Canadian folk star Donovan Woods branching out onto new frontier

It's certainly true for Canadian folk and alt-country singer-songwriter Donovan Woods.

The 44-year-old boasts a Juno Award (the Canadian equivalent of the ARIAs), has released seven albums, seen the likes of US country star Tim McGraw and Canadian One Week hit-makers The Barenaked Ladies record his songs and his music has been used in films and TV shows, including iconic Canadian teen franchise Degrassi.

Woods' signature song - Portland, Maine - has been streamed more than 108 million times on Spotify.

But none of those accolades compare to making his father proud. As a kid Woods would accompany his music-loving dad to folk festivals.

The reaction of his father to the music they heard, left a lasting impression.

"I remember him going to watch Emmylou Harris do a set and he was so thrilled with it," Woods tells Weekender from Nashville, where he's attending a songwriting session.

"I remember him saying, 'imagine standing up there and doing that.'

"I don't think I'm just trying to please my dad, but it's part of it. I think I was so wrapped up in how much he appreciated those people, so I paid attention to what those people were doing."

Those people included legendary songwriters like Paul Simon, Garnet Rogers and Bob Dylan, who Woods jokes he fell in love with "like every white guy does when they're 24, listening to every f--king bootleg that came out."

Woods knows he's old man is proud seeing his son become an international touring artist, but naturally, he keeps his boy grounded.

"I remember I played [the 2700 capacity] Massey Hall in Toronto, which is a big deal in Canada, and I opened for somebody," Woods says.

"One of his friends when I was around said, 'hey Donovan, I saw you played Massey Hall', and dad said, 'Well, just opening'. I was like, 'c'mon Dad, give me some credit'."

Despite releasing his debut album The Hold Up in 2007 and garnering industry attention with 2013's Don't Get Too Grand, Woods has never brought his delicate brand of folk story-telling to Australia.

On Thursday Woods finally performed his first Australian show in Perth and next Thursday he visits Newcastle.

"It's funny, my most listened-to cities [on Spotify] always includes Sydney and Melbourne in so many of the stats we track," he says. "I've always wanted to [tour Australia], we just couldn't find the time. We were planning to and then there was COVID."

The positive is Woods will have a whole back catalogue to unveil to his Australian audiences, including his forthcoming eighth album Things Were Never Good If They're Not Good Now, due for release on July 12.

The album will feature the moving single Rosemary, which blends folk, pop and country into a brooding tale about a relationship drama unfolding due to a miscommunication over a text message exchange.

"We all have this text personality," Woods says. "Even our loved ones, we regard them differently over text than we do in real life.

"There's a little bit of a bridge to gap when you return to someone. It's like, 'oh yeah, it's him. It's not just words'."

From the outside, Woods may appear a burly guy with his trademark beard and flannel shirts, but it covers a sensitive soul.

The majority of his music focuses on relationships. It's element of life the married father-of-three is continually intrigued by.

"I think of the songs that I loved as a kid and they always were relationship songs and about the minutiae of communication," he says.

"For some reason that appeals to me. I love language. Most of my songwriting is an obsession with language.

"I love what it does, what words really mean and how they're often a place-holder for other things, and what we do to words to make them mean the things we'd like them to mean, as opposed to what they ought to mean.

"I think relationships offer up a lot of interesting linguistic opportunities."

Donovan Woods plays his debut Newcastle show at the Stag & Hunter Hotel on Thursday, June 20.