A look at his resume and you would be intrigued to see he has indeed had a major career change. Soon to be added to that same resume will be a performance at Ballarat’s Suttons House of Music.

“Before I was a full-time folk singer, I spent six years teaching kindergarten in Taiwan.

"It was, but it never felt like my vocation and I eventually decided that I needed to try making a life of music, or forever be haunted by the what if,” he said.

“So, I moved home, put a bed in the back of a minivan, and hit the road across Canada. I played a lot of bar shows in those early days and it was a grind, but it did help toughen me up some.

“And I found that a lot of the lessons I’d learned keeping four year olds entertained applied just as well to drunks.”

Currently on tour in support of his fourth album One More Time Around, Cook will perform in Ballarat Thursday night after hearing about the city from across the other side of the world.

“My friend Aurora Jane turned me onto Ballarat, as it’s her old stomping grounds,” he said.

“We got to know one another on her summer tours of Canada, and I’m looking forward to finally visiting her hometown.

“I’m also stoked to see Suttons; I hear it’s a lovely space and a great addition to the local music scene.”

Cook has spent the past two years on the road, resulting in the new album and a nomination for a 2014 Canadian Folk Music Award.

When asked about his new album he said, to his surprise, there was more of a meaning to the album than first planned.

“It’s the songs that came out of those two years of life on the road. But as I put the album together,

I did see a deeper theme emerging: an ongoing dialogue between hope and despair, at the level of our individual lives, our relationships, our communities and the world as a whole,” he said.

“I feel like we’re at a critical juncture nowadays, and a lot of us are asking ourselves the same questions, like can we ever really change, and do we actually have the imagination and will to save ourselves?”

His music award nomination also came just as much of a surprise .

“I’ve been playing shows for over 20 years, making a serious effort as a solo artist for a dozen, and making my full-time living at it for seven, sothere was more than a little irony in the Best Emerging Artist nod,” he said.

“It did feel good to see some recognition of my work on the national level, and I’m grateful for that.”

The Info...

WHAT: Scott Cook

WHERE: Suttons House of Music, 31 Sturt Street,8-11pm

WHEN: Thursday, January 29, 8-11pm

TICKETS: $7 at the door