At a glance, Johnny Reid looks like a pretty straight laced guy.

Spiky blond hair, a clean cut image and songs about love and life might lead one to believe he's just another cookie cutter country singer.

But behind the blue eyes and toothy grin is a gracious and lively Scotsman whose love for Motown and great entertainers, from Dean Martin to Joe Cocker, have shaped him into a unique artist.

On the Waking Up Laughing tour with Martina McBride and Little Big Town (another group that puts a twist on the country formula with a Fleetwood Mac meets Dixie Chicks vibe), Reid will be on stage tonight at Rexall Place.

Having the cadence and warmth of country and meeting it head on with white bread soul, it's like Dwight Yoakum and Simply Red walked into the wrong studio and decided to record together.

And as a landed immigrant who laid down roots in Brampton, Ont., Reid's fellow Canadians seem to like the sound.

McBride may be the big draw tonight, but Reid's betting his growing legion of fans - fondly known as the Tartan Army - will also make an appearance.

"We've got first spot on the show," says Reid, who has spent the last seven years living and working in Nashville. "We have a huge fan base in Canada. There'll be a bunch of people here to see us, so we're looking forward to that."

Reid won the rising star award at the 2006 Canadian Country Music Association awards, along with independent male artist and independent single of the year, these picked up from a total of five nominations. With constantly increasing country radio play and number one videos on CMT, it's no surprise Reid's latest album Kicking Stones has been nominated for country recording of the year at the upcoming Juno awards in Calgary.

But is the soulful tunester OK being lumped in with Alan Jackson and Toby Keith?

"I've never really tried to put myself in a genre," says Reid, who is also slated to perform at the Juno awards ceremony. "I usually leave that up to the record labels or the record stores, y'know?

"Really, it comes down to what I grew up listening to and what I enjoy singing," he insists. "As far as genres go, you just look at who's buying the record and it's not just country people buying them. I don't think my listening audience listens to a specific genre either.

"Myself, I listen to a lot of Motown records, old country records, which is where I fell in love with the lyrical content, y'know, the morality."

Reid played Edmonton's Capital Ex last summer, but local members of the Tartan Army might be disappointed to find out we have yet to oust Calgary as a favourite destination for this burgeoning recording artist.

"Every year we try our very best to go to the Calgary Stampede, because I'll tell you, out of all the shows we do all year, I just absolutely love the Calgary Stampede. It's a great audience, and we look forward to it every year."

Reid was also thrilling some small-town fans Monday afternoon in Gibbons, less than an hour northeast of Edmonton. The singer performed at Gibbons School, where students won the private performance for having the most participants at this year's St. Valentine's Day Hair Massacre, a head shaving event benefiting cancer research.