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PODCAST

Sunburnt Country Music

For over a decade Sophie Hamley has been interviewing Australian country music artists for her website, Sunburnt Country Music. Now new interviews will be made available in this podcast. Listen to Golden Guitar winners such as Amber Lawrence and Luke O"Shea, and many others, talk about their songs and songwriting, about performance and creativity and so much more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

music music interviews

All Episodes

30:26

Melanie Dyer on new single ‘Golden Girl’ and life in...

Sunburnt Country Music ·

2026/04/20

Melanie Dyeris one of Australia’s most-streamed country music artists, and she’s also been nominated for three Golden Guitars and three APRA AMCOS Most Performed Country Work awards. Currently resident in Nashville, Tennessee, Melanie has released a new single, the heartfelt ‘Golden Girl’.Dyer has long been an in-demand co-writer – you can find a playlist of songs she’s co-written onSpotify, and the list of artists who have recorded one of her songs includes Amber Lawrence, James Johnston and Hayley

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26:40

Kingswood keep the ‘Faith’ as they gather pace...

Sunburnt Country Music ·

2026/04/19

A fair while ago I separately interviewed first Alex Laska then, months later, Fergus Linacre, the two founding members ofKingswood. At the time I hadn’t seen the band live, but I certainly like what I heard of their recorded music (which includes a Christmas album – I recommend it!).At the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January 2024 I saw them play on the back of a truck in the car park of the Tamworth Hotel. Suffice to say my hair was metaphorically blown back by that gig, and I was hooked on

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30:05

Whiskey Jack and Kiera Jas on their single ‘Remain...

Sunburnt Country Music ·

2026/04/18

Whiskey Jackis a singer-songwriter from Perth in Western Australia andKiera Jasis an artist from Margaret River, south of Perth. Separately they have very successful solo careers, with Jack’s single ‘Wild Card’ named WAM Country Song of the Year in 2025 and Kiera the winner of the 2023 Nannup festival award. Together this alt-folk duo have released the single ‘Old Expressions’ last year and they now have a new single, ‘Remain Strange’.The duo met when, as Jack tells me in this interview, they kept

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29:03

Mackenzie May on her standout debut EP, All the...

Sunburnt Country Music ·

2026/04/17

Mackenzie Mayis an artist from Central Queensland who, at just twenty years old, is already having a landmark year. In January she was a Toyota Star Maker Grand Finalist at the Tamworth Country Music Festival, she performed at CMC Rocks with a full band, and she has just released her debut EP,All the Little Things— a seven-track collection that represents her most substantial statement yet.May grew up absorbing her grandparents' record collection – Slim Dusty, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Waylon

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41:55

Mack & Cook on new single ‘A Sign of the Times’

Sunburnt Country Music ·

2026/04/14

Mack & Cookare Lizzie Mack and Murray Cook, two of the best credentialled musical artists in the land. As a duo they released their first single, 'Time Goes By', last year and their latest single is 'A Sign of the Times'.The two have a long history together, most recently as the driving force behind the Soul Movers, now performing as Murray and the Movers. Mack & Cook came about partly as a practical solution – a way to play smaller stages and perform songs from their fifteen-year,

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9:57

New releases round-up 12 April 2026

Sunburnt Country Music ·

2026/04/12

As it’s been a little while since I’ve had a chance to bring you some news, some of these releases are from March.Melbourne duo The Smith & Western Jury have released their foot-stomper 'Rolling the Dice'. The song was inspired by a trip we took to Joshua Tree in California, where a trailhead sign warned: ‘Don’t die today’.Wagga Wagga artist Nathan Lamont is at the vanguard of country-pop in Australia and he’s released another infectious song in the form of ‘Into It’. Nathan is a great singer

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33:39

Sara Storer, Shane Nicholson & Shane Howard on their...

Sunburnt Country Music ·

2026/04/11

Sara Storerhas won 22 Golden Guitar Awards, amongst many other accolades. Last year she released her eighth studio album, the outstanding Worth Your Love.Shane Nicholsonhas won ARIA Awards and 18 Golden Guitars, and in addition to making his own wonderful albums, he produces others.Shane Howardis one of Australia’s most esteemed musical artists. He founded the band Goanna in 1977, became a Member of the Order of Australia in 2016 for his service to the performing arts, and is generally what might be

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19:34

Bud Rokesky on his outstanding second album, Dusk

Sunburnt Country Music ·

2026/04/07

Bud Rokeskyis a singer-songwriter from Brisbane who released his first album,Outsider, in 2023, and if you’re a fan of that album you’ve probably never stopped listening to it, because there’s such richness in it. Then he embarked on a project in 2024 to release two singles a month, and released an album’s worth of material. Now he has a new album,Dusk, with all-new songs – none of them from the 2024 project – and he has given us another LP to fall in love with.In between those releases he’s been

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24:13

The triumphant return of Beccy Cole with her album...

Sunburnt Country Music ·

2026/04/05

Sunburnt Country Music began in earnest – under another title – in late 2011, but its roots were in 2003, when I was in a country music covers band and we played the Tamworth Country Music Festival. One of the songs in our set list – possibly the only Australian song, come to think of it – was ‘Lazy Bones’ byBeccy Cole. It first appeared on her second album,Wild at Heart, released in 2001. It would go on to become a staple of her live set with its extended coda containing a tale – based on truth –

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30:56

Savanah Solomon finds her ‘Someday Somewhere’

Sunburnt Country Music ·

2026/04/04

Savanah Solomonis a singer-songwriter from Western Australia who has released the singles 'Magnolia' and 'I Don't Know You Anymore', as well as the 2023 EPWhere the River Meets the Sea. Her latest single is 'Someday Somewhere', and it is a warm, hopeful song with more than a few great lines in it.The song was written a couple of years ago, during a period of involuntary limbo. Solomon had just found out she'd secured a fly-in fly-out job, but the start date was months away. With no income, no

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24:31

Rising star Camille Trail writes us a ‘Postcard’

Sunburnt Country Music ·

2026/03/31

Camille Trailreleased her debut albumRiver of Sinsin 2021 and the EPMagic Trickin 2024. She is known for her thoughtful, articulate and often unflinching lyrics, delivered in a warm, distinctive voice. Her new single 'Postcard' marks a deliberate shift in direction while still being distinctively her.After a big 2024 that included a UK tour and appearances at Folk Alliance in the United States, Trail spent last year recharging and writing. Personal changes fed into creative ones, and she found

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26:15

Dylan Wright on a Golden start to the year and ‘Those...

Sunburnt Country Music ·

2026/03/30

Dylan Wrighthas two musical identities that most fans will know about – as a solo artist and as one half of Golden Guitar-winning duo Sons of Atticus – and, as it turns out, a third. But more on that in a moment ... Wright’s new solo single is 'Those Nights', and he has announced an extensive Songs & Stories tour running through New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and the ACT from the start of May.The Golden Guitar, won at this year's Tamworth Country Music Festival for the track ‘Born to

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30:11

Tom Busby goes solo for his Rockhampton Hangover

Sunburnt Country Music ·

2026/03/25

Tom Busbyis well known to Australian music fans as one half of beloved duo Busby Maru. That duo remains very much a going concern, but Busby has now released his first solo album – the warm and deeply personalRockhampton Hangover.Busby grew up in the Queensland town of Rockhampton, and after two decades of relentless touring and recording with Busby Marou, he and bandmate Jeremy Marou made a deliberate decision to stop saying yes to everything. Part of Busby's break involved returning home to help

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29:16

Lindsay Waddington pays tribute to a great in latest...

Sunburnt Country Music ·

2026/03/23

Lindsay Waddingtonhas a career spanning more than three decades as a singer, songwriter, producer and renowned instrumentalist. He has released thirteen solo albums, won a Golden Guitar, and built a YouTube channel with almost nineteen million views. His latest release, 'Something of a Privilege', is a tribute to Australian music legend John Williamson.The song began as a birthday present. When Williamson turned 80, Waddington – who has become close to Williamson over the past seven or eight years,

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31:24

If you haven’t heard of Two Tone Pony … you have now!

Sunburnt Country Music ·

2026/03/16

Two Tone Ponyare a five-piece country rock band from the Central Coast of New South Wales. They released the albumBorn on the Roadin 2024 and their brand new single is 'You Haven't Heard of Me Yet'.When I interviewed Two Tone Pony founding member David Kirkpatrick, he said that the song had its origins in, of all places, a ski lodge in the New South Wales Snowy Mountains when someone, noticing the conversation had turned to music, looked him up and down and asked, ‘Tell me, what do you do

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7:28

Sunburnt Country Music news - 15 March 2026

Sunburnt Country Music ·

2026/03/15

**NB on the audio quality: I record this news on video then strip out the audio track. It's not always optimal quality but I'd rather bring you this than nothing at all**Mentioned in this instalment:William Alexander - ‘Heart of a Drover’Beccy Cole - new album Through the HazeMelanie Dyer - ‘Golden Girl’Tori Forsyth - ‘I’m Not God’Matt Joe Gow - two dates at Kew Courthouse on 21 March (evening show sold out)Felicity Urquhart & Josh Cunningham — new album Everything Around YouAmy Sheppard &

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44:46

Clancy Pye on the best things about ‘My Hometown’

Sunburnt Country Music ·

2026/03/15

Clancy Pyeis an artist from the Central West of New South Wales who has released several memorable singles, including 'Hey Mama' and 'Days Like This'. Her latest is 'My Hometown'.Pye grew up in Oberon, a town of around 3000 people, half an hour from Bathurst in New South Wales. Oberon has no traffic lights, one main street and, as she notes in the song, a part-time cop, a detail that says so much and which we discuss in this new interview.‘Most things got sorted out in the community themselves,’ Pye

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23:20

Jake Davey on life, fatherhood, work and ‘Workin’ On Me’

Sunburnt Country Music ·

2026/03/09

Jake Daveyis a multi-talented artist – a singer, songwriter, producer, videographer and photographer. He has released several infectious country-pop singles and the latest is 'Workin' On Me'.Since releasing his last single, Davey's life has changed considerably. He and his wife, Grace, are now parents to a son, Dalton, a development which is particularly significant given that a spinal cord injury in 2023 left doctors telling Davey he was unlikely to walk again, let alone have children.‘Grace

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7:05

Sunburnt Country Music news - 27 February 2026

Sunburnt Country Music ·

2026/03/01

Mentioned in this episode:Kelly Brouhaha - 'This Is All For You'Amber Lawrence - 'That’s Cowgirl To Me'Charlotte Le Lievre - ‘I Yearn To Love Someone’Tom Busby - Rockhampton Hangover- interview coming upBrooke McClymont and Adam Eckersley - ‘Now I've Said It’Felicity Urquhart & Josh Cunningham - New Frontier EPSara Berki - ‘Where I'll Be (For Adeline)’Interviews coming up:Jake DaveyClancy PyeDavid Kirkpatrick of Two Tone PonyLindsay WaddingtonDylan WrightFor more Sunburnt Country

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23:27

Melinda Schneider on her heartfelt new album Tender

Sunburnt Country Music ·

2026/02/25

Melinda Schneider first appeared on stage at the age of three and on a recording at the age of eight. Since then she has released fifteen albums and won six Golden Guitars. She runs her own label, Mpower Records, she's a keynote speaker and much more besides. Her latest album,Tender, is a moving collection of songs.There is a particular kind of courage required to make an album likeTender. Schneider has spent decades as one of Australian country music's most celebrated performers – six Golden

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