Radio Starmaker Fund

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Radio Starmaker Fund Annual Report

2016 / 2017

Artist Profile: Donovan Woods

Donovan Woods

Donovan Woods was raised in the small city of Sarnia, Ontario, to the sounds of country music, with a healthy dose of folk and pop. While the award-winning singer-songwriter has been amassing a catalogue of rousing and well-received music of his own, he has worked with some of the top songwriters in North America to craft cuts for performers ranging from country stars Tim McGraw, Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum and Billy Currington, to Canadian favourites such as Alan Doyle and Matt Andersen.

His critically-acclaimed fourth album Hard Settle, Ain’t Troubled won him English Songwriter of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards in addition to receiving a 2016 Polaris Music Prize nomination and a JUNO nod for Songwriter of the Year. The album made a Top 20 debut on SoundScan in Canada and yielded two Top 2 CBC Radio 2 charting singles (including Donovan’s first #1 with “What Kind Of Love Is That?”). His song “Leaving Nashville” (covered by Charles Kelley), received a 2017 MusicRow Award nomination for Song of the Year.

In support of the release, Donovan embarked on a national Canadian tour opening for Matt Andersen. This 30-market tour was hugely successful as it put him in front of large audiences across the country. His off-stage sales indicated that fans were captivated by his performance.

Funding received from Radio Starmaker’s international marketing program allowed us to hire a publicist and college and specialty radio tracker to support his first US release campaign, garnering favorable press in outlets like No Depression, NPR Music and the Bluegrass Situation. Starmaker’s generous funding also allowed Donovan to take advantage of national and international touring opportunities thus helping us to achieve considerable growth. Since the release of his full-length album, Donovan has joined Buffy Sainte-Marie, Alan Doyle and Grammy Award winner Sarah Jarosz on dates throughout the United States.

These resources have considerably expanded Donovan’s audience size, augmented the length of the album cycle and increased the number of markets in which he can appear in the future. Donovan Woods is a proudly independent artist and the Radio Starmaker Fund’s kind support has helped make the impossible possible. We are deeply thankful to the entire organization and its board of directors.

Michelle Szeto
Artist Manager
Paquin Entertainment