Growing up in Ajax, Ontario, Kris Barclay got his first guitar for Christmas when he was thirteen years old and would sing along to his favourite country songs when nobody was around. Fast forward – Kris has opened shows for Brett Kissel, The Washboard Union, The Road Hammers, Gord Bamford and Dean Brody. In 2019, Kris was nominated in the Rising Star category for the Country Music Awards of Ontario. At the 2018 Boots and Hearts Music Festival, Kris was voted by fans as the wildcard entry into the Emerging Artist Showcase, allowing him to compete against six other artists in front of a jury of country music artists and industry execs. Kris went on to become the first ever wildcard artist to win the […]

Barrie’s Brian John Harwood believes the path to success in the music business is paved with hard work and songs that come from an honest place. You can get to know Brian by listening to his songs and watching his music videos “All That I Was Missing”, “Dad”, “Good Boy”, “First”, etc. He believes in sharing who he is and what he values through his writing. Brian has just released his new single “Savin’ Up For A Friday” featuring the legendary Jason McCoy. The song was written by Brian, Jason & Dustin Bird – Dustin produced the track. Along with his successful singles as a solo artist, Brian is also known for being 1/2 of the country duo Kansas Stone along with Matt Davey. We […]

Charissa joins me on this edition of In The Country. She’s a storyteller – and the best stories are ones that don’t shy away from honesty. The Burlington, Ontario singer has been honing her thoughtful, meditative approach to songwriting since she was a kid, combining lush, flowing arrangements with earthy Americana and laidback soul to create a sound that is uniquely her own. Music was a constant in her home growing up, and after singing along to hits by Queen, Allison Krauss, Whitney Houston, Stevie Nicks, and Blue Rodeo before she hit age 10, her parents decided to sign her up for vocal lessons where she further developed her passion for music and later started to learn to play the guitar. Charissa has found a […]

 Northern Ontario’s Rosewood Ave – married duo Sabrina & Dave – pivoted to live streams when the pandemic began. And those live streams really took off and built a huge audience of viewers, listeners & supporters. In early 2021, the duo released their debut single “Fool For Love” produced by famed producer Garth Fundis who has produced for the likes of Alabama, Sugarland and Trisha Yearwood. Though not written by the duo, the song summed up their own love story and their belief in taking chances without fear. They followed that release up with the rootsy single “Broke” written by Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne. Tune in to hear Sabrina & Dave chat with Dave Woods about their music career (influences, songwriting […]

Ontario’s Scotty Kipfer recently released a new single “Wading In The Water” from his Taking My Time album. He’s here to share that song & some others. Plus, he’ll chat with me about his music career, including the artist & song that influenced his music the most. Scotty will also talk about his engagement (he is now married!), the WSA and much more. Scotty was born into a musical family and grew up in small-town Milverton, Ontario, surrounded by musicians who always encouraged him to play. By three years old, he was tagging along with his dad to perform with the Milverton Legion Band at local nursing homes, with a plastic saxophone in tow. At seven, he was playing fiddle in a family band. He […]

 On this edition of the In The Country podcast, Dave Woods catches up with Genevieve Fisher & shares her latest single “Neon Healing”!    

Such a pleasure to have Alli Walker on the podcast to chat about her new single “Country Music” written by Alli, Dustin Bird & Brian John Harwood. Originally from PEI, Alli moved to Toronto at age 19 in search of more music opportunities. She released her debut album The Basement Sessions: What I’ve Learned So Far in 2019 and called her sound “Conscious Country” and “Mindful Music”. In 2021, after having over a Million views on TikTok of the “Country Music” demo and endless posts raving about it, Alli knew she had to record and release the song. “I wanted the production, storytelling and emotion of this song to feel as nostalgic as it does when listening to some of the songs we mention in […]

 CMAOntario Male Artist Of The Year Aaron Allen – who also won Album Of The Year for Highway Mile –  joins me on the latest In The Country episode to chat about his big wins, his music career. writing songs from the heart, recording music with his wife Aimee (current release “Just Getting By”) & much more!