Sunburnt Country Music

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 vocal talents and offers a party song with substance. Recently I spoke with them about how their friendship developed and how they turned it into a songwriting then recording collaboration. It’s clear that they have great respect for each other, which is no doubt one of the reasons why their first release together is so strong. We also talked about them working with producers MSquared and how that experience pushed them both as artists, in a good way. We also chatted about the music video for ‘Trouble’, which not only looks like fun but, as it turns out, was fun to make too. Darke is on tour with her The Voice co-star Brad Butcher (dates below) and Santilli also has some shows coming up – including one in Rome!Tori Darke tour dates Friday 28th March - Old Bundy Tavern – Bundaberg, QLD (w/ Brad Butcher)Saturday 29th March - Junction Cafe – Toondoon, QLD (w/ Brad Butcher)Sunday 30th March - Great Western hotel – Rockhampton, QLD (w/ Brad Butcher)Friday 4th April - Metropolitan Hotel – Mackay, QLD (w/ Brad Butcher)Saturday 5th April - Mansfield Hotel – Townsville, QLD (w/ Brad Butcher)Thursday 10th April - The Brass Monkey – Cronulla, NSW (w/ Brad Butcher)Friday 11th April - Django Bar – Marrickville, NSW (w/ Brad Butcher)Saturday 12th April - The Beer Shed – Leumeah, NSW (w/ Brad Butcher)Sunday 13th April - The Royal Hotel Queanbeyan – Queanbeyan, NSW (w/ Brad Butcher)Saturday 28th June - Country Fest – Bloomsbury, QLDSaturday 23rd August - Gympie Music Muster - Amamoor State Forest, QLDJay Santilli tour dates Friday 4th April – Melbourne Muster (Pre-Muster) – Scoresby, VICSaturday 10th May – Country Gals Festival – Shepparton, VICSunday 15th June – Sweat & Dust Country Festival – Rome, ItalyListen to ‘Trouble’ on Apple MusicListen to ‘Trouble’ on SpotifyFollow Sunburnt Country Music on InstagramFollow Sunburnt Country Music on Facebook Sunburnt Country Music website 

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=p98dAX3c67IBen Mastwyk – ‘All the Songs I Wrote’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69cdGS7mo7cAbbie Ferris – ‘Don’t Cha Dare!’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LX9-wzSW4i4Max Jackson – ‘Grass’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPXk7Swy_I0Dear Tommie – ‘A Man, Written by a Woman’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLwG9kr-CPwMinor Gold – ‘Way to the Sun’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuVoTQXI4d4Felicity Urquhart & Josh Cunningham – ‘Joy Roller’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT6AXfCaor4KEZRA – ‘Another Life’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1LbpPUWaEYCassidy-Rae – ‘You Make Me’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtw_YS1BLEc

**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 breathing music most of her life, and it shows in the songs she has released so far, including the hit ‘Heaven Can’t Wait’. That song has great emotional resonance, and it’s clear Pye is not afraid of tough topics, as evidenced by her latest single, ‘Days Like This’, which was sparked by realising that there are children going to their first day of school who may be missing a parent. Delving further into Pye’s life and experiences, we talked about her work as a physiotherapist, and it’s clear that it’s had a big influence on how she sees the world and how much sensitivity she has towards other people and what they’re going through. This enables her to be able to take a big topic such as the one she addresses in this song and have the skills necessary to find an elegant way to write about it when there are only so many verses and a chorus in which to contain her story and message. ‘Days Like This’ will get you from the first verse, so be ready. It also comes with a powerful music video, which you can see here.Listen to ‘Days Like This’ by Clancy Pye on Apple MusicListen to ‘Days Like This’ by Clancy Pye on SpotifyFollow Sunburnt Country Music on InstagramFollow Sunburnt Country Music on Facebook Sunburnt Country Music website 

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. As she is upfront about that – and I take my cues from the artists in terms of what they’re prepared to discuss – it seemed like the most appropriate place to start our conversation about the EP. So we do. There is no preamble to it, just to let you know.The substance of this EP is there in its title. Sometimes it seems that longing is out of fashion – that we should be striving and attaining instead. Longing suggests limbo – yearning for something that may never materialise. Grief is a form of longing, and so is wanting a life that takes a certain shape, and Gracie addresses that too. This is an EP for those who are not afraid to open up the veins of life and see what’s coursing there, aware that it might be dark and murky but they want to know anyway. There is so much sweetness on it too. It’s impossible not to be moved by an artist who wants so much that is going to be always out of reach, and also wants things which may yet transpire and she’s putting them on the record, literally.I appreciate Gracie Jean’s honesty in this interview and hope you find as much substance in it as I did, as a way of providing context for Having & Longing.Listen to Gracie Jean on Apple MusicListen to Gracie Jean on SpotifyFollow Sunburnt Country Music on InstagramFollow Sunburnt Country Music on Facebook Sunburnt Country Music website 

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 having a dream about doing that very thing, and we talk about the significance of it to him. Lamont has been performing live since childhood, and was twice a Toyota Star Maker Grand Finalist before taking a break from music. Over the past couple of years he became a Grand Finalist once more, and established new songwriting and producing collaborations that have led to the creation of consistently great songs. That sort of artistry does not come from a void, which is why it’s always so interesting to talk to artists about their backgrounds, and each time Lamont and I speak there is more to talk about, as it becomes increasingly clear that the music he’s making now is the result of the years of work he put in before it, starting with his involvement in his local country music club in the Riverina, facilitated by his stepmother Milly. This conversation is a long one, but aren’t long podcast episodes the thing these days?Lamont has some shows coming up, including A Night in Nashville in Orange, which is now sold out, and a return to the Karijini Experience in Western Australia, which will be a very different affair (details below). He’s also looking ahead to what’s possible this year, and if the trajectory continues the year will, at the very least, bring more fantastic songs.See Nathan Lamont liveMarch 1st – Country Music Night - Glenorie RSL – Glenorie, NSWMarch 15th – A Night In Nashville – Orange Showgrounds - Orange, NSWApril 11th – 12th – Karijini Experience – Karijini National Park - Karijini, WAApril 29th – The Beer Shed – Campbelltown, NSW (w/ Alex Mather)Listen to Nathan Lamont on Apple Music        Listen to Nathan Lamont on SpotifyFollow Sunburnt Country Music on InstagramFollow Sunburnt Country Music on Facebook Sunburnt Country Music website 

**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 thing for me after I was very ill in July 2011 – and if you want to hear that story you can listen to the latest episode of Tori Forsyth’s podcast In the Thick of It, as I talk about it there. I’d done a fair bit of interviewing by that time, of musicians in Canada when I lived there, and of a variety of people at the Seven Network when I worked there. That didn’t mean I was great at it, so Aleyce got a very early version of Interviewer Me. And it was also Interviewer Me in a vulnerable state, as I was still recovering. Writing about Australian country music, doing those interviews, would become a way to not only come back to myself but leap ahead.I’m sharing this story as a way of introducing this interview with Aleyce about her latest single, ‘Things I’ve Learned’, because in our interview Aleyce shares her story of being gravely unwell while pregnant with her daughter, Georgia. So unwell that she wrote the song for Georgia in case she wasn’t around any more to tell it. Aleyce was so brave telling this story. What she has to say is not only the story behind the song but the story of what it takes to survive something you aren’t sure you’ll survive, then to emerge and create art that offers great meaning to others. It goes without saying that the artist who made this song is not the same one I interviewed fourteen years ago – of course she’s not. But she’s also not the artist she was two years ago. She has not only been forged in the greatest fire of her life but forged herself and emerged a warrior with armour that is made not of steel but of dreams and hopes and determination. All that is there to hear in the song, and in this interview too. Aleyce also has some very interesting things to say about the changes in the music industry since she released her single ‘Mighty, Mighty Love’ twenty years ago, as well as pursuing her career while managing serious health conditions. A lot of ground is covered, and Aleyce was so generous with her insights. This is the story of what it means to persist – to insist, actually, on having an artistic life, a creative life, amidst enormous challenges. As she says, ‘This music life is so much more than getting out there and singing songs. It's about making people feel … We put whatever is going on in our lives behind us, and get out there and be brave.’ I thank her so much for sharing her story with me, and with you.Listen to Aleyce Simmonds on Apple MusicListen to Aleyce Simmonds on SpotifySunburnt Country Music website 

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=b0fa79e66f9d4724Nathan Lamont – ‘Bigger Things’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6uCIi84t7A The Wolfe Brothers & Lee Kernaghan – ‘Country Is Coming to Town’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc1nowUJejsAmy Sheppard – ‘Mr Mistake’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2c0QfgUCz0Denvah – Valentine’s Day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBFW_hyBx3UGenevieve Chadwick – ‘Wildfire’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUfBWd-f6SgMichael Carpenter – ‘If Tomorrow Was Today’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et5ZDS9EVUcShara Rose – ‘All I Want’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRgVx7siIy0Tori Darke & Jay Santilli - 'Trouble' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ga8brJIgfkClancy Pye - 'Days Like This' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJgHUgTvHisSons of Atticus - 'Tennessee Tipsy' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbJe0Wxv8Cw

**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 everyone leaves her shows uplifted and entertained.Her recorded music also has that effect, as she moves from heartbreaking songs like ‘The Willow Tree’ on her 2014 album Heart of Sorrow to the I-know-better-now take on life in ‘I Won’t Do That Again’ from her 2022 Golden Guitar-winning album Wiser. Both of those albums were produced by the esteemed Shane Nicholson, but for her latest single, ‘Paper Cut’, Bowtell has stepped behind the desk to take on the role of producing, alongside her partner Damon Morton.‘Paper Cut’ has Bowtell’s trademark ability to capture poignancy in song. She is an observer of the strengths and frailties of being human, and able to document them not only through lyrics but in her vocal delivery. There is always a sense that Bowtell is acutely aware that life has challenges - and she’s there to make them better by sharing her artistry. She does that too through her role as Director of the Academy of Country Music in Tamworth, where she has shepherded Junior and Senior Academy students through some of the most formative times of their lives.It is always an honour to interview Bowtell, who I refer to as a national treasure because I mean it. How lucky we are to have her in our backyard, to be proximate to such excellence. How lucky was I to be able to chat to her about music and life and songwriting and producing, and many other things in this interview. I hope you enjoy it. Listen to ‘Paper Cut’ by Lyn Bowtell on Apple Music          Listen to ‘Paper Cut’ by Lyn Bowtell on SpotifyFollow Sunburnt Country Music on InstagramFollow Sunburnt Country Music on Facebook Sunburnt Country Music website