In The Country With Dave Woods

Before the age of 18, Country artist Lawnie Wallace had a major recording deal. Her debut album charted in the top 10 and included the hit song Thought I Was Dreaming. She went on a major cross Canada tour and had several high rotation videos on Country Music Television.   After coming off the road she took a significant break from the stage and the music industry. Even though the music within her had never left. Time away gave her time to meditate on life and delve further into herself and her music.   Lawnie had the privilege of landing a significant position working with students wanting to be in the Radio and TV Industry. During this time, she experimented with a new sound she calls 'Southern fried Techno'.  She recorded the album under her childhood nickname "OOKEE". It was like a rebirth helping her to redefine her craft. Lawnie placed top 10 in the international song writing competition and received an honourable mention with one of the songs from the OOKEE album called “Sugarland,” in which she co-w

Trinity Bradshaw became the youngest winner of the Summerside Festival Talent Search in Prince Edward Island at age 14 and was asked to perform twice at the East Coast Music Awards before moving to Calgary in 2010. In Dec 2011, Trinity won SUGAR CRISP ‘s “The first 15” Canadian national songwriting contest, and in January 2013, she won Calgary’s Amp Radio Rock Star contest. She was Alberta’s 2014 representative in the CCMA Spotlight contest, and winner of the 2014 Boots & Hearts Canadian Emerging Artist Showcase. Trinity opened for country music legend Shania Twain in Prince Edward Island in 2014. Her EP Open Skies was released in June 2014 with a kickoff show at Ranchman’s in Calgary, and entered the iTunes Canadian Country Albums Chart in the top 10 – while Never Drinkin’ Again was added to rotation on many stations across Canada. Trinity's latest country single is called Good Times.

Cremona, Alberta's Blake Reid's new album Rust showcases his status status as a true workingman’s poet, following in the footsteps of Merle Haggard and Tom T. Hall. At the same time, he is no traditionalist. The album’s first single, “Sounds Like A Song,” is the kind of hard-edged, instantly memorable track perfectly suited for a Saturday night play list, or as something to sing along with to make that long drive go a little bit faster. And as a testament to the power of songcraft, it’s also a reflection of the only real musical education Blake ever had, listening to AM radios installed in the trucks, tractors and combines he commandeered throughout his youth. “I’ve always written songs, but during the years while performing in the club and rodeo circuits, we had to limit the amount of original material we were playing. In 2011 I decided to take a break from the band and really concentrate on writing songs that spoke to who I was, and to just be me without apology. I discovered right away how much people app

Their musical bond is as strong as their small town roots: Twin Kennedy, comprised of West Coast sisters Carli and Julie Kennedy, have been making music together since they could talk. Born and raised in the small town of Powell River, British Columbia, the sister duo grew up perfecting their sibling harmonies and dynamic live performances, while making their name known throughout their small community as a family band. Growing up in such a musically infused family, it is no wonder that these sisters crafted their sound through a unique fusion of their background in country, folk, jazz and classical music. With years of classical training, including their Bachelors Degrees in Music Performance from the University of Victoria, the sisters have found their home in country music. With Carli on vocals and guitar, and Julie on vocals and fiddle, these talented sisters will fill your soul with joy and warmth through their seamless harmonies and heartfelt songwriting. Having released two EPs - and receiving seven

Country artist Tim Hicks begins his Get A Little Crazy Tour on November 1st in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. Joining him on the tour will be country acts Jason Benoit and Cold Creek County. Tim's hits include Get By, Here Comes The Thunder, Stronger Beer, So Do I, She Don't Drink Whiskey Anymore & Young, Alive And In Love. He received high praise for his performance of Young, Alive And In Love on the 2015 CCMA Awards Show broadcast on CBC in September 2015. He won the award for Male Artist of the Year and Album of the Year at the 2015 Country Music Association of Ontario awards. Tim just released 5:01 + which features 4 brand new songs not available on his album 5:01. Check it out now at iTunes! Get to know this talented Ontario Country artist on this episode of In The Country with Dave Woods.

Tebey, Jason Blaine & James Otto begin their exciting & electrifying Three's A Party Tour on October 30th in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The tour will continue across Canada until the end of November. For information on tickets, please visit www.tebeymusic.com or www.jasonblaine.ca. Tebey just released a new song & music video called Jealous Of The Sun. He's written songs for Emerson Drive, Aaron Pritchett, Doc Walker, and Jason Blaine. As grateful as he is for his songwriting success, Tebey never abandoned his original dream of stepping out and taking centre stage himself. “In order to be a successful songwriter you really have to focus on it, so I literally put my recording career on the back burner.” It was a necessary compromise, he says: “It just so happened that circumstances took me away from being an artist and made me focus on my songwriting in order to make a living.” Now, Country fans know Tebey as a talented and engaging hit maker with songs like Somewhere In The Country, Now I Do and When

Shining a positive light on the Canadian country music scene, SaskatchewanCountry artist ALEX RUNIONS continues to grow his successful career while finding a home on the airwaves. Nominated for three 2015 SCMAs which took place in April 2015 in the categories of Male Vocalist of the Year, and Fan's Choice Entertainer of the Year, his radio single Little Bit of Sunshine was also nominated for Single of the Year. His passionate dedication to songwriting and co-writing has contributed to becoming a highly sought after performer and musician. A tireless devotion to an honest and heartfelt approach to his music has helped him resonate with an already dedicated fan base while garnering many new fans and friends along the way. Performing across the province and throughout the country for over a decade, Alex has taken the stages at Big Valley Jamboree, Craven Country Jamboree, Dauphin Countryfest and is a regular on the Canadian Country club circuit including Eldorado Country Rock Bar (Regina), Ralph's (Medicine Ha

Saskatchewan Country artist Stephanie Rose is here to talk about her new EP called Go Where The Wind Takes You available at iTunes now. She recently returned from Country Music Week and the CCMAS which took place in September in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The first single from Stephanie's album is called Bed Of Roses and is at country radio now. The project was produced by the husband-and-wife musical team of RyLee Madison & Clay Krasner. Tune in to hear stories and songs from this talented Canadian Country artist.  

Brittany Brodie is a singer-songwriter who appreciates every genre of music. From a young age, she’s always known she wanted a career in the music business and her strong work ethic and positive attitude has made her the artist she is today.   Brittany grew up on traditional country music from Vern Gosdin and Dottie West to Hank Williams and George Strait. In later years, she was listening to The Dixie Chicks, Lee Ann Womack and Rascall Flatts. With an appreciation for all genres of music, she found inspiration from The Spice Girls. “They were a game changer for me. They inspired me in more ways than I ever imagined. I owe them a lot.”   Brittany has a love of all that is musical and a full vocal range means you’ll find her singing a wide variety of tunes. “I will be driving along in my car listening to Katherine Jenkins (classical) and then some Bryan Adams (Summer of ’69) … one of the greatest songs ever.” This talented Ontario Country artist is here to talk about her music career, the recent CCMAS and

The band that plays together stays together. Known as one of the first country bands to play on every one of their studio projects, Diamond Rio made country music history when their first Arista Nashville single Meet In The Middle landed them in the No. 1 spot. Now, 25 years later Diamond Rio is releasing I Made It, their tenth studio album. The title track was co-written by the band’s lead guitarist Jimmy Olander and features 11 new songs. Produced by Olander and Michael D Clute, I Made Itis a follow-up to their 2014 first-ever live album release: Diamond Rio Live. “As artists producing music as long as Diamond Rio has, fresh subject matter tends to get more and more difficult to come by,” says Jimmy Olander. “As a writer on the title track ‘I Made It,’ simply telling our story is freeing. This is a very specific story, the autobiographical melding of the migration stories my partners and I share about moving to Nashville. Collectively, we have achieved the amount of success that dreams are made of, but at

British Columbia Country artist Ben Klick has just released his new EP called Today. The project was produced by RyLee Madison and Clay Krasner of 7-17 Music. Ben is a writer on 5 of the 6 tracks. He's been nominated for the following 5 awards at the BCCMAs later in October: Gaylord Wood Traditional Country Award Country Club Act of the Year Mike Norman All Star Band Award – Guitar Ray McAuley Horizon Award Website of the Year Award Ben joins me on the show to talk about the new EP, his musical influences, songwriitng & much more!        

Patricia Conroy is one of Canada's greatest singer-songwriters. You know her songs - Bad Day For Trains, Blank Pages, Mary On The Dashboard - to name just a few. She's had 8 number one singles at radio and 5 number one videos on CMT. When she's not singing her own hits, she's writing them for other artists. Patricia has had great success as a writer with the songs: Steel Magnolia "Just By Being You (Halo And Wings)", One More Girl "The Day I Fall", Jimmy Rankin "Here In My Heart", Small Town Pistols "I Only Smoke When I Drink", Bobby Wills "Undressed" - and many more.   Tune in to hear great stories - and great music - from this Canadian talent! 

Brad Battle writes and sings from the heart. His honesty and distinct voice captivates his listeners and leaves them wanting to hear more.  Brad's brand of Pop/Country music is catchy and written based on his life experiences. His story is one filled with inspiration and determination. After stepping away from music to start a family, he found himself telling his kids to never give up on what they were truly passionate about. As a father of 3, he realized the best way for his kids to learn to do that was by his example. Brad grabbed his guitar and began writing and set the wheels in motion for what has been an incredible year!  The year 2015 has brought many highlights: Trips to Nashville, getting to perform multiple times at the infamous Blue Bird Cafe, the opportunity to write with hit writer Frank Myers ("I Swear", "I'm Already There") and being selected as 1st runner up at the Magna Hoedown Showdown. Brad just recently completed recording his debut EP with producer Corey MacFadyen and Dean Malton (Groun

MADELINE MERLO IS NAMED THE 2015 CCMA RISING STAR! Despite growing up in a small town in British Columbia, Madeline Merlo always knew she wanted to be bonafide Country Music star - and her dream is quickly becoming a reality. After being signed to Open Road Recordings in 2013, and releasing her self-titled debut album in 2014, Madeline was quickly recognized as an artist to watch. Her singles Sinking Like a Stone and Alive became popular on country radio and TV alike, garnering her nominations for Female Artist of the Year and the Ray McCauley Horizon award at the 2014 BCCMAs. Fresh from her Rising Star award win at the Canadian Country Music Association Awards in September 2015, Madeline is now ready to hit the road and wow audiences across Canada with superstars Dean Brody and Paul Brandt during their Road Trip Tour this fall. You’ll also find Madeline featured in Sparkle: An inspirational Handbook for Young Girls and can watch for her in the upcoming musical movie Country Crush due out in later this year

Award-winning Country music artist GORD BAMFORD debuted Don’t Let Her Be Gone - the first single from his upcoming 2016 album - on the 2015 CCMA Awards Show on September 13th.  “It’s not very often a song like this comes along, I’m just happy I’m the guy who got to record it.This could be one of the biggest songs of my career,” explains Gord.  The video for the song - now playing on CMT - was directed by award-winning director Stephano Barberis. Gord headed into the 2015 CCMA Awards season with six nominations, five among artist award categories: Fans’ Choice, Male Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, Songwriter(s) of the Year and Video of the Year, and one industry award nod for Producer of the Year. And the results were... After taking home the prestigious Songwriter(s) of the Year Award (Gord Bamford/Buddy Owens/Phil O’Donnell) for the song Where A Farm Used To Be at the CCMA Gala Dinner & Awards on Saturday night, Gord added to his trophy collection with wins for Male Artist of the Year and Si

RAQUEL COLE is a seasoned singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has written with some of the finest songwriters in the world, has been featured on Sirius XM’s The Highway and has opened up for Country star Josh Turner and Grammy award-winning legendary group Diamond Rio.   Raquel has been perfecting her sound for more than half her young life. These days she splits her time between Nashville and British Columbia. She was born and raised in the Okanagan Valley located in the beautiful province of B.C. Growing up, Raquel was attracted to wide-raging influences that included John Mayer’s bluesy sounds, Bryan Adam’s genius lyrics, and Shania Twain’s pop-country tunes.  “At a really young age my dad introduced me to The Doobie Brothers, Fleetwood Mac, The Guess Who and Randy Bachman. He’s a drummer and he wanted someone to play music with him. When I was nine he bought me my first guitar and it grew from there.”  This led Raquel to her love of songs and songwriting.  An accomplished guitar player, she

TwoShine County - the Calgary-based Country duo consisting of front men Daron Schofield and Dennis Hann - has just released a new single 'Love This Song."  Stevie Jewel - born in Muskoka, Ontario and now living in Nashville - has just released her new single "Memory Lane." Ryan Keown - Manitoba Country artist - has just released his new single "Amen." All three acts will being performing as part of Country Music Week and the CCMAs in Halifax in September 2015. Check out more In The Country interviews at www.inthecountryinterviews.com

After taking home the Rising Star Award at the 2014 Country Music Association of Ontario Awards, Jordan McIntosh continues to climb the ranks as one of Canada’s hottest new country stars. No stranger to the stage, the 19-year-old Ottawa native has toured with country stars Brett Kissel and, most recently, Emerson Drive. Additionally, he performed on the main stage at the third annual Boots and Hearts Festival in August. A top 6 finalist in the 2014 CCMA Discovery program, Jordan has been nominated for this year’s Rising Star Award at the Canadian Country Music Association Awards which will be held in Halifax (Sunday, September 13). Jordan’s first influence was his older sister, Melissa. “My entire family is musical, but I idolized my sister. She started to sing before I did and, being younger, I wanted to do everything she did. That’s how I found out I could sing. I never really studied music. I just sang all the time. I know there’s a one in a million chance that you can make a career of your ability to sin

MIKE DENNEY is President of MDM Recordings Inc., an independent recording company founded in 2008 and located in Toronto. One of his biggest dreams for his artists is to help enhance their success by securing them international recognition, and he has made this goal a priority. “My mission is to support, help nurture and grow the careers of the numerous artists that I work with on a day in and day out basis. I want to help them achieve their goals and dreams, while achieving mine with theirs.” A 25 year veteran of the music industry, Mike believes that being passionate and success-driven about music (or anything that you do) supersedes wanting a large pay check and material advances. “I have always been very driven to succeed. Years ago it was material things, now it’s a passion for what I do.” What he looks for in new artists is simple, “I want to represent talent that can really play and perform from their core, their true soul,” he explains. “I want artists that are hard-working and driven by the music,

Sky Wyatt has already stoked a buzz in his native Vancouver, BC area with appearances at the Plaza of the Nations main stage at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, showcasing at the Vancouver Island Music Business Conference, and making it into the final round of the Red Robinson Talent Showdown at the Pacific National Exhibition and the British Columbia Youth Talent Search. He has also written songs with such talents as country singers Patricia Conroy (whose material has been cut by The Rankin Family, Emerson Drive and more), Jesse Tucker (who plays guitar in the Brett Eldredge band) and Willie Mack (whose cuts include Sara Evans and George Canyon). He hails from Deep Cove in North Vancouver, and grew up in a musical family with a father who taught guitar and mother from a large singing family. A range of styles played around his childhood home from rock to soul, jazz and funk plus such country-folk acts as The Eagles, America and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. During his high school years, Sky appeared and san