Donovan Woods Announces ‘Without People (Deluxe)’ Out Friday, March 26th

Listen to “Whatever Keeps You Going” featuring 

J.P. Robarts P.S. Music Project Children’s Choir --orcd.co/whateverkeepsyougoingchoir

Pre-order here -- orcd.co/withoutpeopledeluxe

In 2020, Donovan Woods released ‘Without People’ via his own Meant Well label. It’s an album that ranks as Woods’ most successful release with more than 10 million streams and climbing. Due March 26, a new deluxe edition of ‘Without People’ adds four bonus tracks (two new originals and two alternate mixes) and is available for pre-order now. 

A new piano rendition of “Grew Apart” cuts right to the bone, and an acoustic interpretation of “Whatever Keeps You Going” pairs Woods with the pure voices of the J.P. Robarts Public School Music Project in London, Canada. 

The school’s choir (consisting of grades 3-8) formerly sang with Woods in 2019 at one of his concerts in London. Woods always knew he wanted to feature the choir on a project, but during the pandemic, Woods learned that while the schools had reopened, the children were only allowed to hum during choir practice due to the nature of health and safety protocols. He then, with the help of their parents and choir director, Jane Kennedy, enlisted the children’s choir to individually submit homemade cell phone videos of themselves singing the song. All 19 students were able to share the “stage” again with Woods through this video: youtu.be/vghBryI46vU.

“This deluxe version is really in place of what live shows might’ve been like if the pandemic hadn’t happened,” says Woods. “Among my favorite parts of playing live are presenting songs in a different context and introducing new material, and this deluxe version is doing that type of work.”

For an album made so piecemeal, ‘Without People’ (2020) has been acclaimed as “strikes a gentle, poignant note” (Billboard), “a nuanced experience” (American Songwriter) and a thoughtful exploration of ““fleeting interpersonal moments now under the microscope” (NPR/KUTX) and “various aspects of human connection” (Rolling Stone).

Pre-order the deluxe edition of ‘Without People’ here: orcd.co/withoutpeopledeluxe.