Dan Davidson is a shining star of Canadian Country music
Alberta’s Dan Davidson has over 20 million worldwide streams and undeniable momentum. His latest single, “Girl Drinks Beer,” featuring Travis Collins and an Australian tour, caps off a banner year.
His early 2022 EP, 6 Songs to Midnight, marked a pivotal moment in his career, closing his previous chapter and embarking on a new era as a multifaceted artist, songwriter, and producer. With the EP debuting at #1 on the iTunes sales chart in Canada, Davidson took his new collection of music on a European tour and returned home to a CCMA nomination for Record Producer of the Year. It was at the CCMA Awards that he also celebrated receiving a Platinum record for his sophomore single “Found.”
Dan Davidson exploded onto the Canadian country scene in 2016 when the release of his second single, “Found” (co-written by Clayton Bellamy of The Road Hammers), sky-rocketed up the charts, and he became the #1 charting indie artist in Canada. It was also the #1 selling Canadian country song for several weeks and went on to become certified Platinum in Canada. Since then, the rising artist has seen 6 CCMA Award nominations, 10 ACMA awards, and Top 20 charting numbers. He may be only six years into his country career, but Davidson is far from “green” in the music industry. He spent over ten years playing in the well-known Canadian indie rock band Tupelo Honey, who had several top 40 hits, top selling iTunes records, and toured with bands like Bon Jovi.
Listen to his latest single, “Girl Drinks Beer,” below and learn more about Dan Davidson via our mini-interview.
First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Hey guys! Well, I’ve been on CB quite a few times now, but for all you new readers out there – I’m Dan Davidson from Edmonton! I’m a country artist that’s had a lot of fun over the years playing with bands and artists like Brett Kissel, Chase Rice, Jon Pardi, Tim Hicks, and many, many more! Had some good luck with a couple of tunes – most notably one called “Found” that just went platinum. Hopefully, a few of your readers have been to a show or two along the way!
You have unveiled your single, “Girl Drinks Beer,” with Aussie Country artist Travis Collins. What can you tell us about the creative process behind the track?
Well, the CCMA and the CMAA (country music association of Australia) teamed up to do a bit of a virtual mixer over covid on zoom. It was like speed dating or something, haha. We were in breakout rooms for 5 mins at a time that automatically switched. So that’s where I met Travis! Seemed like a great dude with similar taste and similar fans who is clearly super talented – so we kept in touch. As I started to do really well in Australia with a top 10 and a top 40, I figured I might as well double down and see if Travis wanted to team up for my latest single. It’s a perfect song to help us forget about Canadian winter and to help those Aussies kick off their summer!
Speaking of Australia, you just returned from touring there, and also, in 2022, you’ve had shows in the UK, France, and Spain. What has been the highlight of performing your music outside of Canada and the United States?
Yea, it’s been a wild ride. I thought when my rock band Tupelo Honey shut down years ago that my international touring days were over, but since then, it’s been nine countries! China, USA, Canada, France, UK, Hungary, Spain, Italy, and Australia! I think the most memorable show is a tie between my first time in France and my latest tour in Australia. In France, the first time I was there, we had over 600 people line dancing in my soundcheck… it was wild to see how differently and aggressively they dive into country music. It’s so niche there! In Australia, I was on cloud 9, seeing hundreds of people in a packed club singing along to songs that they should never have known (songs that weren’t released in Australia). Playing a festival in beautiful Gold Coast, QLD, meeting new friends and fans, hanging out in the sun… doesn’t get better than that!
Earlier this year, you also unveiled your EP, 6 Songs To Midnight, which debuted at #1 on the iTunes Country Chart. If a new listener were looking to hear one song from the EP, which would you choose and why?
I think the tune Role Models is definitely one to check out. It’s a cheeky song about getting by with your drunken support group… in my case, that’s my band, haha! Warning that song is my only tune with a big ol F-bomb in the chorus. Just letting out some COVID aggression, I guess 🙂 If there ever was a beer garden sing-along, this is it. Every crowd is singing this one by the end of the set!
Let’s go back to your single, “Found,” which was released in 2016. You recently received Platinum status for the single. How does it feel to accomplish this milestone?
I gotta tell you. It’s the highlight of my career. Many label acts don’t even reach platinum status. This is absolutely a monstrous achievement for an indie, something I’m so proud of. I feel like one of the lucky ones every time I look at that plaque. It’s both inspiring and intimidating to set such a high bar for myself – I hope I can hit that again with another tune this year!! It’s especially cool because it was fan-driven… didn’t have any of those radio programs that new artists have had success with to achieve radio success. It was all fan driven. It’s been a big wedding song for the last five years, which helps. It’s kind of cool to have a wedding song that isn’t sappy. This is a get drunk, fall in love song.
After an incredible year in 2022, what do you have up your sleeve for 2023?
I’ve got six new songs in the bank already for a new record! So that’s my main focus. I’m building a bigger team around me to support this new record, constantly writing, and looking for new projects to produce (had a killer year as a producer, actually! Was nominated for CCMA producer of the year and had 5 top 40s!), other than that, booking shows for this summer! Already have some offers to head back to Australia, which is really cool too.
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