It’s always been such a joy of mine too see old friends succeed. When I lived in Montreal, I quietly had a great relationship with the brother of a friend of mine from the Yukon. He was a piano player and a singer with true one of a kind character all around. One of my favourite characteristics of his personality was his demeanour. Always chill, always up for getting together and always so kind.

We definitely grew apart, but there was a connection that I had an old Fender Rhodes piano that he had borrowed from me. When it came time to give it back, nice bottle of Irish whiskey surfaced, and a reconnection developed. To this day, he continues to write and perform his music with some of the finest musicians around. Don’t miss his show as a duo with the absolutely incomparable bass player Remi-Jean LeBlanc on Friday, October 10. Details and reservations here: web link

Seamus Cowan: I’ve always loved your voice. It has a definite timbre of some of the legendary dusty crooners. When you sing, does it usually come from a place of personal experience or more of a place of poeticism?

Declan O’Donovan: Haven’t ever really thought of myself as having much of a voice, I’m more just a bag of wind with a big reedy air valve attached to my face. But though I’d say the timbre is the product of personal experience, the lyrics tend on the more poetic side of things. I’m just not usually interested in the narrative or autobiographical elements of some songwriting. My favourite songs just create their own world and then let the listener decide what’s going on in there.

Q: So happy that we have had the ability to reconnect and that you have been able to perform here on multiple occasions. What has your touring and performing life been like over the last few years?

Declan: Strange! Post-Covid, touring became increasingly more difficult while I’ve also become more particular in the gigs I want to perform. I’m an acoustic piano player first and foremost, and that’s not always an option on stage. Something like your Rhodes keyboard or a Wurlitzer are reasonable compromises, and even the right gig can convince me to play a digital keyboard. But I really want to bring what’s most interesting about what I do to the stage, and that takes a roughly 500lb instrument, a professional piano tuner, and an open-minded venue. But I’m also very lucky in the opportunities that have come my way in the last few years. Some beautiful festival experiences and many new places, most notably Ireland where I have now toured a couple of times since 2022. It’s honestly the type of place that I’m not quite sure if it’s real or if I was really there. The venues, the countryside, the storytellers and artists…There’s something there that I’m sure I will keep chasing for a long time.

Q: Living in the Yukon, it’s extremely isolated, but the community up there bands together like some of the best I’ve ever seen. When I visited Whitehorse with our band Bullmoose back in 2004, we experienced that. Why do you think the Yukon is so special?

Declan: You said it, it’s isolated. I think isolation breeds characters and community and often some great artists. I mentioned Ireland, that’s a good example. Or here at home. Look at all the bands and musicians that come out of places like Winnipeg or Edmonton or PEI. I will say that the Yukon is exceptional in its isolation geographically, and that creates a culture that’s very close to the land and the outdoors, while also good at keeping each other company. The winter is long and dark. Gotta be good to your people! Let me know when the Bullmoose reunion tour is happening, I’ll be back every night for the next Yukon residency!

Q: Writing songs, once you start doing it, really becomes part of you and are so fortunate to have incredible musicians creating with you. What keeps your inspiration running?

Declan: Well again you said it, the incredible musicians that I convince to come play a show or record an album are one the coolest part of what I do. I often think writing the songs is a way for a musician like me to get to share the same musical space as the players that I think are some of the greatest musicians working. There is also a great deal of reward in the challenging and humbling process of songwriting.

I write all the time and I have my processes and tricks and habits, but it still feels like I don’t know what I’m doing every time I sit down to write a song. Going from that place of uncertainty with a song all the way to recording and performing it, finding that it inspires other musicians, finding audiences can often relate to it or be moved by it, finding that the song keeps revealing new perspectives and ideas; it’s unexpected and a joy every time.

Q: I’m not sure I saw you truly going down this path, but I am so happy that you are there! Where do you think the next few years of your musical life will take you?

Declan: It feels uncertain, but I’m getting pretty good at uncertain. I’m encouraged by the music itself and the artists that I rally around, and I’ve found that if I avoid expectations with music, it tends to bring me to beautiful places. Looking forward. Posted: Oct 6, 2025