An old adage says that while certain events may change people, those individuals always start and end with family.

Similarly, family is Singer-songwriter Louis Pelot’s most prized possession. He looks no further than his own DNA for musical inspiration. His son, Bishop Pelot, is all the motivation he needs to make music.

Pelot began writing “Leaving Countries,” a song that also became the title of his band, in a cabin with his wife and son.

“The irony of the name was that I wasn’t going anywhere,” he said. “But my son was there, and I was able to identify it as something he could take for the rest of his life. It’s amazing having a child and being able to speak to him through my music.”

At only three years of age, Bishop has already learned to play drums and sing, following Pelot’s history of immersing himself in music at an early stage in life.

Though Pelot dedicates his music to his son, he said his vocation should be secondary in life to parenthood.

“It makes my worldview a little different having a child. A father-son relationship can never be broken, no matter what.”

Pelot took a break from performing this past year to focus on his family but will be returning tonight with a large ensemble to play from Leaving Countries’ first album, “On the Journey.” Pelot and his fans describe it as a blend of folk, rock, bluegrass and blues reminiscent of Bob Dylan.

In fact, Dylan’s influence on Pelot seems almost destiny-like. Similar to Dylan, Pelot wanted to find the country influence of music embedded in the south, so when he moved to Georgia, he settled on a farm on Highway 51 in Homer and refers to it as Highway 51, Revisited.

Pelot’s music contains political, social and spiritual storytelling separated from a particular ideology. Drawing from history and his own emotions, Pelot said his music has a certain harmony with universal viewpoints.

“I believe in taking positive ideas, religious or non-religious, and bringing them together. A lot of what I write is about following your heart,” he said. “Leaving Countries is a form of expressing the current moment and where you’re going. It’s a personal journey through the past, present, and future.”

Pelot also encourages listeners to look at the larger picture and to respect each other’s religious and political views.

Peace and the anti-war movement are some recurrent themes that have a personal connection to Pelot. His son, Bishop, reminds him of his grandfather, who served 32 months in a German POW camp during World War II.

“War has had a great impact on us. It’s never far behind us. We’re so occupied with things in our life that it’s easy to forget these historical events,” Pelot said. “During life, people make decisions that are not rational. Going to war is one of those, and you have to accept decisions others make and do what’s best. Leaving Countries is about earning up to responsibilities to spread peace and respect.”

With family-oriented motivation, Pelot respects and appreciates jam bands but prefers to write songs with deeper meaning that don’t just pass the time.

“Singing gives you an idea of who you are. [Music] is my religion and my politics,” he said. “Telling different truths require an outlet to express emotions. It’s important to communicate. When people stop expressing themselves, we become lost. For me, pen and paper does this. I put my heart and soul into my music and that’s what I live by.”