Christmas is a time of year when many former Edmontonians come back to the city.

Bobby Cameron may hail from Cape Breton but his musical career was solidified in Edmonton 20 years ago. Since relocating to Toronto, Cameron returns here every Christmas.

His pre-Christmas bash is at the Sidetrack tonight.

Cameron was in Canmore at his mountain hideaway when the Sun caught up with him earlier this week.

"Like anybody else in Alberta, they have a little spot in the mountains they tend to gravitate towards and I try and get there once a year," said Cameron, who is also busy finishing up his fourth solo record.

"With the state of the world today, I have a recording studio I can travel with now because it's on my computer," Cameron said of his Pro Tools software.

"I wanted Sandro Dominelli in Edmonton to record the drums, so I flew out a week earlier and got him to play drums for the tracks we've already recorded."

The blues rocker has been entrenched in the commercial music industry since moving to Toronto. Already an independent musician, Cameron signed a publishing deal as a songwriter five years ago with Carlin America.

He also cut a publishing deal with BMG Canada where he participated in the Canadian Idol writing camps. Besides being credited for October Skies, a track that appears on Canadian Idol winner Ryan Malcolm's debut album, Cameron met an ally in fellow songwriter/producer John Capek.

"He actually just got nominated this year for a Grammy in the songwriting department," said Cameron of the man producing and mixing his new album in Toronto.

"I use a lot of slide guitar, a lot of dobros. It's not as rock/pop as my other records and is really more traditional. It's probably really leaning more towards the blues and folk, which has been a big part of my sound anyway. It's just always been masked by all the electric guitars."

Alberta, and Edmonton in particular, has always been a supportive home for Cameron and his music. "You could play (here) five nights a week. There were a lot of venues and I just realized it was a good base," he said.

His new album is slated for release next spring, "whether it's indie or not. I'd prefer it the other way, but it's coming out," he added.