Fresh from theatres, festivals and folk clubs across Canada, Daniel James McFadyen arrives at Camden’s Green Note carrying songs shaped by forests, lakes and the winding roads between them.
A gifted storyteller with a photographer’s eye for detail, his music explores family, belonging, community and the landscapes that leave lasting marks on us. Ahead of an intimate London performance, he spoke with 1st 3 Magazine about finding home on the road, recording in a lakeside cabin, the influence of Nova Scotia, and why emotion remains the thread connecting every song he writes.
1st 3 Magazine – Welcome to London, being here at Green Note Camden – what does that feel like for you? You’ve performed in much larger venues all over Canada – what are the differences in the way that you perform?
Daniel James McFadyen – I started playing in pubs. I had a residency in a small pub, smaller than this, in Nova Scotia. I played there every Friday for 5 years, so it’s where I’m most comfortable – smaller rooms, intimate venues. Once you get to play the bigger venues, it feels slightly less connected; obviously it’s exciting but I like the smaller, more intimate venues. I feel it’s a completely different show. You get to tell stories, personal stories easier and it’s usually pretty quiet in these kinds of rooms.
1st 3 – Does your voice change? Or your persona, whilst performing?
D – Maybe… I usually have a 5-6 piece band when I perform in larger venues so I can rely on them a lot. Here, I’m playing as a 2-piece with my friend Sarah and so there’s a very different vibe there, that’s for sure. I can move around the bigger stage more, have a bit of a free rein with the area; here I’m in one spot so yeah, the persona does change. I’ve never gotten that question before!
1st 3 – You’re also a photographer as well as a musician; what kind of photography do you do?
D – I’m a street photographer. I do a lot of travelling and I like taking pictures of people on the streets. I like landscapes too – I live in a beautiful part of Canada, on the water, very picturesque with old buildings and farms.
1st 3 – I could feel that in your songs – Land and Lakes feels tied to landscape and memory. What images have unlocked songs for you and why?
D – I love forests. I grew up outside Toronto in a farming community and we’d spend a lot of time 3-4 hours north of there in Haliburton. We have a cottage there and I spent a lot of time in the woods and on the water. That’s one of the most inspiring places for me. So I think forests, lakes, oceans. I think especially my earlier songs were more landscape-focussed and maybe in more recent times.
My favourite songs to play and other people's to hear are the ones that connect to people personally."
1st 3 – From your first album, August I’m Yours (2021), your music has changed. How do you feel and see that change? How has your musical style changed and to what do you attribute the development?
D – I always like trying new things with every record, every EP I put out. It depends who I’m working with. I like to go with the flow. I’ll see what I’m writing, which producer I’m writing with – it’s a collaboration for sure. That would change the direction I’m going in. With my last record, Back to the Country, I wanted to set a more organic, off the floor vibe so we recorded in a cabin in Shuswap Lake in British Columbia. Every room of the Air BnB was set up as a different recording – one for bass, one for drums etc. We turned the whole area into our recording studio and we all recorded our parts at the same time which was really cool. It’s a whole different thing, a different beast – trying to get a perfect take but once you have the take you have the song! That was my first time recording like that – the energy really comes across.
1st 3 – Your dog, Maggie, is on the cover of that record. Tell me about her!
D – She’s a little cockerpoo, I share her with my mum. I’m on the road so much and although she comes with me on tour sometimes, my mum’s away a lot too so we set up our schedules so that when she’s away, I have her. Maggie – she’s the best! She’s very nervous around other people but she’s very sweet and once you’ve earned her trust, she’ll love you forever.
I don't connect any house with being home - it's connection with people that matters".
1st 3 – You’ve spoken before of your parents’ influences – and your stepfather’s record collection especially. There are strong feelings of home and belonging, comfort and restlessness in your songs. What drew you towards that tension – and is your music composition getting you nearer to resolution?
D – I don’t know… every musician will talk about imposter syndrome. You’re on the road a lot, it’s hard not to rely on external validation. There are so many talented musicians out there and it’s hard to feel like you’re on that same level. So I like that question about belonging. I don’t know if I write about it on purpose or if it just comes across that way.
1st 3 – Where do you feel like you belong? I’m wondering if moving around so much has had an impact there?
D – I have moved around a lot – I wonder if that’s why I’m so comfortable on the road… I never felt like I was going to stay in one place. Nova Scotia feels like my home. Wherever they are – my mum, my grandparents – that feels like home to me. I don’t connect any house with being home – it’s connection with people that matters.
1st 3 – And how much has your family and upbringing shaped the stories that you tell?
D – Definitely a lot. Even though I grew up in Ontario outside Toronto, I never felt community there. I felt more at home when I moved to the East Coast, to my musician community. I’m so appreciative of having that. Maybe people who grew up there don’t realise what a strong community there is in Nova Scotia, but I really love it and feel that being there comes across in my music – and travelling a lot too.
1st 3 – There’s a recurring sense of searching in your work – for connection, direction; even the perfect guitar! What is the golden thread tying your songs together? Could it be experience, memory or imagination?
D – Emotion. I really do think that emotion comes across in my songs and a lot of them are maybe emotional rollercoasters, with some sadness in some, some adventure in others. My favourite songs to play and other people’s to hear are the ones that connect to people personally. Community is a big theme for me, stories connected to places. Family is another – I’m really close to my grandparents and there are lots of songs about them!
1st 3 – If someone had never heard your music before, which song would you like them to hear first? Which song will you start with today and why?
D – The song I like playing best with the band is called Goodnight Joe. There’s a nostalgia that brings me back to high school love and I connect deeply to that one. I love playing it live with the band. Also, maybe a song from my last record, Diamond. It’s one that talks about the landscapes of small town Nova Scotia and of feeling stuck in a place and never leaving. These are probably the two I’d start with too.
1st 3 – And finally; what emotions do you hope your audience leave with after a show? How do you want to make people feel?
D – I hope inspired: to make and release music themselves; to create in a variety of ways, and to feel peacefulness or inspiration to make their own way and find their own belonging. That is what I hope people leave with. The belief that they have that inside them and can find it.
Daniel James MacFadyen played Green Note, Camden, on May 16, 2026.