The stage is set and the bands have touched down in Niagara Falls!  ET Canada’s New Year’s Eve at Niagara Falls is gearing up to ring in 2014 with a bang and we were lucky enough to catch up with Sam Roberts after his chilly soundcheck this afternoon.

“Once you got your guitar warmed up it started to feel OK,” Sam told us about taking to the stage this afternoon.  Adding, “then the sun came out a bit and everything started to melt and I was thinking ‘this is gonna be a breeze’ but then the clouds came over and the guitar clammed up again and my fingers got all stiff.”

“It’s always good to get up there and run through it,” Sam says, his hands still buried deep in his pockets.  “Not every show happens infront of TV cameras,” he continues, “and a live audience forgets as soon as they see something, but on TV for some reason it kind of sticks with you a little longer and there’s evidence so we have to make sure that we’re ready to put it out there on the big night.”

Proving that Sam Roberts Band is ready to show Niagara Falls how to really rock out, the singer let us in on how he’s planning on keeping warm for the big night saying, “the only tweak we have to make is right here,” pulling out a multitude of hot pockets from his coat.

Promising to not let the weather get in the way of ringing in the new year, Sam says playing guitar in the cold isn’t the only issue.  “The big question,” he tells us “is going to be what to wear.  I had some fashions choices picked out, but I think they’re all just going to fall by the wayside in favour of whatever is the warmest coat I can find and still actually play in.”

Sam’s advice to fans planning on being in the audience is to keep their body moving as much as possible, “just get into it,” he adds.  “We’re here to celebrate, so hopefully that won’t be too hard for them,” he says adding that fans are in for, “a good ol’ fashioned Canadian New Year’s Eve celebration.”

Be sure to watch ET Canada’s New Year’s Eve at Niagara Falls airing on Global December 31 at 10 pm to catch Sam Roberts Band in action! Watch more with Sam below.