Alan Doyle

Alan Doyle, singer, guitarist and principal songwriter of Great Big Sea, steps into his solo groove at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa on March 11, 2026. Rooted in Petty Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador, he blends Atlantic Canada’s traditional songs and Celtic influences with a contemporary folk-rock pulse. After two relentless decades on the road with Great Big Sea, Doyle opened a new chapter with Boy on Bridge in 2012, followed by So Let’s Go and A Week at the Warehouse, pushing his writing toward a more personal register while staying close to maritime textures and big, communal choruses.

His recent EPs Rough Side Out and Back to the Harbour extend that palette between acoustic ballads, call-and-response songs and more rock-leaning cuts. On stage, Doyle carries a storyteller’s energy shaped by coastal life and occasional screen work, with narratives that travel from harbour towns to wide North American roads. Expect melodies that lean into tradition without getting stuck there, arrangements anchored in modern folk, and a set that traces his path from Great Big Sea to his solo catalog—built for a room like the National Arts Centre, and for a night in Ottawa.