Donovan Woods Squander Your Gifts (02/27/26) (Meant Well Inc./Warner Music Canada Co)
As is often the case in song, the most beautiful stories are those that carry the saddest emotions. In the grand tradition of country and folk songwriters, Ontario native Donovan Woods delivers a poignant five-track EP, Squander Your Gifts, about loss, love, and friendship.
In 2023, his friend and longtime Nashville collaborator, songwriter Abe Stoklasa, passed away far too young. Together they wrote many songs, including “Leaving Nashville,” recorded by Charles Kelley of Lady A, and Woods’ breakout single “Portland, Maine,” first recorded by Tim McGraw. “I went through a period of only being able to write about him. It lasted about a year and I wondered if it would ever end. Eventually, I felt that I owed it to Abe to dedicate a collection of songs to him—and that’s what this is,” he recalls.
The EP opens quietly with “I Talk About You,” an ode to his friend. Woods’ tender voice almost whispers over a gentle layer of mandolin and whistle flute played by Aaron Collis. He is joined by Connor Seidel on guitars and bass, Olivier Fairfield on drums, and singer Anaïs Mitchell on backing vocals, as well as Odessa Jorgensen on fiddle on “Who Could Love You.”
This suspended moment, as if outside of time, ends with the magnificent “Losing Everything,” which showcases Anaïs Mitchell’s voice beautifully.
The five songs were recorded by Connor Seidel across several locations in Canada: Treehouse Studio (St. Adèle, QC), Grayson Music (Toronto, ON), Arthaus Studios (Toronto, ON), and 412 Studios (Toronto, ON), with mandolin, box accordion, and whistle flute engineered by Robert John Kelly at MOTH Studios (St. John’s, NL).
Donovan Woods will be on tour starting May 1 in Austin, Texas. Find all the dates on his website here: