Les Stroud the musician and Les Stroud the “Survivorman” weren’t always so connected.

Stroud’s one-man TV series “Survivorman,” in which he uses his outdoors skills to survive by himself for up to 10 days in remote locales such as the Arctic tundra, Amazon jungle, South Pacific and more, ushered in a new genre of survival reality TV when it premiered in 2004. During the show’s run (which continues today with new episodes coming to Stroud’s online Survivorman TV Network — more on that in a bit), Stroud released four studio albums of original music.

Both interests came early for Stroud: During a recent interview, he told GO! Magazine he was obsessed with Tarzan movies and Jacques Costeau documentaries as a kid growing up in Toronto, Canada, and he studied music in college and began his entertainment career as a professional songwriter. But he didn’t connect his two passions until fairly recently — even if others around him did.

“In the beginning I would say to the producers or the record people, ‘You know, I get it, I know I’m not 22,’ and they’d say, ‘You know what? We don’t want a 24-year-old, dreadlocked guy singing about trees; you’re the guy who’s survived all around the world in every environment that exists. You’re the one with the bush cred,’” Stroud said recently from a rehearsal stop in Ashland, a little more than a week before his performance at the Tower Theatre on Saturday.

“And then I realized, that’s right. I am that guy. I am the guy with the bush cred. I am the guy who’s seen and been in all these environments. And so the lyrics and the work that comes out of me musically is not a stretch; it’s not contrived, let’s say. It’s a very natural, organic place to have landed.”

Talk to Stroud today and he’s adamant: He hopes to do for music what “Survivorman” did for TV.

“‘Survivorman’ began an entirely new genre of television, survival TV,” Stroud said. “I intend with the music to try to create a whole new genre of music, earth music — music that the whole point is to celebrate and protect the earth. And I think that gives people a really great touchstone to come and say, ‘OK, I want to come see what this guy’s doing,’ and then when they get there: ‘Holy s—, he blows a mean harmonica and he sings well.’ It’s like that; it’s always crossing the entertainment world with a mission that means something. That’s what I’ve always been about.”

His latest song, “Arctic Mistress,” produced by Mike Clink (Megadeth, Heart, Guns N’ Roses), and its accompanying video are his first steps in this new direction. The song is a roots-rock ballad that celebrates the beauty of the Arctic and Stroud’s experiences surviving in the region, brought to life in the video with footage from Stroud’s Arctic tundra “Survivorman” episode.

It also serves as a prelude to at least three new albums Stroud has completed with Clink. Two of those albums should be released this year: “Bittern Lake,” the third album in Stroud’s “Barn Sessions” series with his group The Campfire Kings and Queens (as the title suggests, the “Barn Sessions” are recorded live in a barn); and “Survivorman’s Mother Earth,” an “epic rock” set featuring guest spots from Slash, Steve Vai and more.

In addition to playing new material with his acoustic trio in Bend, Stroud will also integrate cover songs from Joni Mitchell, Bruce Cockburn and others into his sets (“Bittern Lake” will be his first album to feature cover material). The show will also feature Stroud’s video from survival situations around the world, as well as an audience Q&A mid-set.

“There’s footage from ‘Survivorman’ and stuff I did with ‘Shark Week’ and wilderness stuff from around the world,” Stroud said. “A lot of it is mine — there’s some sourced footage, but for the most part, it’s my own. And that’s the beautiful thing about the screens: It’s not just like when you go see a rock band and they throw a bunch of images up on a screen and they play in front of it. This stuff is timed to the music perfectly with a click-track; it tells the story that I’m telling in the particular song.”

Stroud may be focused on music at the moment, but he’s about to become equally busy in his survival pursuits thanks to the aforementioned Survivorman TV Network (smtvnetwork.com). Anyone who has seen “Survivorman” — filmed entirely by Stroud himself using an assortment of hand-held, mounted and waterproof cameras — knows Stroud has a strong do-it-yourself streak. SMTV continues in that vein, offering subscribers full episodes of “Survivorman” with Stroud’s commentary, instructional videos on survival, music videos and even a section dedicated to Bigfoot sightings, with new material added monthly.

“It’s not just going on and seeing a bunch of old ‘Survivorman’ episodes,” Stroud said. “There’s so much more. I’m doing specific instructional videos — everything from how to tie a certain knot, to building elaborate shelters, to camera techniques in the field. So the reaction, in short, has been phenomenally wonderful. People are like, ‘This is so amazing, thank you.’ It’s $3.99 a month — for a cup of coffee, you get me. And now they can help me make new material. So I’m like, OK, what else do you want to know? ‘Oh, we’d really like you to do this.’ OK, I’m gonna go out and film that.”

Stroud is planning further fan interaction through the channel, including contests and more “Survivorman” episodes. Between that and his music, it would seem he has his work cut out for him, but he said he relishes the extremes he experiences on the road.

“I love the paradox between rock ’n’ roll and the bush,” Stroud said. “One day I’m in Vegas, onstage, rocking out. The next week I’m in a dugout canoe in a jungle.”

What: “Survivorman” host Les Stroud

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Tower Theatre, 835 NW Wall St., Bend

Cost: $20, $30, $40 plus $3 theater preservation fee

Contact: towertheatre.org or 541-317-0700