DESPITE residing thousands of miles across the pond, Otis Gibbs feels right at home in Bury.

The singer-songwriter is a firm favourite in the town thanks to memorable performances at the Ramsbottom Festival.

Born in Wanamaker, Indiana, Otis was very young when he began singing Hank Williams and Jimmy Rodgers hits with his uncle in their local pub so he could make a few dollars so he could get drunk.

In his lifetime, Otis has planted 7,176 trees, slept in hobo jungles, walked with Romanian shepherds and wrestled a bear — a competition which he lost, if you must know.

But his life experiences have simply fuelled his desire to tell stories and play music, and he now boasts several independently released albums including his most recent, Souvenirs of a Misspent Youth.

His music has taken him across the world, but tonight he takes to the stage at The Met, and he cannot wait to return.

Otis said: "The people in the area have been wonderful to me and have always treated me like family. I have fond memories of a few thousand people standing in the rain in the cricket ground while singing along to my songs at the Ramsbottom Festival. What's not to love about that?

"Typically, we have a damn good time [on stage] and forget about the world for a while. I tell a lot of stories in between songs while the audience laughs along. The folks at the Met have always been good to me, so I've made a lot of friends that I look forward to seeing at the gig."

The Market Street venue even went that extra mile for him when he left his wallet in a Bury hotel.

He said: "A few years ago, I had a great gig at the Met and the next day I was on my way to my gig in Sheffield. David from the Met called and said I'd left my wallet in my hotel room. I had to get back on the train back to Manchester Piccadilly but David was nice enough to meet me there and give me my wallet. He still gives me a hard time about that — and I deserve it. The folks at the Met are the best."

Otis's introduction to music was somewhat unconventional.

He said: "I grew up in the small farming community known as Wanamaker, Indiana. While my parents worked during the day, it fell upon some strange individuals to babysit me. One of these people was my uncle. He wasn't the best choice to babysit a four year old because he'd just got out of prison.

"He got bored watching me so he took me to a neighbourhood bar that had an upright piano in the corner. He'd sit me on top of that piano and I'd sing Hank Williams and Jimmy Rodgers songs while he accompanied me. The drunks thought I was a cute kid, so they gave me tip money and I'd sing their requests. My uncle would then take that money and get drunk on it. That's when I first learned how the music industry actually works."

Aside his music, Otis can also be heard chatting to guests on his podcast called Thanks For Giving a Damn.

He said: "There's no music, just me talking to friends like Billy Bragg, Ian Hunter, Gretchen Peters and many others. Mostly light hearted road stories and stuff like that. It's become much more popular than I ever could have imagined.

"On top of that, Pandora Radio approached me and asked me to host a history of country music type radio show. It went live last month and the audience is huge. In between songs, I tell stories about Jimmy Rogers, The Carter Family, Hank Sr., Kitty Wells and other country music greats. It's not available in the UK, but I'm told there are ways around that. I'm not endorsing anything underhand though, of course."

Tickets for tonight's gig can be bought on the door for £14.