The Aaron Ball Band, featuring local musicians Aaron Ball of Blackfoot and David Bowman of Pocatello, is on a roll and there’s no end in sight. Ball was recently named The Akademia “Country Artist of the Year” in Los Angeles after previously winning two songwriting awards for “New Strings” and “Beer Before Whiskey.” These events helped spur an opportunity for a June tour in Japan and a three-month gig on Carnival Cruise Ship through the Caribbean islands, Cancun and Bahamas. Plus, Ball’s new CD “Certainties” launched worldwide this week and is available for download on iTunes and Cdbaby.com.

Ball recorded the album last year in the iconic New Orleans Parlor Studio owned by members of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Band. The CD features five original songs written by Ball, including a very personal song called “Lucky One” that he wrote nine years ago but never recorded.

“These are all real, honest stories in my songs,” he said. “This was a challenging project, but rewarding.”

Ball and Bowman have played together since 2012 and are well known for sharing their musical talent in the East Idaho communities. Ball sings, writes and plays musical instruments while Bowman sings back up and “wows” his audience with amazing piano playing.

“David is everything I’ve been missing. He’s a great back-up singer. He’s super creative and he helps polish up my music,” Ball said.

While they are often dubbed a country band, the guys don’t like to be pigeon holed into a specific music genre. Bowman describes their music as: “Jason Aldean meets the Foo Fighters with Elton John, Billy Joel and Neil Diamond mixed in.” Ball and Bowman have performed together in New Zealand, Canada, Mexico and many states across the country, including Hawaii.

The duo leaves for their Japan tour this week where they will be greeted at the airport by a concert promoter who has shows lined out for them in Tokyo, Kobe, Osaka and Sapporo. They will be the headlining American artists playing in venues with popular Japanese artists.

Bowman has been to Japan twice and is looking forward to going back. Ball, who has never been, is especially excited to see Tokyo, saying, “I’m excited to experience what a really giant city feels like. We get to play at the Hard Rock Cafe in Tokyo. That’s so cool!”

With an intense touring schedule through this fall, the duo is still squeezing in local performances this summer for their Idaho fans. They’ll be in Jerome (June 21), Challis (June 22), Boise Musical Festival (June 23), Pocatello’s Revive@5 (July 3) and the Idaho State University Quad (July 5).

“We love to be in front of an audience and use our God given talents to make people happy or to make them cry. Music brings out emotion and makes people feel,” Ball said. “I hope everyone will come to our local shows and experience our new music. Exciting things are happening.”

Concert updates, YouTube links and news on the Aaron Ball Band can be found at aaronballmusic.com or Aaron Ball Band Facebook page.