listen-liveOn Air Now

Loading...

Listen Now

Devin Cuddy: Seeking “The Song”

Story

When we connect with Devin Cuddy, he’s just come back from a pick-up hockey game with other musicians. “Other than that, I’m not doing much today,” he says. It’s a quiet day in the life of the Toronto-based singer, pianist, and frontman of the Devin Cuddy Band.

Of course, “not doing much,” generally means “writing music” when it comes to career musicians. The roots-country rocker is hard at work on his next album after releasing his last, Dear Jane, in November.

“I’d love to release something early next year but it does have to sort of wait for the songs to be at a place where I’m happy with them,” he says.

Cuddy had a long break between work on Dear Jane and its eventual release. It was, as so many were, affected by the pandemic. It was 75% finished, pre-lockdown, but he decided to hold off completing and releasing it until touring was back in swing.

“So I have a lot of stuff half-prepared, I have a lot to work with, which is great.”

He’s still waiting for one crucial piece to appear.

“I don’t quite have ‘the song’ for the new record. I don’t know what it is yet. Maybe I’ll just be biking down the street one day and have to turn around and go home to a piano. Hopefully that will be how it happens.”

Next up for Cuddy is performing at some festivals and an August Ontario tour with Barney Bentall.

Then he’ll be taking his music across the country, on the fall All The World Tour, with his dad, Canadian Music Hall of Famer, Jim Cuddy, of legendary Canadian band Blue Rodeo.

“We do a lot of music together and it’s great. Doing these tours is very fun,” he says. Growing up the son of a musical hero, Blue Rodeo and the elder Cuddy’s legacy has “been a big part of my life,” he says.

He first started playing onstage with his dad at around 25 years old, he says, right when he started life as a working musician, though “I’m sure I was walked out as a child to be on his shoulders,” he says.

Cuddy was in Alberta in February, playing some duo shows with his guitar player. “We were driving a lot and we turned CKUA on and listened to it for five days, all day. It’s the sort of radio station that we, as musicians, are looking for.” Radio like CKUA doesn’t exist anywhere else in Canada, Cuddy says.

“You’re not going to experience music and all the great things about it if you don’t listen to different genres and CKUA does that well.”

The All The World Tour comes through Alberta in October, hitting stages in Calgary, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Banff and Edmonton. Check out dates and details here.

“Dear Jane,” the title track from Devin Cuddy’s latest album of the same name: