Donovan Woods

"Portland, Maine"

BY Alex HudsonPublished Mar 24, 2015

Last year, country giant Tim McGraw released a version of the song "Portland, Maine" on his album Sundown Heaven Town. That song was actually penned by Canadian-bred/Nashville-based songwriter Donovan Woods, and now he has shared his original version of the tune.

This tune was written along with Abe Stoklasa, and it's a tender folk-country number with acoustic guitar and a few sparse overdubs. It's not too different from McGraw's similarly melancholic version, although it's a little more raw and low-key.

"Of course it's a huge honour to have a beloved artist like Tim cut one of your songs," Woods said in a statement. "He hears a lot of songs, by the best writers in the world. His version is just perfect. It was quite a bold track to include on a mainstream country record in 2014. This recording of the song is exactly what he heard when he picked it. I thought it was way too sad. Way too sad for anyone to record."

Scroll past Woods' tour schedule below to listen. Expect him to release a new album later this year.

Tour dates:

04/09 Toronto, ON - The Rivoli with Miranda Mulholland
04/22 St. John's, NL - Lawnya Vawnya

05/08 Toronto, ON - Canadian Music Week
07/09-12 Winnipeg, MB - Winnipeg Folk Fest 
07/16 Ottawa, ON - Ottawa Blues Fest

Tour Dates

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