Vance Gilbert has played at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Given how confident he is in his performances, perhaps that’s no surprise.

“I can transform the largest space into a comfortable and intimate space,” Gilbert said by phone last week.

The New Jersey-born singer-songwriter, who first began writing music after seeing Shawn Colvin perform at a Boston theatre, will perform at the West End Cultural Centre this Saturday, Nov. 7.

With his latest release, Up on Rockfield, Gilbert has created a concept album where the songs were written as though he was co-writing them with some of his musical heroes.

“This album is a coming to terms with my influences. It’s been the most inspirational and notebook-filling exercise I’ve done to myself since my days of writing children’s theatre,” Gilbert said.

Celebrating the influence others have had on his writing, Gilbert channels other songwriters in what are some times odd pairings, like Shawn Colvin and Raffi.

In Gibert’s song Old Man’s Advice, he channels Tom Waits, another of his heroes.

“Never look for Friday’s kiss with Thursday’s broken heart,” Gilbert sings on Advice.

At times Gilbert’s latest album has a very spiritual feel, with a lot of his songs containing biblical references.

It’s a diverse mix of sounds and styles which speaks to the man’s diverse tastes, much of which have been gained from a life on the road.

Though Gilbert has almost 10 albums under his belt, he admitted that he really isn’t a fast writer.

After falling off his porch and spraining his ankle, Gilbert has had a little time before his North American tour to write, teach and rest with his family.

The troubadour has lived just outside of Boston for almost 30 years and has performed at the Winnipeg Folk Festival on a number of occasions.

Now he’s looking forward to coming back to Winnipeg again, after just a few months away.

“Each song I write tells where I am on the planet. You’ll come to our shows because you need us and we need you.”

Published in Volume 64, Number 10 of The Uniter (November 5, 2009)