In The Country with Dave Woods

In today’s Country music, there is not an overwhelming amount of artists and songwriters raring to tell you how Country they are. And none exemplify the merge of the genuine Country music genre with a hip fresh sound quite like Ryan Broshear. Born and raised on an Oxford, Ohio farm, he is as charismatic and gifted as it gets. Ryan is carving out a successful career by writing and singing tradition...

Saskatchewan Country artist Codie Prevost sets out on his 3rd Australian tour on August 25th. He's won over music fans there like he's won them over in Canada. His latest album is called All Kinds Of Crazy featuring the songs Someday, Say My Name, I'll Be Your Whiskey & Last Night All Day. Codie grew up on a 2,000-acre farm where his mother runs a small town bar. He has two sisters, one older...

Inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2011, Michelle Wright found herself permanently recognized for her musical achievements. What an honour for a small town dreamer & big time singer from Merlin, Ontario.  That could have been a time to take a break and let her career have a first and last chapter. But for Michelle, music isn't something she only does, it's who she is. And...

Country artist Thomas Wade returns to the music scene with his first studio album in 16 years! It's called Blue Country Soul and features 'instant classics' like That's What Love Looks Like, Lock The Door, She's Already Gone and Funny What Makes You Cry. Aside from his award-winning career in Country music - first with the group Wayward and then as a solo artist with the release of Lucky 13 in the...

Celebrating their Golden (50th) Anniversary together, the iconic and profoundly influential Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, often cited as a catalyst for an entire movement in Country, Rock and American Roots Music, continues to add to their legendary status. With multi-platinum and gold records, strings of top hits such as "Fishin' In The Dark" and "Mr. Bojangles", multiple Grammy, IBMA, CMA Awards and n...

Born into a musical family, it did not take long before Becca heard the music calling her to come out and play;and play she does! Heavily influenced by many genres of classic music, Becca has a very unique sound. She started out singing with her big sister in the back seat of her Dad’s truck. As he drove across the country performing shows, the 2 girls would sell Dad's (Kenny Hess) CDs to his fans...

Born and raised in Bowmanville, Ontario, Meghan Patrick has dedicated her entire life to music, always wanting it to be more than just a passion. Prior to setting out as a solo artist, Meghan was the lead singer of the popular roots act The Stone Sparrows. A newgrass / bluegrass band, The Stone Sparrows released an EP and a full-length album before the members parted ways amicably in 2013 after pl...

Erik Dylan has a story to tell. It’s one of the qualities that drew Kip Moore, who discovered Dylan at an open mic night in 2011 to bring him to his publisher Brett James, and attracted artists including Kip himself, Eric Paslay, Justin Moore, Eli Young Band, Thompson Square, Chad Brownlee, Brent Cobb and even Hinder to record his songs. He writes on Music Row with many of Nashville's hitmakers, b...

Born and raised on a farm just north of Airdrie, Alberta, Mark Lorenz lived and breathed the country life. Learning to ride a horse and drive a tractor was an everyday activity. Mark’s parents raised and trained Pure Breed Morgan Horses. As a family they would tour across Western Canada and the United States showing. The highway was already calling Mark’s name… but it would take a few more years,...

Quinton Blair - Manitoba Country Music Association Roots Artist of the Year (2015) - is a self-ordained troubadour, tale-spinner and songwriter. Imagine Steve Earle jamming with Dwight Yoakam, minus the burden of fame. Influenced by the likes of Rodney Crowell and Merle Haggard, his brand of strikingly diverse roots/country music casts a wide loop, and captivates audiences with witty stories and r...

From early in her career, Amy Nelson has performed at events across Canada such as the Calgary Stampede, Craven Country Jamboree, and even opened for country stars like Terri Clark and George Canyon. She has also performed internationally in the United States and in Mexico. A career highlight for Amy was performing at the Canada Day celebrations in London, England. While on stage, representing all...

Ever since he was young, it was clear that Bruin was destined to be a part of the country music world.  As a baby, he would easily be mesmerized by the upbeat sound of Marty Stuart's song Hey Baby along with the tunes other popular Country music artists played on the television at the time. It was his strong connection with the music of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, though, that truly had him hooked...

Born in Calgary and raised in Thunder Bay, Lauren Mayell's entry into Country music quickly occurred while accompanying her grandparents – highly sought after musicians in their own right – to their various and many, Eastern Ontario live performances. Encouraged by her “Pure Country” belt buckle-wearing grandfather to sing, Lauren did, and she hasn’t stopped. Through the support and love of her fa...

Jessica Mitchell's debut EP Hold Onto The Light was released April 1, 2016. Produced by Grammy-nominated producer Dave Brainard (Brandy Clark, Jerrod Niemann) and co-written with Luke Sheets (Plumb), her lead off track Grown Up Things is a soul-searching song about loss and change, of not wanting to deal with the curve balls that life throws at us – a feeling that most people have had at some poin...

From his blue collar roots working at the age of 8 years old in a fish plant in Newfoundland, to roughing it on oil rigs, the experiences lived by Country artist Brad Saunders are the scenes and life stories from which his music is derived. Once you’ve experienced the unique sound and style that he brings to the table musically, it is immediately apparent that he was born to be a musician. He prou...

The Chris Buck Band is the BC Country Music Association (BCCMA) 2014/ 2015 Country Club Act of the Year and 2015 Group/Duo of the year. They have performed over 100 live shows this past year. The guys are quickly becoming known as one of the busiest country performers on the west coast of Canada and have also had the opportunity to open for such artists as Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett, Colt Ford and The...

Country artist Nikki Shae - from Ontario and now living in Nashville - is reaching out to her fans to help get her music heard! She's enjoying a successful Indiegogo campaign to help fund her radio promotion and publicity for her EP Let Me Love You produced by famed producer (Dolly Parton) Kent Wells. You'll not only hear her beautiful voice on the EP, you'll also hear her songwriting talent. And...

Thanks for tuning in to this episode of In The Country! Be sure to download past and present episodes of the show for free at iTunes. The Abrams - brothers John and James - have a self-titled EP released on May 20th available at iTunes.  It features the catchy, feel good first single Fine. Check out the cool video for the song at YouTube. John Abrams tells me about the brothers' experience on the...

TIN PAN NORTH - in its 17th year - is Ontario’s largest 3-day songwriters festival and is a celebration of original songwriting with intimate shows held in the GTA over three nights. You'll get to experience Nashville-style songwriters rounds - and hear the stories behind the songs.  In addition to showcasing local talent, each show features big-name celebrity headliners - heavy hitters in the son...

In 1997, Sudbury, Ontario's Gil Grand signed a music publishing deal with TMP out of Toronto, Canada headed by Frank Davies and moved to Nashville. Within just a few months of his arrival, he secured two cuts, Love Trip with Virgin recording artist Jerry Kilgore and On Again Off Again with MCA recording artist Tracy Byrd. His songwriting skills and singing ability immediately caught the attention...

George Canyon released a brand new album in February 2016 called I Got This. It features the title track as the first single as well as the second single called Daughters Of The Sun. The album is available at iTunes. “I wanted to create a record that was fun to play, and exciting for the fans to listen to. It’s been a while since I’ve had an album of new original songs, and these songs put a smile...

As a professional Nashville songwriter since 1978, Byron Hill has written songs released on seventy-seven RIAA certified Gold and Platinum albums and singles, earning ten ASCAP awards, thirty-two U.S. and Canadian top-ten chart hits, and numerous hits in other worldwide markets. Since signing his first publishing deal in Nashville in 1978, his recorded catalog spans 4 decades and includes more tha...

Ontario's Jason McCoy returns to host the CMAO Awards Show for the third year in a row. Along with hosting, he'll take to the stage with his band The Road Hammers and the one and only Tim Hicks for a special collaboration!  This year's performers include Autumn Hill, Cold Creek County, Runaway Angel, Leah Daniels and Meghan Patrick. And, once again, the house band is the always incredible The West...

Madelyn Victoria grew up in Texas, performing in public for the first time, during a local Christmas Pageant, at age 5. She continued performing and singing throughout her youth, at local competitions and pageants, earning awards and recognition as one of the area’s top young performers. Her passion for songwriting began at age 13. In 2007, Madelyn competed in the Modeling Association of America I...

Country artist Stevie Jewel is back at Country radio with her latest single Off The Market. Her sound is described as Katy Perry meets Country with a twist of Southern rock. She's equally comfortable on stage as she is comfortable writing a hit song. Stevie is finishing her last year of school at Belmont University in Nashville from which Brad Paisley, Florida Georgia Line and many others have gra...