Alan Doyle

Alan Doyle is a Canadian musician and actor from Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove, Canada. He is best known as the lead singer of the folk rock band Great Big Sea, which he forms while studying at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s. There he meets Séan McCann, Bob Hallett and Darrell Power, and the group becomes one of the central acts in his career.

Early life and education

Doyle is born and raised in Petty Harbour, Newfoundland, in a Roman Catholic family. He attends Memorial University of Newfoundland and earns a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. Before Great Big Sea, he plays in a duo with John Brenton called Staggering Home, and as a teenager he performs in his uncle’s band, the New Sandells.

Great Big Sea and performance style

Doyle is a member of Great Big Sea, a Celtic and rock group associated with Canadian folk rock. He primarily plays electric and acoustic guitar and the bouzouki in live performance, and he also plays mandolin and banjo. His work with the band remains the main reference point for his career.

Solo work

In 2012, Doyle releases his first solo album, Boy on Bridge. The title refers to his credited appearance as the “boy on bridge” in the film A Whale for the Killing, when he is a child. The album includes the single “I’ve Seen a Little” and features collaborations with Hawksley Workman, Jim Cuddy, Ron Hynes and actor-musician Russell Crowe, among others. The video for the second single, “Testify”, receives a Juno nomination. A documentary about the making of the album, also called Boy on Bridge, is directed by Joel Stewart and John Vatcher.

His second solo album, So Let’s Go, is released in 2015, and his third solo album, A Week at the Warehouse, follows in 2017.

Writing and stage work

Doyle also writes books. His second book, A Newfoundlander in Canada: Always Going Somewhere, Always Coming Home, is published in 2017.

He also works in musical theatre, co-writing the musical comedy Tell Tale Harbour with Bob Foster. He contributes to the music and lyrics and is also credited as one of the authors of the book with Edward Riche. The production is based on Ken Scott’s screenplay La grande séduction, which is adapted into the film Seducing Doctor Lewis.