Donovan Woods

Canada's Donovan Woods has forged a path as both a guitar-strumming troubadour and a sought-after songwriter by fusing robust melodic instincts with down-to-earth folk narratives and an open, exposed vocal delivery. His output since the 2007 debut has merged modern folk textures with reflective acoustic pop drawn from stories of emotional pain and everyday existence. The 2016 album Hard Settle Ain't Troubled marked his critical breakthrough and contained the hit single "Portland, Maine," while 2018's Both Ways achieved further success and secured his initial Juno Award. Issued in 2024, Things Were Never Good if They're Not Good Now stands among the most personal and reflective works of his discography.

Born and raised in Sarnia, Ontario, immediately north of the U.S. line, Woods picked up guitar during adolescence under the sway of country, folk, and pop traditions. His first recording, The Hold Up, arrived in 2007 and introduced listeners to his introspective, understated compositional approach. National attention followed when "My Cousin Has a Grey Cup Ring" appeared in television spots promoting the Grey Cup, the Canadian Football League's championship contest. Subsequent releases 2011's The Widowmaker and 2013's Don't Get Too Grand solidified his profile, even as he shuttled between Toronto and Nashville to pitch material for other performers. Tim McGraw cut "Portland, Maine" for the 2014 album Sundown Heaven Town, and two years afterward Woods teamed with Nashville co-writer Abe Stoklasa to land "Leaving Nashville" with Lady A vocalist Charles Kelley.

Woods maintained momentum on his own recordings by joining Warner Chappell in 2016 and issuing his fourth album, Hard Settle Ain't Troubled, which earned a longlist spot for the Polaris Prize. The four-track EP They Are Going Away surfaced in early 2017. Both Ways followed in 2018 as the full-length successor to that breakthrough project; the record enjoyed strong reviews and sales, then captured the 2019 Juno Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year. The Other Way, consisting of acoustic renditions of Both Ways material, came next. During the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, Woods and his band completed remote sessions that yielded Without People, released that November with contributions from Ashley Monroe and Tucker Beathard plus the track "Seeing Other People."

A March 2021 deluxe version of Without People added four new cuts—revisited takes on "Grew Apart" and "Whatever Keeps You Going" alongside the previously unheard "When the Party's Over" and "Break Somebody's Heart." Big Hurt Boy, a six-song EP issued in March 2022, allowed Woods to work again with a full band in the studio for the first time since Both Ways; the songs delivered an empathetic view of everyday struggles while aiming to recapture the atmosphere of his earliest work. Although introspection has remained central to his writing, the subsequent album proved even more inwardly focused. Warm yet candid, Things Were Never Good if They're Not Good Now appeared in July 2024, co-produced by longtime associate James Bunton and featuring Madi Diaz on the gently hopeful "When Our Friends Come Over."