David Newland

David Newland is writer, musician and host with a passion for the Canadian experience.

Born in Ottawa, raised on the shores of Georgian Bay near Parry Sound, David is a veteran traveler and global citizen. He’s now based in Toronto, where he makes music by night and media by day.

David is the founding force behind The McFlies and co-founder & co-host of the Corktown Ukulele Jam community. He logs dozens of gigs yearly as a solo performer, ukulele player and workshop host in addition to his many other pursuits.

Widely appreciated as a stage host, David has been the MC for numerous festivals and the Gordon Lightfoot tribute concert The Way We Feel.

David’s success as a songwriter includes Riding on the Railway, the theme song for the CTV documentary Canada’s Greatest Ride, in which David also appears and performs on a train crossing Canada. David’s canoe anthem Faster Than You Know won “Best Music” at the Waterwalker Film Festival, and ukulele favourite That’s the Miracle was featured prominently in CBC’s The Gospel According to Uke.

Former Director of Social Media Canoe.ca, a leading Canadian web portal, David was the main contributor to The Canoe Dossier, a finalist for the 2009 Online Publishing Awards for “Best Blog”. David is now the Editor-in-Chief for Roots Music Canada, the portal for original organic Canadian music. He does frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist, specializing in using new media to build community.

David served for 3 years on the Board of Directors of the Shelter Valley Folk Festival and is currently a Director of the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals.

When he’s not making music, writing, working online or organizing something, David rides his bicycle, paddles his canoe, potters about in his backyard garden, and generally lives in a whimsical way.

His home is a little house that’s been in the family for 5 generations, and he hopes to leave it in great shape for his daughter one day.

Photo by Ali Eisner.