HALIFAX - It was over a decade ago that a musical family from Cape Breton took its first major step toward a long and rewarding run together at Halifax's Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, with a show called The Mabou Jig.

With The Rankins now disbanded to follow separate career paths, singer-songwriter Jimmy Rankin returned to the comfortable environs of the Cohn on Sunday night to launch a string of Nova Scotia dates on his first solo tour. If that show is any indication, the rest of the province is in for a real treat.

Tour dates are Strathspey Place in Mabou on Nov. 7 and 9, Glace Bay's Savoy Theatre on Nov. 8, SAERC Auditorium in Port Hawkesbury on Nov. 10, Wolf-ville's Festival Theatre on Nov. 12 and the deCoste Centre in Pictou on Nov. 13.

With the release of his solo debut, Song Dog, this summer, Rankin reinforced his position as one of the East Coast's strongest songwriters, opting for a heady concoction of roots, rock and pop that translates well to the stage and gives the expressive Caper enough ammo to craft a show that's both entertaining and emotional.

"Thanks for coming out to the show," remarked Rankin to the near-capacity crowd, as he strapped on an acoustic guitar. "I know a lot of people are just staying home, watching the world end on CNN."

Rather than watch the world end, Sunday's audience much preferred being witness to Rankin's recent rebirth as a frontman, although the past would often resurface over the course of the evening, as on the very first song, the Rankin Family nugget Orangedale Whistle.

But then it was into the new stuff, with Rankin's band providing a smooth and sympathetic backing for songs like the soulful Midnight Angel and the sleek, uptempo You and Me, drenched in Kim Dunn's rich organ vibe. On Drunk and Crucified, guitarist Dave McKeough coaxed forth dark chiming harmonies, suiting Rankin's lyrics inspired by the sight of four guys drinking from brown paper bags outside Grand Central Station.

Ignoring the popular wisdom that you save your hit single for the encore, Rankin bumped the show up a notch with Followed Her Around, co-written with Gordie Sampson, which sounds even better live than it does on disc, or in the stripper-laden video. When he writes a killer chorus, it sticks in your brain and doesn't let go.

Former Ashley MacIsaac bassist Ed Woodsworth ("He's on to bigger and better things now," Rankin quipped) and Toronto drummer Randy Cooke supplied the bottom end, with the latter supplying a pounding tattoo intro to We'll Carry On, imitating the force of the waves as Rankin sang "I am my father's son," for the fishermen he grew up with.

A trio of Rankin Family favourites ended the main set - Roving Gypsy Boy, Let It Go and You Feel the Same Way Too - getting the crowd on its feet and shaking a few little behinds. Then came the encore, an emotional trilogy of songs about leaving Cape Breton, or being left behind, including an acoustic This is the Hour, a powerful Tripper and the anthemic Captain Harmony, which Rankin dedicated to his sound crew and wife Mia.

These songs, which capture the texture of Maritime life while transcending the conventions of traditional music, signify what Rankin has been working towards all these years as a performer and storyteller, with the promise of more to come.