman attributes his long career and staying power to starting his career when he did, prior to having to have viral videos on social media in order to get music recognized or become famous. 

"I started at a time when [my] generation would have been connected to human things. Maybe as some sort of relic of the past, I come across as unique because I don鈥檛 do the 鈥楬ey look at me!鈥� stuff. I think people from [my] generation were connected to things that are more hand-built and a bit more authentic.鈥�

As for Workman鈥檚 inspiration in his songwriting, he has cycled through different belief systems, looked at many ways to assess life and left behind the despair that was more prominent in his earlier records. Instead, he is more focused on the stoic philosophy that has been forming the way he writes these days.

When this tour is over, Workman plans to return to simplicity; for him this includes domestic chores and dusting off the studio to return to writing new music. 

Throughout all the ups and downs of his career, Workman remains grounded in his pleasure of being a musician.

鈥淚 have a feeling of extreme gratitude and fortune that I get to play music and go to places like Cumblerland and play the Waverley.鈥�

Hawksley Workman plays the Charlie White Theatre in Sidney on Nov. 8, the Waverley Hotel in Cumberland on Nov. 9 and Queen鈥檚 in Nanaimo on Nov. 10.