Doc Walker will be holding their first ever Portage la Prairie CD release party on May 27 at the William Glesby Centre.

Lead singer Chris Thorsteinson notes it's hard to believe they haven't done this before seeing as they're from the area. He explains they've done plenty of shows in Portage but says CD release parties are different as they give them the chance to tell stories about the records and the inspiration behind the songs He adds their newest record, Weathervane, has plenty of inspiration from the prairies.

"On the new record, we have a song called Heart of the Heartland which is pretty much written about Portage and Westbourne. So throughout the years, there has always been imagery and reflections of where we're from."

He explains it's partly because of this hometown inspiration that they've decided to make the CD release party a local event.

"It's funny, there was a review on the record from the Winnipeg Free Press, I believe it was. They said "they don't directly say Portage la Prairie in Heart of the Heartland but we all know what they're talking about", the imagery and what-not. We were talking to management and we're like "you know, we'd really like to do something in Portage for this record" because usually for CD release parties you're flying to major markets whether it be Toronto, Vancouver or Calgary to do big CD release parties. But this one we really wanted to make it a hometown event."

Since its release at the end of last month, Weathervane had been doing awesome says Thorsteinson, noting it sold out of hard copies online. Even after 20 years and 10 albums, Thorsteinson says it's still an honour to do what they do.

"Every record that we make and every ticket that we sell, you realise more and more that it's an honour to do what we do. You hear hockey players talk about it, that are, this sounds crazy, getting into their late 20's early 30's, just happy to be out there playing the game. We're the same way, we're into our 40's now, just turning 40. To be able to tour and play shows is pretty amazing and we really appreciate every second that we get to do it."

Tickets for the CD release party, entitled Songs and Stories from the Heartland, are now on sale.