Country music singer Donovan Woods on his new album Both Ways

Donovan Woods navigates a tricky balance as a musician. The singer-songwriter from Sarnia, Ont., has released five albums of beautiful and intimate songs, but he also writes big, shiny country tunes for the likes of Tim McGraw and Lady Antebellum's Charles Kelley. So, Woods has to decide — does he save his best material for his own records, or does he hand it over to someone who may be able to sing him a pool or a Cadillac?

As the title — and sound — of his new album suggests, Woods wants it both ways. Both Ways is Woods' fifth record, and it's an album that blurs the line separating Donovan Woods, the mellow troubadour, and Donovan Woods, the professional pop songwriter. Woods recently stopped by the q studio with his band, The Opposition, to play a few songs from the record and to talk about how hard it is to be progressive in the notoriously conservative world of country music. 

Both Ways comes out Friday, April 20. His Canadian tour kicks off the following night in Montreal.

— Produced by Stuart Berman