A walk across Canada inspired many of the songs that reggae soloist Simon Walls will be performing at Buds during his visit to Invermere on Thursday, May 9th.

During a nine-month walking tour which started in 2011, musician Simon Walls performed his first concert of the adventure in Victoria, B.C., and step by step, concert by concert, he worked his way to the final show in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

“It was exhausting, but it was super cool,” Mr. Walls said to The Echo.

“There was no cheating; no hitchhiking. My manager booked shows all along the way — all I had to do was get there on time.”

Born and raised in Montreal, Mr. Walls says the style of music he adopted from home is familiar in B.C.

“Not typical like Bob Marley, more like acoustic-reggae stuff,” he said. “There’s lots of that stuff in Montreal and a lot on the west coast.”

After seven years as an active musician, Mr. Walls has recorded two albums.

His most recent album, Klein Blue, was recorded after his 9,000-kilometre trek from Canada’s Pacific to Atlantic, and his current tour, the No More Walking tour, will be his first return to the province since crossing the Alberta border on his 2011 venture.

He also became an author after basing his first published work, Troubadour des temps modernes, on the walking tour.

His journeys have allowed him to share his natural talent in a manner that’s easy to relate too.

Mr. Walls says most of his songs are about traveling and the people he met, and the ups and downs of the extensive road.

“There are so many different kinds of people coming to the gigs; there are people from 18 to 80,” he said. “My music is a whole crock – its reggae-ish, good-feeling stuff, and prettyintense at the same time.”

Tickets are $10 and available at Bud’s. The show begins at 8 p.m.