Douglas K. S. Paisley is a Canadian alternative country singer and songwriter, formerly with record label No Quarter Records and now with Outside Music. He was born in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
.
Paisley's "What About Us?" was featured in
Mojo magazine
''Mojo'' (stylised in all caps) is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom, initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer. Following the success of the magazine '' Q'', publishers Emap were looking for a title that ...
as part of a complimentary CD entitled ''New Harvest''. Paisley had previously toured with
Bonnie Prince Billy
Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Brothers, Palace Son ...
under the name Dark Hand and Lamplight with artist
Shary Boyle
Shary Boyle (born May 26, 1972) is a contemporary Canadian visual artist working in the mediums of sculpture using the medium of ceramics, drawing, painting and performance art. She lives and works in Toronto.
Early life and education
Boyle wa ...
. Boyle would illuminate her art in the background while Paisley played the guitar and sang his songs. The pairing received recognition when they were selected to showcase at the
Brooklyn Academy of Music
The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a multi-arts center in Brooklyn, New York City. It hosts progressive and avant-garde performances, with theater, dance, music, opera, film programming across multiple nearby venues.
BAM was chartered in 18 ...
in 2008. Doug performed for ten years alongside Chuck Erlichman as a duo entitled Russian Literature and as a tribute act entitled Stanley Brothers.
Paisley's released his first solo album, ''Doug Paisley,'' in 2008. Paisley's 2010 release ''Constant Companion'' received positive reviews in major publications such as ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' and ''
Spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles
* Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
''.
Paisley has been featured both on
CBC Radio
CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...
in Canada and on
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
in the United States.
His 2014 album ''Strong Feelings'' featured guest appearances by
Mary Margaret O'Hara
Mary Margaret O'Hara is a Canadian singer-songwriter, actress and composer. She is best known for the album ''Miss America'', released in 1988. She released two albums and an EP under her own name, and remains active as a live performer, as a con ...
and
Garth Hudson
Eric Garth Hudson (August 2, 1937 – January 21, 2025) was a Canadian multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist and occasional saxophonist for The Band. He was a principal architect of the group's sound and was described as "the mo ...
. It received positive reviews from
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
and
Pitchfork
A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applie ...
.
In 2018 Paisley released the album ''Starter Home,'' which the ''New Yorker'' praised for its "enriching" songwriting. Paisley's also contributed the song "Transient" to the compilation album ''
The Al Purdy Songbook
''Al Purdy Was Here'' is a 2015 Canadian documentary film.Strong Feelings'' (No Quarter 2014)
* ''Until I Find You'' (EP, No Quarter 2014)
* ''Starter Home'' (No Quarter 2018)
* ''Say What You Like'' (Outside Music, 2023)
* ''Sad Old World'' (self-released, 2024)
* ''Rough Master'' (self-released, 2025)