Nick Doneff

Nick Doneff grew up in Fort Erie, Ontario, but he has called Charlottetown his home since 2013. Nick spent a good portion of his youth tuned into the Oldies 104 station from Buffalo, NY or listening to a solid collection of hand-me-down records in the basement of his childhood home. He recalls his father entertaining guests at gatherings and bonfires with songs by Bob Seger, The Eagles, and contemporary country or classic rock songs. He admits, country radio or CMT was always on somewhere in the house. 

When he graduated high school, he wanted his post-secondary education to be something inspiring. He moved to Toronto where he studied music at Humber College. At Humber, he really started to get a feel for his voice and his songwriting. In fact, over half of his debut album was recorded as a school project while at Humber. During this time, Nick found himself in a romantic relationship with an east coaster with one year of school left to complete. While she finished her studies, Nick bounced around the Toronto scene and when she graduated, they packed up and moved east to Charlottetown.

In 2013, as Nick was arriving, the once brimming scene in Charlottetown was starting to fade. Nevertheless, he bought a PA and started playing any kind of gig he could find. One night while playing at Smugglers Jug, he met Mark Phillips. Mark recognized Nick’s talent and suggested he come by The Haviland Club for the weekly Monday Night Country Music Jam. Here, Nick met Nudie, Wally Young, Mark Geddes, and Thomas Webb.

Through the early days in Charlottetown, Nick relied heavily on cover songs to entertain the audiences he’d found. One day, while playing on the sidewalk outside Back Alley Music (Great George location), Pat asked Nick if he had any original songs, and Nick played him Old Dog. Impressed, Pat started asking Nick to open for artists at Trailside in Mount Stewart. It was here where Nick started to gather steam and build his audience. 

In 2018, he played his first show in tribute to one of his musical heroes, John Prine. This show was extremely well received and has gone on to become an anticipated annual event, happening every year around Prine’s October birthday. Every year, Nick plays host to a cast of local singers and songwriters who all contribute their takes on John Prine’s wonderful songs. There has been plenty of interest from theatres all around the east coast, but so far Nick has opted to reserve this show for Charlottetown.

As a sideman, he has played for Tara MacLean, Meaghan Blanchard, Nudie, Lawrence Maxwell’s tribute to Merle Haggard, The Good Ol Boys, and Liam Corcoran. Also, since their reformation, Nick has been a member of Two Hours Traffic. There is no doubt he has woven himself into the fabric of the Island’s music scene. He is respected and recognized for his terrific songwriting, his storytelling, his charm and wit on stage and off, and his musical skill.

Nick has released a self-titled debut album and his follow-up, Late August Days. Recently, he put out a new single called “Sixteen Tons (It’s Gonna Have to Do).” He’ll be busy promoting a new Two Hours Traffic EP this spring and summer, but you can find him at Under the Spire in September performing songs from the Paul Simon songbook, as well as his annual John Prine tribute in October.