As Confucius might have said, had he been a professional musician, a tour of 6,000 miles begins with a single stop.

And for Great Lake Swimmers, a Toronto-based band setting out on a journey that will take the band to 40 cities spread across seven countries on two continents, that stop is Capital City. Tonight. At Barrymore’s Music Hall.

“That first gig is usually pretty good, because we’re fresh,” singer-songwriter Tony Dekker says of our place as testing ground for a gruelling tour schedule.

“The end of the tour can be good, because we’re well-oiled as a band. But that first date is pretty special.”

Given the band bringing rootsy back will be sharing the stage this evening with Halifax’s sublime Jenn Grant, we should expect nothing less than a special evening indeed. Tonight promises to be an evening of melodic magic, courtesy of two artists on the verge of great things.

Well, more great things. With the release of their latest album, Ongiara, last spring, Dekker’s Great Lake Swimmers presented a third-time charm to those in awe of folk and country influences channelled through finely crafted pop compositions. Singer and guitarist Dekker called on his trusted bandmates Erik Arneson (guitar, banjo) and Colin Huebert (percussion) and invited ringers such as Sarah Harmer, Serena Ryder and Owen “Final Fantasy” Pallett to chip in as he sang odes to his vast home and native land, as well as introspective personal reflections.

“We did a lot of travelling leading up to this album,” Dekker says of his inspiration for Ongiara’s songs. “But to me, it’s more about internal environments, it’s more about atmospheres.

“I didn’t have an overall concept for the album, it’s just what came out. You pick out the songs that have something to do with each other and try to make them work together.”

Sounds simple enough. And certainly Dekker and his Great Lake Swimmers make it seem easy, as do all great bands.

For tonight’s show, incidentally, Great Lake Swimmers will comprise Dekker, Arneson, Huebert and backup singer Julie Fader. And perhaps more.

“It will be at least a four-piece,” Dekker teases. “The core band is the three of us, but we always have floating seats for the rest of the band.”

Spoken like the leader of an indie band. And increasing media attention for Great Lake Swimmers invariably defines the group’s music as ‘indie’ — ‘indie’ being the new ‘alternative’ ... or the old one. And despite having made the jump with Ongiara to the well-established Nettwerk Records, these Swimmers are in no hurry to join the major label world.

“I’m pretty comfortable where I am,” Dekker says. “It would be nice to be able to do something like re-press our earlier albums on vinyl, which is not really feasible. But we’re able to make the records we want and to tour as much as we want.” (And, thanks to the DIY label Weeworks, to at least get Ongiara onto vinyl.)

And, according to the schedule that lays ahead for Dekker and his fellow Swimmers, this band wants to tour a lot.

“Touring is an important part of all of this,” Dekker says, “but to be honest, I’d rather be writing and recording than out on the road. It’s useful, though, because it’s another way to have a conversation with a listener.”

A lengthy conversation. And tonight, we have the honour of being the first ones brought into it, as Dekker introduces a new topic.