Sunburnt Country Music

When I saw on the Instagram page of Central West NSW artist  Chloe Swannell  that she was playing a bass – something that I hadn’t noticed her playing before – I decided to ask her about it when we had an interview for her latest single, ‘Loves’ a Lil’ Bit’. There was no way to know the story that would unfold about what led to her learning that instrument in what has to be record time,...

Ruby Shay  is an artist from the Central Coast of New South Wales who was impressive out of the gate when she released her debut single, ‘Sinner’, in late 2023. Since then she’s kept impressing, and her new album  Hitch a Ride  is a moving collection of songs about life and how we forge our way through it. I first interviewed Shay at the time of the release of ‘Sinner’ and she was s...

Rory Phillips  is still in his teens and has been playing on festival stages since he was seven. He is a graduate of the CMAA Academy of Country Music and has also been an intern there. He plays with the Bushwackers, he’s been in Sara Storer’s band, and that’s really the tip of the iceberg of his achievements, which include releasing the singles ‘The Truth’ and ‘Because Boys’. He now has a ne...

Vixens of Fall are a sister trio from south-east Queensland who released their debut album,  Magick in the Chaos , in 2023. While their sibling harmonies are undeniably a big part of their appeal, the Vixens - Nina, Wren and LuLu – also have great, heart-tugging songs that convey their story and what they hold dear (‘The Long Game’, ‘Crooked Crown’), and others that are hugely entertaini...

When interviewing an artist for the first time, I have no expectations about how things will go. I have my questions prepared, and that means that there will be some sort of conversation, even if it’s brief. While it’s possible – usually likely – to have a sense of how the interview may go within a couple of minutes, I always leave room for it to change and for the conversation to open up.  S...

**Contains the track 'Country Singer' from Faith & Sweat** Linc Phelps hails from the country music centre of Gympie in Queensland and he has just released his debut album,  Faith & Sweat , which has already produced four chart-topping singles.  The album has been a long time coming for Phelps, who has practised what he preaches in the album’s title by putting in a lot of sweat o...

Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningham  won three Golden Guitar Awards for their most recent album,  Birdsong , but that is far from the extent of their award winning, as at last count I believe they have a bajillion – the technical term – between them for their separate endeavours. They have been touring constantly over the past couple of years and they have a brand new song, ‘Joy Roller...

**NB: I called the Vixens of Fall single ‘Sinkin’ Ships’ instead of ‘Sinkin’ Spirits’ but I’d already tried to record the episode so many times that I ran out of time to do it again! Songs covered - audio included: Brad Cox – ‘I’m a Boxer’ The Buckleys - 'See Your Folks Again' Vixens of Fall - 'Sinkin' Spirits' Roger Knox - 'Prison Wall' Mentions: McCusker Gill - 'Holy Rose Hotel' Olivia Foy - 'Cr...

A few weeks ago I interviewed Nathan Lamont , a three-time Star Maker Grand Finalist from Wagga Wagga, NSW whose popularity is growing both on streaming and as a performer, about his latest country-pop release, ‘Bigger Things’. I’ve interviewed Nathan a few times and it’s always been a great pleasure to talk to him – plus each time it seemed to be longer than the time before! Fluid conversation is...

I’ve spoken to Broome, WA artist  Adele Oliver  about her singles  ‘Wiley Blue’  and  ‘Angel’  and each time found her thoughtful and interesting and offering a unique perspective on making music. This was no different with our latest chat, for her EP  To Home & Heartbreak , which collects previous releases and contains the new single ‘Home Tonight’.  Ol...

Melbourne artist  KEZRA  has established a career in indie pop that has seen her releasing the EP  Fortress  in 2023 and singles leading up to that, which all had airplay on triple j and community radio. She’s appeared in  Atwood Magazine  (USA),  Backseat Mafia  (UK/AUS),  Pilerats ,  Music Feeds ,  The Music ,  The AU Review ,  For...

**LIsten to 'Lies' after the interview** My first encounter with emerging Sydney artist  Hayden Phillis  was at the Junior Academy of Country Music in Tamworth, NSW, in July 2023. I was invited to talk to the students about interview skills and asked if I would interview a student, or students, on the spot. Hayden was the only student who volunteered! And he was great at it. It turned ou...

Tori Darke  and  Jay Santilli  have their own, distinct careers in country music - Santilli with her moving, emotional songs that saw her become a 2024 Star Maker Grand Finalist, and Darke with her high-energy country pop that has seen her make an impression on The Voice and elsewhere. They now have a song together, ‘Trouble’, and it’s one that makes the most of their respective voc...

These are all the songs mentioned in the podcast with a link to YouTube to listen to the song/watch the video. For the full show notes, go to the Sunburnt Country Music website . Chloe Marks & The Mayhem – ‘Carolina’:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p98dAX3c67I Ben Mastwyk – ‘All the Songs I Wrote’  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69cdGS7mo7c Abbie Ferris – ‘Don’t Cha Dare!’  h...

**Listen to the end to hear the song 'Days Like This'** The  first time I interviewed  Central West NSW artist  Clancy Pye  we covered her extensive musical background, which began in childhood and involved playing in a family band – The Party Pyes (still one of the best band names ever!) – and gigging throughout her teenage years. It’s safe to say that Pye has been living and...

When I  first interviewed  Sydney folk/alt-country artist  Gracie Jean , it was in 2022 and she had released her debut album,  Romance is Bad . Since then she’s had momentous changes in her life, including the death of her mother.  Grief and how one survives it – and survives the what-ifs that come with it – is the bedrock of Gracie’s new EP,  Having & Longing . A...

Nathan Lamont  is from Wagga Wagga in New South Wales and since 2023 he has been releasing unforgettable country-pop songs, starting with ‘Drink You Up’. His latest single is ‘Bigger Things’, on which he worked with producers Msquared for the first tie. Its release comes after his first headline show at the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January. That show was the culmination of years of...

**Listen to the end to hear the single 'Things I've Learned' Aleyce Simmonds  was the first Australian artist I interviewed when I started what became Sunburnt Country Music in late 2011. Back then it was called Jolene The Country Music Blog because I didn’t know what else to call it and I also thought no one would read it anyway, so the name didn’t matter.  The blog became a regular thi...

Below you'll find links to the videos for songs mentioned in this podcast. For the cumulative February New Releases playlist - which contains these songs and more - go to Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5uoiJET1DCVyTnVVE5pKKn?si=b0fa79e66f9d4724 Nathan Lamont – ‘Bigger Things’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6uCIi84t7A   The Wolfe Brothers & Lee Kernaghan – ‘Country Is C...

**Listen to the end to hear the single 'Paper Cut'** There really aren’t enough superlatives to describe Lyn Bowtell as a singer, songwriter, performing artist, teacher, mentor and human. Anyone who has seen her perform live never forgets the experience of hearing her sing for the first time and every time. Nor do they forget how funny she is! Bowtell creates an experience for her audiences and ev...

Pete Denahy  is an artist with many facets. Some know him mostly for his comedic songs, such as ‘Sort of Dunno Nothin’ and ‘Looking at My Phone’, which I tend to think of as succinct, lyrically elegant takes on communication and social interaction (or lack thereof) because they’re so well done that they seem like they could have been easy for him to write.  Denahy also writes non-comedic...

**Listen to the end to hear 'Dear August' from the EP Queen of Hearts ** When I first heard  Queen of Hearts , the debut EP from Central Coast, NSW singer-songwriter  Faith Williams , I wondered why I hadn’t heard of her before. It was because not a single had been released before the EP, so at least I hadn’t missed anything – but it was such a surprise to listen to the first, and title,...

**Listen to the end to hear the single 'Nothing Better'** Victorian artist Andrew Swift won his first two Golden Guitars for his first album,  Call Out for the Cavalry , and his most recent was in 2023 for Male Artist of the Year.  Cavalry  was the first of his three albums to go to number 1 on the ARIA charts.  Swift’s new single, ‘Nothing Better’, follows on from ‘Fumes and F...

Well, my intention to release episodes of this 'new releases podcast' on a weekly basis went out the window immediately. So at least I'm setting low expectations! And I did come back for another episode. These are the singles released since the last episode that I reckon are worthy of closer attention - and you can listen to the songs within the episode.  Faith Williams – ‘Queen of Heart...

Andrea Robertson  is a singer-songwriter from the Geelong area in Victoria who released her latest album,  Seasons , in 2024. She is also the founder of  Americana on the Bellarine , a one-day festival which will be held on the Bellarine Peninsula, near Geelong, on 22 February this year. We had a wide-ranging chat about her development as an artist, which started when Robertson was...