Country singer Mark Wills plans to unleash his fun side at Light Up the Town

Talking to country singer Mark Wills, the first thing you'll notice is that he's funny.

That's surprising coming from the artist responsible for such melancholy, soulful hits as "I Do (Cherish You)," "Don't Laugh at Me," and "Wish You Were Here."

"I'm a depressed sum'bitch, if you listen to them," Wills cracks. He's used to people mistaking him for an introspective, downbeat kinda guy — until they see his live show.

Wills's high-energy, full-throttle performances have inspired more than one audience member to tell him in amazement, "Gaw-durn, dude, you're not nearly as depressing in person as you are on your records!" he relates in his deep country-boy drawl that reveals his Georgia heritage.

When Wills comes to Fort Myers on Saturday to play the Edison Festival's Light up the Town block party, fans and newcomers to his music alike can expect to see what Wills calls his "fun, energetic side."

"I think when a fan comes to the show and they're really entertained, that puts a different spin on the show," he explains. "You don't go to a Bon Jovi concert and expect to sit in your chair the whole time and hear ballad after ballad after ballad," he jokes.

But don't worry — Wills won't disappoint the fans who want to hear his hit ballads. "I'm very proud of those songs," he says. "But at the same time, we're just trying to showcase a little more personality."

He uses "we" and "our" for almost every comment about his music, but not the megalomaniacal "royal 'we,' " and not in a disingenuous effort to sound self-deprecating. Wills genuinely regards his backing band as part of his success.

"It's a team effort—it's not really about me," he says. "These are the guys that have to travel around and play every night. You want people out there who really share your philosophy."

One philosophy the band agrees on is that they don't want to play only big, impersonal venues. Smaller, more intimate events like Light up the Town let Wills and his band stay in touch with the fans they love to entertain.

"For us it's a great time," he says. "I like to be able to look into people's eyes, to kind of know what they're thinking…You can talk to people—you can interact. You can't do that in a 20,000 seat arena."

Wills knows about intimate venues: His success story is the classic "singer discovered at a bar" tale. While playing country bar the Buckboard in Marietta, Ga. (where Travis Tritt was discovered), as an 18-year old, Wills caught the attention of Nashville record execs. They signed him shortly thereafter — and now, ten years later, Wills is working on his eighth album, which he's recording with a new label in an effort to let his vivacious side loose.

"It's going to be a lot more energy-driven," he promises, "more of a positive, fun, rockin' type record."

He's planning to release a new single from it by the end of March, and hoping to have the CD ready for a mid-to late-summer release. "But don't quote me on that," he warns teasingly. "Say that I said, 'Don't quote me.'"

And the man whose image, he says, is often, "oh, my goodness, this poor guy's so depressed," punctuates his final instructions with yet still another laugh.