It has been a slow, steady climb up for Humboldt's Ray Whitton since he entered the music industry in 2006.

The singer/songwriter fulfilled one of his biggest accomplishments to date on Saturday, winning Roots Album of the Year at the Saskatchewan Country Music Association awards gala for his self-titled album, Ray Whitton.

"I went with the hopes of having a great time and meeting up with some old friends and hearing some new music," Whitton said about attending the weekend festivities. "Like they say, it's nice to be nominated, but what a treat. I was very surprised and obviously, thrilled, to receive the nod."

"All the hard work that goes in to putting out an album. Doing some tour and playing and promoting. Just to get a nomination feels pretty good, but to win one feels pretty surreal. I'm very thankful for the support of the Saskatchewan Country Music Association."

This was the first time that Whitton had attended the awards as a nominee. He was also up for Roots Artist of the Year.

Having been to the awards in years prior as an attendee, he says that actually being up for an award, and being mindful of that, wasn't easy.

"I'd like to say it wasn't at the front of my mind, but it was at the back of my mind, because I was a nervous wreck for 48 hours."

Given the growing success of music in not only the Humboldt area, but across Saskatchewan, Whitton hopes that it continues to blossom into something special.

"Humboldt has a really vibrant music scene," he noted. "Here's hoping that we can continue to pump out some more artists and some more great music."

Whitton's music can be heard during Bolt FM's Local Artist segments, which air four times each day.

You can hear Whitton's full interview below.