Sunburnt Country Music

The Matt Joe Gow & Kerryn Fields project falls into the category of ‘high risk’: two artists with solo careers that have seen them win audiences, acclaim and awards, with potentially nothing to gain from a collaboration. After all, if something ain’t broke, why fix it? What they have fixed on, though, is interesting and compelling work that draws on their individual talents and strengths to ma...

Jade Gibson is a singer and songwriter from Victoria who was a Grand Finalist in Toyota Star Maker in 2022 and has played at several large festivals. In 2019 her debut EP The Great Unknown went to number 1 on the iTunes Country chart and she has released several successful singles since. Her brand new single is ‘Down the Road’. The song holds special meaning for Gibson as it's her first song inspi...

Kylie Gale is a singer-songwriter from New South Wales who released the EP  Upside  in 2021. While working as a teacher and raising four children, Gale has carved out time to nurture her songwriting craft. This dedication led to the 2021 release of her debut EP  Upside .  Gale’s musical talents first emerged in primary school, where she began guitar lessons. However, it wasn’t...

Rebecca Jane Howell and Marty Mckenna are friends from Central Victoria who have been singing together for over a decade. Rebecca honed her instinct for harmony through years spent in the Australian Girls Choir and Marty grew up singing to the sheep on his family farm, with his dad, where he still tends the flock to this day.   As Valley Road the duo released their wonderful self-titled debut...

Known for her powerful vocals and catchy melodies, Cassidy-Rae recently returned to Australian shores after a stint performing four-hour shows on cruise ships - shows at which she had her own fangirls. She's also very much a fangirl of other artists, so she is perfectly qualified to write and release her latest single, 'Fangirl'.  During our recent interview, Cassidy-Rae offers a glimpse into...

Emma Donovan is well known to Australian audiences from her bands Emma Donovan and The Putbacks (which I managed to call The Pushbacks in the introduction to this interview) as well as the Stiff Gins, and from the Black Arm Band. Her music ranges from soul to reggae to R&B and gospel, yet country music has been there from the start and she now has a new country album,  Til My Song is...

Brisbane-based singer-songwriter Jacob Vincent has just released his new single 'What Would I Say', just in time for Anzac Day, and the first single from his upcoming debut album, produced by Shane Nicholson and due for release in 2025. The song had its genesis at the DAG Songwriting Retreat in Nundle, NSW, where Vincent met poet Colin Defries. It pays tribute to diggers and their service, with a...

Piper Rodrigues started 2024 as a Toyota Star Maker Grand Finalist, in the wake of releasing her popular 2023 single 'Exit Wound'. Originally from Newcastle, NSW, she now calls Brisbane home and her latest single is 'Watch Your Step', co-written with Hayley Marsten . Rodrigues was bitten by the music bug early on, taking singing lessons from age 7 and performing for her mother's hair salon cl...

Bud Rokesky is a singer and songwriter from Queensland who released his wonderful debut album, Outsider , last year. Since then he’s been on the road quite a bit, playing support slots for C.W. Stoneking, Deacon Blue, Meg Washington, Tim Rogers and Matt Corby as well as appearing at Gympie Music Muster, Woodford, Dashville Skyline, Groundwater, Queenscliff M...

Chloe Swannell is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Oberon in the central west of New South Wales who released her first single, ‘Strange Love’, last year. She has just released her second, ‘Unchained’. In our recent interview Swannell tells the story behind 'Unchained' and talks about working with producer Tarquin Halls-Corbett, her songwriting process, her musical background -...

Josie is a country music dynamo from Far North Queensland who kicked off the year with a busy Tamworth Country Music Festival. She has released the very popular singles ‘Down Here’ and ‘Freight Man’. Her latest single is ‘Our Place’. 'If anyone has been to a party at my parents' place, you’d know we don’t muck around when it comes to having a bit of fun, cooking up mean feeds, and letting your hai...

Jemma Beech is a singer-songwriter from New South Wales who has released the album  That’s Just Me along with several cracking singles, including ‘You Fool’ and ‘If I Can’t Wear Boots’. She was also a Grand Finalist in this year's Toyota Star Maker competition. Beech's latest single is ‘Four Leaf Clover’, which was inspired by a trip she made to her ancestral homeland, Ireland. Surrounded by...

Olive Mae is a folk/country singer-songwriter from the south-west of Western Australia who released her debut single, ‘Give Me Something’, in 2022. Last year she released the single 'Hit the Road' and her latest single is ‘Wait & See’ - both of them will appear on her EP due for release later this year.  Mae has been a musician for most of her life, learning instruments from a young age a...

Sara Storer has won 22 Golden Guitar awards, her most recent being this year for the song ‘Dust Kids’ released with her brother Greg as Storer , from their self-titled album. On her own Storer has released five studio albums, all of which have been fan and award favourites. Her brand new song is ‘Under Darwin Stars’ and Sara is working towards a new album. Storer is far too young to be called a le...

Robbie Mortimer grew up in the central west of New South Wales as one of five brothers in a sporting family. He would go on to be a professional sportsman before returning to his home area and becoming a teacher and mentor, all while creating music. His first album, the pop-leaning  200 Years Too Late , was released in 2021. He has a brand new song, ‘Blow the Speakers’, and it’s as hi-octane...

Cass Hopetoun released her debut album,  Not Your Typical Bride , in 2022 and was nominated for the Golden Guitar for Best New Talent, which was her second nomination for that category. In fact, she’s had three Golden Guitar nominations in total.  Since releasing the album Hopetoun has become a mother and, with husband Blake Dantier, released the single ‘Some Things Never Get Old’. Her l...

Ryan Mead is a singer-songwriter from the Sutherland Shire in Sydney who may be 18 years of age but he’s already racked up a few musical credits, including the Talent Development Project last year. He has just released his debut single, ‘Tangled Up in Wranglers’, and a warning: the song is kinda addictive, so once you start listening you may find yourself hitting 'play' a few more times. Mead's fi...

Tony Kennelly is an artist from picturesque Port Macquarie on the mid north coast of NSW who has released two albums, Hittin’ the Wall and Battlegrounds . He has a new single, ‘Sunday in the Sun’, which is just right for helping us hold on to summer days even as we have passed the equinox. Kennelly has been performing live for many years, including a busy stint in Sydney in his younger years when...

Kerryn Fields is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Aotearoa New Zealand, now living on our shores. She won the Music Victoria Best Folk Work award in 2022 for her second album, Water , which followed acclaim for her first album, Rascal . In recent months she's released two singles with Matt Joe Gow , ahead of an album release. Fields's latest solo release is the EP The Folk Singe...

Last year Wagga Wagga, NSW resident Nathan Lamont released his debut single ‘Drink You Up’, then he was named a Grand Finalist in this year’s Toyota Star Maker competition, the second time he’s been a grand finalist. He recently appeared on the single ‘My Favourite Summer’ with Loren Ryan and has a new single of his own, ‘Skin to Skin’. At this year's Tamworth Country Music Festival, Lamont shared...

Jake Whittaker hails from south-east Queensland. Earlier this year he appeared in the Tamworth Country Music Festival as a Grand Finalist in the Star Maker competition, and no doubt getting up to other things. He has released several singles to date. The fourth and latest is 'Shoey'. 'Shoey' was written with Gavin Carfoot and produced by Whittaker's regular produced, Jared Adlam. 'I’m pa...

Jen Mize moved to Australia from the United States a few years ago and that has been to Australia’s benefit, as this extraordinary performer has released two solo albums and one in collaboration with Mark Sholtez, called Twilight on the Trail .  Last year she released an eponymous album with her relatively new band, the eight-piece Jen Mize and the Rough n’ Tumble. Their latest single is ‘Hai...

New South Wales singer-songwriter Kora Naughton released her first album,  Nineteen , at 19 years of age and since then she has been a Toyota Star Maker Grand Finalist and released three more singles, the latest of which is the very catchy 'Head in the Sand'. Indeed, Naughton has quite a knack for writing catchy songs, which we talked about recently.  Naughton released 'He...

Keely Ellen is a singer and songwriter from Bundaberg in Queensland who has just released her debut single, ‘Red Head’, written with Nashville-based Australian artist Katrina Burgoyne. She attended the Junior Academy of Country Music and has performed at various festivals including Tamworth and Lighthouse Country Music festivals, and she is still only 17 years of age.  When we spoke recently...

Jake Davey is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from the mid north coast of New South Wales who has released several country pop singles since 2019 and played many festivals. He was a Grand Finalist in Toyota Star Maker in 2022.  Davey has several other jobs as well, including producer and videographer. But everything he did come to a halt several months ago when he suffered a sp...