In The Country With Dave Woods

Montreal's Manny Blu has his latest single Like It Like That out at country radio right now. His debut EP is being released this month. Recently, Manny was on the Hit After Hit Tour with George Canyon, Charlie Major & Doc Walker. Tune in to find out how a sports injury led to the start of his music career!

Ajax, Ontario's Kris Barclay has just released his debut single Loved You Liked That and is signed with Warner Music Canada. He won the 2018 Boots & Hearts Emerging Artist Showcase and is nominated this year for Rising Star at the CMAOntario Awards in June. Get to know Kris & his debut single by tuning in to this episode.

Saskatchewan country artist Stephanie Rose calls in to chat about her brand new EP called Sprout!

CHES ANTHONY RELEASES DEBUT SOLO SINGLE WRITTEN IN STONE Ches Anthony grew up in a small town in Saskatchewan, surrounded by music and motocross. He learned to play harmonica, guitar and piano at a young age. His father would bring him up on stage with his blues band where he performed for their fans. One of his fondest memories was when his father’s band played at a gospel country music festival. The power went out due to a severe thunderstorm and everyone ran into a hall. They kept the show going and had a big jam playing on anything including pots and pans to make music. After seeing that Ches was hooked and needed more. Through his teenage angst years Ches formed a heavy rock band and wrote songs that would help him and others relate to the struggles of youth. While honing his guitar skills playing in a blues band for several years, he began to listen to the heartache and emotion in old blues master voices like Howlin Wolf and Elmore James and the old country grit of Johnny Cash and Hank Williams, he s

The Western Swing Authority has a brand new album out called Big Deal produced by Jason Barry. Joining the WSA on this album is a long list of special guests including Jason McCoy, George Canyon, Jason Blaine, Russell DeCarle and Carolyn Martin. Shane Guse from the group is here to chat with me about it and share some tracks.

Dan started playing guitar at the age of seven, beginning with a lap steel and by the time he was ten he was playing the acoustic and wrote his first song for his mom; Someone Like You. His Dad integrated him into the band he was playing bass for and by the time he was 13, Dan was the bass player and harmony singer for a local weekend band. His credits include over 200 albums as a singer/song writer, producer and bassist. Dan was band leader for the late Colleen Peterson for several years. He has toured with George Fox, Terry Sheridan, Colleen Peterson and South Mountain. He has guested as singer/bassist for many gospel shows both live and on television. Dan has shared the stage on shows with Emmy-Lou Harris, Pirates of the Mississippi, Waylon Jennings, Toby Keith, Marty Stuart and Martina McBride to name a few. Dan had great success releasing 5 singles to radio before being asked to audition for award winning band “South Mountain”. Dan became their lead singer/bassist and spokes-person in Canada, signed to

Alberta's Maddison Krebs - now living in Nashville - joins me on the show to chat about living in Nashville, songwriting, her books of dreams, her new single Real Real Thing & more!

Aaron Pritchett is here to chat about the success of his latest single Worth A Shot, his multiple BCCMA award nominations & much more!

Born in Sussex, New Brunswick, Julian Austin has written and played music since he was in his mid-teens, dabbling in every genre from heavy metal to rock to 80’s pop before falling in love with the new country music sound that was taking shape in the early 90’s. In 1998 Austin moved out west to Calgary Alberta. While living out west Austin further honed his musical skills in both writing songs and entertaining the fans. His first album, “What My Heart Already Knows”, more than justified that musical choice, earning Julian a certified CRIA gold record (50k+ sales) and the 1997 Wrangler Rising Star Award from the Canadian Country Music Association. His first single “Little Ol’ Kisses” went #1 on radio and also made the CMT Top 30 Videos of 1997, followed in 1998 with the Best Country Single award at the first annual Canadian Radio Music Awards. That year Julian also earned several Juno nominations. Julian is here to chat about & share his latest songs!

Richmond, B.C.'s Ajaye Jardine - now living in Nashville - joins me on the show to chat about her music career, songwriting, life in Nashville, her EP Midnight & Bourbon and much more! Since her debut EP, the past three years have included professional breakthroughs for Ajaye Jardine. She was a Female Artist nominee consecutively for the BC Country Music Awards (2016 and 2017), she placed in the Top 10 of the 2016 Ole On the Spot, and in the Top 3 of the CCMA Spotlight Performance Contest – provincial segment. Ajaye Jardine has performed at the 2016 Calgary Stampede, 2016 SunFest, and alongside Steve Earle on Cayamo 2017. She released a collaboration of her signature track “Boots on Girl” featuring Aaron Grain of award winning trio The Washboard Union, and performed the song at the 2017 BC Country Awards Show.

Ottawa's Doc Yates is here to share a brand new song with us called Home To The Country. Plus he chats with me about songwriting, influences & much more!

Ontario's Tia McGraff has just released her new album Stubborn In My Blood. Once again, Tia delivers a stellar project with solid songwriitng and heartfelt vocals. Tune in for my conversation with Tia and to hear some of the songs from her new release.

Ontario's Tim Hicks is here to chat about his latest album New Tattoo featureing the hit song Loud! The album also inclues a duet with Lindsay Ell. Tim is nominated for the Apple Music Fans' Choice Award at this year's CCMA Awards in Hamilton, Ontario in September!  

Newfoundland's Jason Benoit will release his new single - a cover of the classic Slow Hand - on June 22nd. His radio hits include All Wanna Party and Gone Long Gone. Slow Hand was first recorded by the Pointer Sisters and then by Conway Twitty, Check out this episode of In The Country to get to know Jason & his music.  

Ontario's Michelle Wright will receive the Impact Award from the Country Music Association of Ontario on June 3rd at the CMAOntario Awards held in London, Ontario, She's here to chat about this honour as well as talk some of her career highlights & give the stories behind three of her songs including the smash hit "Take It Like A Man".

Originally from Jedburgh, Scotland, David Leask is a powerful performing songwriter, who has built an artistic bridge between the influences of his birthplace and the fresh possibilities of his adopted Canadian home to produce five critically-acclaimed CD's and numerous international songwriting awards in different genres. Songwriters Magazine called David, "the most consistent Canadian songwriting competition winner." He was also awarded the Mississauga Established Performing Artist of the Year. David's sixth and latest recording, "Six in 6/8" is available now.

Ben Hudson is a country singer-songwriter from Uxbridge, Ontario. His smooth, rich vocals have been compared to Josh Turner and Brothers Osborne although his country-rock influenced songwriting is similar to that of Eric Church and Aaron Lewis. His self-titled EP was released in early 2016, gaining the attention of CMT Canada who made him their Fresh Face artist and also earned him a nomination at the 2016 CMAO Awards for Rising Star. In June of 2016, he released his first single “Redneck Summer” to country radio. In its first week, the single was in the top 5 DMDS downloads and added into rotation at many major market stations across Canada. This strong debut helped secured a spot at the inaugural CMT Music Fest. Topcountry.ca named him one of their top artists to watch in 2017 and the Country Music Association of Ontario selected him as their January 2017 “Artist of the Month.” Ben recently opened for Juno Award Winner Brett Kissel on his 2017 “Ice, Snow & 30 Below” tour and his 2018 “We Were That Son

Country artist Michael Peterson scored big with his 1997 self-titled album featurng Drink, Swear, Steal & Lie and From Here to Eternity. On March 31st, he'll release a new album featuring some of his past pits as well as his favourite Country covers made famous by artists like Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, Charlie Pride, Johnny Lee and Garth Brooks.

Ontario's Meghan Patrick, who now lives in Nashville, co-wrote all but one of the 12 tracks on her new album Country Music Made Me Do It. Some of her other co-writers include Kelly Archer (Brett Young, Dustin Moore) and Justin Weaver (Kip Moore, Jason Aldean), who helped pen Walls Come Down, an ominous number about family strife. Case Of Beer And A Bed, written with Derick Ruttan and J.T. Harding (Dierks Bentley, Kenny Chesney), is a sentimental song about going back to the basics. Meghan co-wrote the title track with Stover and roots singer/songwriter Dan Isbell. The singer has recently experienced a lot of highs with the CCMA Awards and chart successes that she has earned, but there have also been a few lows such as the end of a long term relationship. Country Music Made Me Do It captures some of the peaks and valleys with heartfelt emotion in a traditional country setting. Meghan lives hard and loves hard, and her songs reflect this passion. She loves trucks, fishing and hunting, riding horses and a good

Ontario's Abby Stewart may be young, but she has accomplished so much in such a short period. From sharing the stage for a duet with Hunter Hayes, Dan + Shay, Dean Brody, Dallas Smith or Aaron Pritchet or opening for Hunter on his Canadian tour dates or completing a set at some of Canada's biggest music festivals, her star is on the rise. Her versatility and passion for music shines through whether she's belting out one of her radio friendly originals, a Taylor Swift or Band Perry lyric or turns back the clock to a Dolly Parton, Anne Murray or Buck Owens classic.