Saskatchewan in the middle of February isn’t a place where a fellow raised on the balmy beaches of Australia can feel too cozy. Just ask Xavier Rudd. The Aussie singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist isn’t coping well with the sub-zero bite of the Prairies; in fact, when the Straight rings him up for a scheduled interview, he’s sick in bed with the flu. His road manager says to call back in three hours, and by then Rudd is up and seeking medical attention. “I’m not used to this kinda weather,” he explains, en route to the doctor’s office. “It’s like minus 30 or something. I think my body’s a bit in shock.”

Rudd is scheduled to play Saskatoon’s Lakeview Auditorium in five hours, and though he sounds like one sick puppy on the phone, he has no plans to cancel the show. “We’re here, so I’ll do it,” he says, “no worries.” That kind of easygoing attitude has served Rudd well in his career, and translates into the folksy, peace-and-love vibe of his music. His lyrics commonly invoke kindness, justice, environmental concerns, and humanitarianism, and his latest album, White Moth, is no exception. It opens with an upbeat ode to doing good deeds (“Better People”), and goes on to highlight the threat of global warming (“Footprint”) and the historical struggle of Australia’s Yolngu tribe against bauxite mining (“Land Rights”).

Although it’s clear from his subject matter that Rudd has an abiding concern in getting people to sit up, take notice, and do the right thing, he notes that “playing music is pretty much what I do,” and downplays his role as an activist. “I don’t think I am one,” he relates, “because I live in a toxic world of travelling around, you know, in an industry that’s really hard on the environment. The music industry is not set up well at all, environmentally. But I sing about what I feel, and I’m very inspired by activists and friends that I get to connect with.”

When you think about Australian musicians with a cause, one group that springs to mind is Midnight Oil, the hard-hitting guitar-rock quintet that gained a lot of respect among the socially conscious and environmentally minded. Although he wasn’t closely connected to the band, Rudd recalls how the Oils’ chrome-domed frontman, Peter Garrett, called for the giving back of land to Australian Aborigines—via the huge international hit “Beds Are Burning”—and spoke out against the logging of old-growth trees in Clayoquot Sound in the ’80s.

“I appreciated what they were doing at the time,” says Rudd, “but I’ve got a lotta questions about Peter Garrett at the moment. He is the [Australian] minister for art and environment, and he’s letting a lot of things go through that are a contradiction to what he said back in the day with his music. So he’s the topic of conversation.”

Rudd’s artistic exploits don’t focus solely on serious issues. He recently spent two days recording for the Surfer Dude soundtrack in L.A. at the request of actor and celebrity hunk Matthew McConaughey, who personally sought him out for the project. “I just basically jammed a bunch of different grooves,” Rudd says, “and now they’re just sort of dissecting them and putting them in places where they seem to fit.”

It’s the material from White Moth that most concerns Rudd right now. The majority of the CD was recorded with coproducer Dave Ogilvie (who has worked with David Bowie and Marilyn Manson) at Farmhouse Studios in Gibsons, although parts of it are recordings of indigenous vocalists and schoolkids made in northern Australia’s remote Arnhem Land. Rudd’s array of hand-carved didjeridus helps convey an authentic Aboriginal vibe on various tunes, while his soulful Weissenborn and Resonator slide-guitar work brings the bluesy shades he’s known for, especially on tracks like the driving “Stargaze”. He uses his “stomp box” (a homemade foot-percussion tool) to keep the primal rhythms on songs like the Bob Marley–ish reggae number “Come Let Go”, but also employs the ace drumming abilities of Toronto’s Dave Tolley throughout. Another major contributor to the CD is Vancouver’s Panos Grames, formerly of local bar faves the Grames Brothers, who provides Hammond organ on several tracks.

“I met Panos when I was recording Food in the Belly, and, uh—geez it’s cold out here, man. My manager at the time hooked it up, and he came in and recorded with us. He was amazing, so I got him to do White Moth as well. But he works for David Suzuki, and unfortunately he can’t tour with us, which is a shame. But we do the odd show together.”

Whether Grames will make it out for Rudd’s Canadian-tour-ending performance in Vancouver remains to be seen, but those holding tickets to the sold-out show can expect the main attraction to be in fine form—as long as he’s healthy. “I have a real connection to Vancouver,” says Rudd, “so it’s gonna be a great way to finish the tour. I love playing there. It’s an amazing vibe.”

Xavier Rudd plays the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Friday (February 22).