Speaking with Alan Doyle, it becomes apparent that his voice carries the same warmth and energy that has filled concert halls for decades. As the front man for Great Big Sea, and now a solo artist, Doyle’s connection to Canada – and more succinctly, Newfoundland and Labrador – has always been clear. Now, with his latest book, The Smiling Land: All Around the Circle in My Newfoundland and Labrador, he’s turned his talent toward his homeland, revealing how even the most familiar places can be seen with a fresh perspective.
“I think I got the bug for travelling through Newfoundland during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Doyle recalls via telephone. Newfoundland had its own “bubble” during those strange months, and while the rest of the world was locked down, he wandered the province with his young son. “I began to see things through his eyes,” he continues. “It began a burning question within me about whether or not it was actually the way I remembered it.”
That single question became the inspiration for The Smiling Land. As a playful, funny, and tender travelogue, it takes readers from Fogo Island to Ferryland, across Labrador, and into Doyle’s own St. John’s backyard. At its core, the book reminds us that everyday places can surprise us as he takes another look at Newfoundland and invites us to do the same.
Although he chronicles many adventures, for Doyle, the surprises didn’t come with impressive hikes or harbours drifting with icebergs. Rather, his most significant discoveries occurred on the simple walks he takes with his coffee each morning.
“It didn’t occur to me to include that walk in this book, because it’s so familiar to me. But when I looked at it through the lens of a traveller or writer, I realized I walk by 16 historical buildings that are all significant on the way. But because it’s my own backyard, I guess I just never clocked how cool that is.”
The realization that the ordinary can become extraordinary when we take a second look runs through The Smiling Land. Filled with whimsy, it’s a book that also honors the sturdy resilience of a place shaped by harsh weather, hard work, and wicked wit.
Though Doyle has published several books and even dabbled in acting, he insists he’s never stopped seeing himself as a musician at heart.
“I just wanted to be in a band. It sounds simple, but that’s what I wanted when I was a kid. I’m 56 now, and still happy doing that.”
Music has given Doyle not only a livelihood, but also countless stamps on his passport. Touring the world with Great Big Sea, and then later as a solo artist, Doyle jokingly characterizes his perspective as being shaped by “the view out the window of a band van.”
“I’m really delighted to embrace the tentacles that my music has allowed me to reach; writing books, musicals, film, and television. But the short answer is always that I am happy to be in a band.”
For two decades, Great Big Sea brought Newfoundland folk traditions into venues across North America, blending sea shanties with pop-rock energy. Their songs became national sing-alongs, and Doyle’s voice became synonymous with Newfoundland itself. Performed to packed houses, their shows were full of high-octane stomping and smiling faces. That energy, Doyle explains, came naturally to the band.
“We were all teenagers in the 1980s, in love with the glam bands. I didn’t think, because we were singing Newfoundland-based folk songs, that we had to present them differently than Van Halen presented Jump. We didn’t resist the urge to do it up, but we certainly resisted the norm of presenting folk music in the back of a library. We had no interest in that.”
Doyle’s humble nature is always present – “I can’t sound like anybody else. I was always a terrible cover singer” – admitting that his distinct voice became the very thing that set him apart. That distinctiveness, he adds, is also what gave the band its longevity, which he sums up in one word: honesty.
“We didn’t set out to make music that was from Chicago or Los Angeles or Toronto. We were singing sea shanties, playing tin whistles and bodhráns in the 1990s. We weren’t Pearl Jam or Nirvana. What we were doing was genuinely ours, and we did it with passion and enthusiasm, and maybe it’s just refreshing for people to hear somebody sing about a green boat.”
That authenticity carried into his solo work. Albums like Boy on Bridge and A Week at the Warehouse evoke memories of time and space, drawing on experiences that feel rooted in Newfoundland. But when Great Big Sea ended, Doyle’s biggest challenge was continuity.
“To not really break stride was the big achievement,” he reflects. “I’m proud that I’ve managed to just keep rolling along. I owe a big deal of gratitude to the fans who came right along with me.”
Those same fans are likely to be just as eager to come along to The Smiling Land. The book’s title, Doyle notes, comes from Sir Cavendish Boyle’s ode to Newfoundland, written more than a century ago. But Doyle has always been amused by the poem’s title.
“I’ve always giggled at that phrase. I’ve always wondered why. Is it as simple as the people here smile more? I do my best to answer that question in the book and explore that notion that somehow hard times make us happier.”
Drawing joy from struggle is the paradox that defines not only Newfoundland’s history, but Doyle’s storytelling.
For all the somber themes of resilience and heritage, Doyle’s favourite parts of The Smiling Land reveal his true nature, which has consistently endeared him to fans.
“I do love the whimsical things – they are often more defining than the heavy ones…”
“Like the fact that, as teenagers, we figured out a way to get to the big city in St. John’s and back for free and get fish and chips along the way. That’s genius.”
Stories like that embody the charm of Doyle’s writing; playful, humble, and very human.
Even with a new book on the shelves, Doyle is as busy as ever. His musical theatre project Telltale Harbor is moving from Charlottetown to Toronto’s Mirvish stage; he’s finishing a new recording, and in 2026 he will begin a coast-to-coast tour of Canada and the United States.
Yet no matter how far he travels, his compass points home. Newfoundland isn’t just where Doyle lives; it serves as his source for his music, his stories, and now, his books.
“When people ask what the book is about, I say: follow me around Newfoundland and Labrador because I know everything about Newfoundland and Labrador and then watch me discover that I know very little about it.”
More than a travel guide, Doyle’s book is a meditation on memory, discovery, and belonging. It’s about how the places we think we know may still surprise us if we pause long enough to look.
“I think we get desensitized to things. It’s a gift when we can explore our own backyard and see things with new eyes.”
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