In The Country with Dave Woods

Should've been a cowboy - or cowgirl in this case. "Those are the specific lyrics I remember hearing when I fell in love with country music", explains talented Country singer/songwriter Shanna Lynn - making reference to Toby Keith's first smash hit. She had been singing since she was just eighteen months old but throughout elementary and high school she also excelled at sports - and chose to focus...

Over the past 25 years Toronto born singer-songwriter Lorne Ryder's music has taken him across Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec as well as to Nashville, Tennessee. Most recently he was nominated for a 2009 Canadian Smooth Jazz Award for Best Original Composition (Beautiful Feeling.) He has also been nominated for 3 Top-Ten CCMAs for keyboard player of the year (2004, 2005 and 2006), and 2 Ontario Indepen...

Born in Edmonton and adopted by parents in Calgary, Bobby Wills’ eventually found music but not as early as many artists do. “When I was a kid, music was not a part of my life in a tangible way. My father listened to Country Music at home but that was about the extent of our participation as a family, “ explains Bobby. “I loved music from an early age, it was something I was very drawn to but unfo...

Calgary, Alberta’s Shannon Smith has been singing and performing since the age of six, creating her own style while also influenced by the poise and traditionalism of Lorrie Morgan, the showmanship and flare of Shania Twain and the musical strength of Sheryl Crow. Her charming and sassy stage presence demands attention and connects her with her audience. Since 2007, Shannon has graced the stage of...

Award-winning Country/Roots group Three Penny Opus – based in the Barrie, Ontario area - is made up of Mary Lou Minor, Vince Therrien, Andre Paraskevas, Pam Steingard & Randy Brethour. Each member brings extensive musical experience and influences from various genres. Their debut album is a collection of songs written by Mary Lou and Vince. In 2009, the group won 1st place at the Seventh Annua...

Born and raised in Scarborough, Ontario - now calling Whitby home - Country artist Barbara Lynn Doran found her love for music early on. "Music has always been a haven where I could escape to, a place to express my feeling from love, frustration to sadness, and where I could figure things out," she explains. She began playing the organ when she was just 8 and dived into songwriting at age 16. With...

Sudbury Country artist Larry Berrio has just released his latest radio single “Cut The Dust” from his album RPM. “It's related to the typical cowboy or farmer, that just likes to let loose, and looks forward to a weekend after a hard week of work,” Larry explains. Earlier this year, he shot a CMT video in Sudbury for the single “Rock Town” - featuring scenes filmed 140 feet under the ground and 20...

John Landry's big debut on the Canadian Country Music scene was in 2000 with his first single, "There You Were", which won SOCAN's Most Played Country Song of that year. He also went on to win the 2000 CCMA Independent Male Artist of the Year. That first album, Forever Took Too Long, went on to deliver more solid hits: "Bit By Bit", "Long Gone & Forgotten" and "My Heart Says Yes (But The Hurt...

Bo Bice has released his latest single from his new album, '3,' which hit stores this summer. 'You Take Yourself With You' is a song Bo holds close to his heart, as it reminds the singer of his teenage years when he first left home. He co-wrote it with songwriting buddy D. Scot Miller. When the conversation turned to leaving home, both writers had special stories that would create a very personal...

At just 16 years old, Tenille’s songwriting skills have aligned her with some of the best in the country music business including Nashville SESAC Legacy Award Winner Stan Webb, and CCMA Award winners Tim Taylor, Byron Hill, and Troy Kokol. Coming up at the CCMAs in September, Tenille has been selected to perform at the New Artist Showcase, as well as the Songwriters’ Café and for the RBC Emerging...

Ray St. Germain started playing music and singing while growing up in St. Vital, a suburb in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Eventually, he began performing all over Canada when he was still a teenager, earning the nickname "Winnipeg's Elvis". He went on to share the stage with such greats as Johnny Cash, Porter Wagoner, and Johnny Horton. In 1969, Ray was the host/singer of "Time for Livin''" a CBC TV show o...

Brandi and Eddie are independently-produced artist-songwriters with a country sound they like to call "Motor City meets Country"! Brandi is from Michigan and Eddie is from Ohio - both have lived in Nashville since 2007. Eddie brings a signature guitar sound to his writing that you won't find easily duplicated. Brandi has a unique R&B vocal style with no boundaries. Their songs are well crafted...

After winning one of Australia's highest country music accolades in January of this year, the CMAA Award (Golden Guitar) for Best Group, identical twin sisters, Lee and Paula Bowman, Julian Sammut and Simon Ross are members of what is now being touted Australia's hottest country band. The four friends met while studying at Music College in Melbourne, Australia, and after a few years began writing...

The Western Swing Authority is a unique collaboration of Canada’s top studio and touring musicians who share a common love for authentic western swing. Since April of 2009, the WSA has been drawing big crowds to The Commercial Tavern in Maryhill, Ontario. In the classic style of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, and inspired by great bands like The Time Jumpers and Asleep at the Wheel, this sound...

Born in Belleville, Ontario – now based in Stoney Creek, ON - the past seven years have found Country singer/songwriter Brad James on a musical journey since discovering his first acoustic guitar. “My friend left a guitar in my trunk and I started messing around with it. I learned a couple of chords and really came to enjoy it,” he recalls. “Working at a country bar, I got to know some of the band...

The Grascals are among the most beloved and acclaimed bands on today’s bluegrass scene having won the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Emerging Artist of the Year award in 2005 and earning its Entertainer of the Year honor in both 2006 and 2007. They take another stride forward with "The Famous Lefty Flynn’s", their fourth album, on Rounder Records. Vocally, the trio of Terry Eldredge,...

Canada’s Carolyn Dawn Johnson first made an impact on the Country Music scene when she wrote the #1 hit “Single White Female” for Chely Wright in 1999 and went on to receive Music Row Magazine's Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year Award in 2000. Soon, her own hits followed – “Georgia”, “I Don't Want You To Go” and the crossover smash “Complicated” – all from her debut album entitled Room With A Vi...

Saskatchewan's Tommy John Ehman has just released "Turn On The Radio" - his fifth album. "As with all my records", explains Tommy, "it's an exciting process to watch my songs grow and come alive before our eyes. Brian Dobbs (the CD's producer) has really done an amazing job with these songs and I'm excited to get them out there." His shows are high-energy and passionate and over the years he's had...

19-year old Alberta Country artist Jaydee Bixby follows up his debut album "Cowboys And Cadillacs" with his brand new release "Easy To Love". "Music is a stress-release; escapism from the realities of life," reflects Jaydee. "When you go to a concert, are you worrying about paying your bills the next day? When people hear this album, they won't be thinking about responsibilities and life. They'll...

Born and raised in rural Nova Scotia, Kevin Davison understood at a very young age that music was an invaluable tool for bringing people together. "One of my greatest memories of growing up is when I used to listen to my father and his friends sitting around playing music on their guitars." It was years later that a tragic event brought Kevin to the realization that he could use his music to not o...

Born and raised in Buffalo, New York - and now living in Nashville - 21-year old singer/songwriter Amanda Nagurney is making her mark on the Country Music world. She's opened shows for such artists as Travis Tritt, Gretchen Wilson and Michelle Wright - and Sara Evans in August. She won Crossover Artist of the Year in the 2009 Independent Music Network Awards and was nominated as Country Artist of...

Terri Clark soared up the Country Music charts with her very first single, "Better Things To Do", in 1995. The talented Medicine Hat, Alberta singer/songwriter quickly followed it up with more hits like "When Boy Meets Girl", "If I Were You" & "Poor Poor Pitiful Me". Among her many awards, she's won the CCMA's Fans' Choice Entertainer of the Year award multiple times. She has also found succes...

Country artist Mark Chesnutt's numbers do the talking - he's had 14 #1 singles, 23 top ten singles, four platinum albums & five gold records. His long list of hits includes “Brother Jukebox",“It Sure Is Monday", "Almost Goodbye", "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" & his very first radio release in 1988 "Too Cold At Home". Now Saguaro Road Records is releasing Mark Chesnutt’s new collection of...

Raised in the small town of Chester, Virginia, Brinn Black grew up singing in her church and in her high school choir. All she ever wanted to do was make music so at the age of 18 she hit the road straight to Music City - Nashville, Tennessee. Over the last few years, she has released an album and had her single “Sweet Virginia Sunset” played on over 150 stations around the world. She's also toure...

Canadian Country Music artist Michelle Wright makes her second appearance on In The Country - she was on the show last July. Be sure to check out that episode in the archived section. Michelle's latest CD "Everything And More" features the popular hit singles "Riding Around The Sun" & "I've Forgotten You". She recently announced that she would be bringing her "Wright Songs 2010" acoustic tour...