Australian country music is a part of the music of Australia. There is a broad range of styles, from bluegrass, to yodeling to folk to the more popular. The genre has been influenced by Celtic and English folk music, the Australian

bush ballad The bush ballad, bush song or bush poem is a style of poetry and folk music that depicts the life, character and scenery of the Australian bush. The typical bush ballad employs a straightforward rhyme structure to narrate a story, often one o ...

tradition, as well as by popular American country music. Themes include: outback life, the lives of stockmen, truckers and outlaws, songs of romance and of political protest; and songs about the "beauty and the terror" of the Australian bush. Early pioneers of the genre included

Tex Morton Tex Morton (born Robert William Lane in Nelson, New Zealand, also credited as Robert Tex Morton; 30 August 1916 – 23 July 1983) was a pioneer of New Zealand and Australian country and western music, vaudevillian, actor, television host and ...

Smoky Dawson Smoky Dawson AM, MBE (19 March 191313 February 2008), born as Herbert Henry Brown, was an Australian Country, Western and folk performer, radio star, entertainer, and icon. He was widely touted as Australia's first singing cowboy complete w ...

(touted as Australia's first singing cowboy), Buddy Williams,

Slim Dusty Slim Dusty, AO MBE (born David Gordon Kirkpatrick; 13 June 1927 – 19 September 2003) was an Australian country music singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He was an Australian cultural icon and one of the country's most awarded stars, ...

and Johnny Ashcroft and

Reg Lindsay Reginald John Lindsay OAM (7 July 1929 – 5 August 2008) was an Australian country music singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and radio and television personality. He won three Golden Guitar Awards and wrote more than 500 so ...

all members of the Australian Roll of Renown.

Australian Country Stars

Notable musicians include: Adam Brand, Adam Harvey, Amber Lawrence, Caitlyn Shadbolt, Christie Lamb, Jasmine Rae, Amber Lawrence, Caitlyn Shadbolt, Jasmine Rae, Troy Cassar-Daley, Davidson Brothers,

, Steve Forde, Joy McKean,

Jean Stafford Jean Stafford (July 1, 1915 – March 26, 1979) was an American short story writer and novelist. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for '' The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford'' in 1970. Biography She was born in Covina, California, to M ...

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Awards, Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one s ...

Lionel Long Lionel Joaquin Paul Long OAM (1939 – 1 January 1998) was an Australian country and folk singer, songwriter, guitarist, actor and artist. Long became one of Australia's most successful and popular country and folk artists in the 1960s, relea ...

, John Williamson,

Chad Morgan Chadwick William "Chad" Morgan OAM (born 11 February 1933) is an Australian country music singer and guitarist known for his vaudeville style of comic country and western songs, his prominent teeth and goofy stage persona. In reference to his ...

, Keith Urban, O'SHEA,

Lee Kernaghan Lee Kernaghan OAM (born 15 April 1964) is an Australian country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. Kernaghan has won four ARIA Awards and three APRA Awards, and has sold over two million albums, and as of 2021, has won 38 Golden Guitars at ...

, Melinda Schneider,

Kasey Chambers Kasey Chambers (born 4 June 1976) is an Australian country singer-songwriter and musician born in Mount Gambier. She is the daughter of fellow musicians, Diane and Bill Chambers, and the younger sister of musician and producer, Nash Chambers. ...

and

Beccy Cole Beccy Cole (born Rebecca Diane Thompson, 27 October 1972), also known as Beccy Sturtzel, Rebecca Diane Albeck and Bec O'Donovan, is an Australian country music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has released ten studio albums, wi ...

. Others influenced by the genre include Paul Kelly and Tex Perkins. Popular songs include ''

When the Rain Tumbles Down in July "When the Rain Tumbles Down in July" is an Australian country music song written by Slim Dusty. It has been covered by several other artists including Lee Kernaghan, Graeme Connors as well as Dusty's daughter Anne Kirkpatrick. The song was reco ...

'' (1946), ''

Waltzing Matilda "Waltzing Matilda" is a song developed in the Australian style of poetry and folk music called a bush ballad. It has been described as the country's "unofficial national anthem". The title was Australian slang for travelling on foot (waltzing) ...

'' (1895), '' Pub With No Beer'' (1957), '' Lights on the Hill'' (1973), '' I Honestly Love You'' (1974), '' True Blue'' (1981), '' Boys From the Bush'' (1992), and ''

Not Pretty Enough "Not Pretty Enough" is a song by Australian country singer-songwriter Kasey Chambers, produced by her brother Nash Chambers for her second studio album, '' Barricades & Brickwalls'' (2001). It was released as the album's third single on 14 Janu ...

'' (2002). Johnny-Ashcroft

Overview

Australia has a long tradition of

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

, which has developed a style quite distinct from its US counterpart, influenced by English, Irish and Scottish folk ballads and by the traditions of Australian

eers like Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson. Country instruments, including the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

, fiddle and

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica in ...

create the distinctive sound of country music in Australia and accompany songs with strong storyline and memorable chorus and lyrics. The style of Australian country music evolved under the influence of rock and roll forms. While some subject matter may be constant, musical styles differ between traditional and contemporary bush ballads. Exemplars of the traditional bush ballad style include

's "

" or "Leave Him in the Long yard" which have strong narrative in verses plus choruses set to a Pick n' Strum beat. Contemporary bush ballads may employ finger picking and strumming rock styles as in

's later version of Leave Him in the Longyard, or in Keith Urban reworking of the Slim Dusty/Joy McKean classic " Lights on the Hill".

Early bush music

The distinctive themes and origins of Australia's

bush music The bush ballad, bush song or bush poem is a style of poetry and folk music that depicts the life, character and scenery of the Australian bush. The typical bush ballad employs a straightforward rhyme structure to narrate a story, often one of a ...

can be traced to the songs sung by the convicts who were sent to Australia during the early period of the British colonisation, beginning in 1788. Early Australian ballads sing of the harsh ways of life of the epoch and of such people and events as

bushrangers Bushrangers were originally escaped convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who used the bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. By the 1820s, the term had evolved to refer to those who took up "robbery under ...

, swagmen, drovers, stockmen and shearers. Convict and bushranger verses often railed against government tyranny. Classic bush songs on such themes include: The Wild Colonial Boy, Click Go The Shears, The Eumeralla Shore, The Drover's Dream, The Queensland Drover, The Dying Stockman and Moreton Bay. Later themes which endure to the present include the experiences of war, of droughts and flooding rains, of

Aboriginality Aboriginal Australian identity, sometimes known as Aboriginality, is the perception of oneself as Aboriginal Australian, or the recognition by others of that identity. This is often related to the existence of (or the belief of the existence of) ...

and of the railways and trucking routes which link Australia's vast distances. Isolation and loneliness of life in the

Australian bush "The bush" is a term mostly used in the English vernacular of Australia and New Zealand where it is largely synonymous with '' backwoods'' or ''hinterland'', referring to a natural undeveloped area. The fauna and flora contained within this ...

has been another theme. For much of its history, Australia's bush music belonged to an oral and folkloric tradition, and was only later published in print in volumes such as Banjo Paterson's ''Old Bush Songs'', in the 1890s.

, often regarded as Australia's unofficial

National Anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

, is a quintessential early Australian country song, influenced more by Celtic folk ballads than by US Country and Western music. The lyrics were composed by the poet Banjo Paterson in 1895. This strain of Australian country music, with lyrics focusing on strictly Australian subjects, is generally known as "bush music" or "

bush band A bush band is a group of musicians that play Australian bush ballads. A similar bush band tradition is also found in New Zealand. Instruments In addition to vocals, instruments featured in bush bands may include fiddle, accordion, guitar, ...

music". Country and folk artists such as

Gary Shearston Gary Rhett Shearston (9 January 19391 July 2013) was an Australian singer and songwriter and Anglican priest. He was a leading figure of the folk music revival of the 1960s and was notable as a performer of Australian traditional folk songs in ...

Margaret Roadknight Margret RoadKnight (born in July 1943) is an Australian singer-guitarist. In a career spanning more than five decades, she has sung in a wide variety of styles including blues, jazz, gospel, comedy, cabaret, and folk. In January 1976 she rele ...

Rolf Harris Rolf Harris (born 30 March 1930) is an Australian entertainer whose career has encompassed work as a musician, singer-songwriter, composer, comedian, actor, painter and television personality. He often used unusual instruments in his performan ...

, The Bushwackers, John Williamson, and

John Schumann John Lewis Schumann (born 18 May 1953) is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist from Adelaide. He is best known as the lead singer for the folk group Redgum, with their chart-topping hit " I Was Only 19 (A Walk in the Light Green)", a s ...

of the band

Redgum Redgum were an Australian folk and political music group formed in Adelaide in 1975 by singer-songwriter John Schumann, Michael Atkinson on guitars/vocals, Verity Truman on flute/vocals; they were later joined by Hugh McDonald on fiddle and Ch ...

have continued to record and popularise the old bush ballads of Australia through the 20th and into the 21st century – and contemporary artists including Pat Drummond, Sara Storer and

draw heavily on this heritage.

Development of modern country

Pioneers of a more Americanised popular country music in Australia included

(known as ''The Father of Australian Country Music'') in the 1930s and other early stars like Buddy Williams, Shirley Thoms and

. In 1932, Tex Morton arrived from New Zealand, aged 16, and humped his swag around outback stations where he began to earn a name as a performer. In 1936 he cut his first commercial records in Australia. He went on to establish a distinctly Australian

style, shifting from American songs to songs about Australia. He attained national popularity in the 1930s and formed a traveling "Rodeo and Wildwest Show" in the 1940s. In 1949 he travelled to North America and Europe enjoying great success as a stage hypnotist, working in film and with artists such as

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

. He returned to Australia in the early 1960s, by which time a generation of performers had carved a place for the Australian themed country music he pioneered. Olivia Newton-John Sydney 2008

cut his first recording in 1941: "I'm a Happy Go Lucky Cowhand". In 1952, Dawson began a radio show, and went on to national stardom as a yodelling, whip cracking, knife throwing, singing cowboy of radio, TV and film. Known as "Canada's Yodelling Cowboy",

Donn Reynolds Stanley Beresford "Donn" Reynolds (June 26, 1921 – August 16, 1997) was a Canadian country music singer and yodeler most widely known for his Bavarian style of yodeling. Often referred to as Canada's "king of the yodelers",Peters Ice Cream Peters Ice Cream is an Australian ice cream brand, now a subsidiary of European food firm Froneri. It was originally developed by an expatriate American, Frederick (Fred) Augustus Bolles Peters in 1907, using his mother's recipe. History The ...

as the "Peter's Singing Cowboy". Reynolds achieved notoriety through song and screen performances worldwide, and later established 2 world records for yodeling.

( AM) (1927–2003) was known as the "King of Australian Country Music", and helped to popularise the Australian

. His successful career spanned almost six decades and his 1957 hit "

A Pub With No Beer "A Pub with No Beer" is the title of a humorous country song made famous by country singers Slim Dusty (in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States) and Bobbejaan Schoepen (in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria). Gordon Pa ...

" was the biggest-selling record by an Australian to that time, the first Australian single to go

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

, and the first and only 78 rpm record to be awarded a gold disc. Dusty remains Australia's most successful and prolific performer, and won more Gold and Platinum albums than any other Australian artist. Dusty recorded and released his one-hundredth album in the year 2000 and was given the honour of singing ''

'' in the closing ceremony of the

Sydney 2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. Dusty was accorded a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of ...

upon his death and with over 7 million Australian record sales he remains Australia's most successful domestic music artist.Dave" Laing
"Slim Dusty: Country singer famous for A Pub With No Beer"
, ''The Guardian (UK)'', 20 September 2003 Slim Dusty's wife Joy McKean, ( OAM) penned several of his most popular songs including "Indian Pacific", "The Biggest Disappointment" and " Lights on the Hill". Their daughter

Anne Kirkpatrick Anne Kirkpatrick (born 4 July 1952) is an Australian country music singer. She is the daughter of country singers Slim Dusty and Joy McKean. Biography She also has a brother, David Kirkpatrick, who is an accomplished singer-songwriter. The yea ...

is also a successful singer-songwriter. The family began annual round Australia tours in 1964 – encompassing a 30,000-mile, 10-month journey which was the subject of a feature film, '' The Slim Dusty Movie'' in 1984. Although himself an accomplished writer of songs, Dusty had a number of other songwriters including Mack Cormack, Gordon Parsons,

Stan Coster Stan Coster OAM (27 May 193025 March 1997) was an Australian country music singer-songwriter. His songs were regularly performed by Slim Dusty and other singers. He is the father of country music singer Tracy Coster. Early life Stan Coster was ...

and Kelly Dixon who were typically short on formal education but big on personal experience of the

. Coster wrote popular Dusty bush ballads including "The Cunamulla Fella" and "Three Rivers Hotel" based on his own experience of working as a sheep hand and railway construction worker. Drawing on his travels and such writers over a span of decades, Dusty almost inadvertently chronicled the story of a rapidly changing post-war Australian nation. Nevertheless, the arrival of

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

music saw major metropolitan music radio stations abandon support for country artists like Dusty and despite record sales in the multi millions, he and other successful Australian country artists were rarely heard on air outside regional centres in Australia until the new cross-over pop-country styles of the 1990s began to be heard again on city airwaves. In 1951, country singer-songwriter

, ( OAM), began broadcasting on Sydney radio and remained on air for 12 years. In 1964 he took over Channel 9's " The Country & Western Hour", which was networked around Australia and ran for seven and a half years. Soon after the show was replaced with "Reg Lindsay's Country Homestead" from Brisbane. The show gave hundreds of young artists a boost and helped to boost the Australian country music industry. Another enduring talent of Australian country music has been

, who began recording in the 1950s and is known for his vaudeville style of comic Australian country and western songs, his prominent teeth and goofy stage persona. In reference to his first recording he is known as The Sheik of Scrubby Creek. Johnny Ashcroft ( OAM) had an early country-rock chart success in Australia and New Zealand while

Frank Ifield Francis Edward Ifield OAM (born 30 November 1937) is a British-Australian country music singer and guitarist who often incorporated yodelling into his music. After living in Australia, Ifield returned to the United Kingdom in November 1959 wher ...

achieved considerable success in the early 1960s, especially in the UK Singles Charts.

was one of the first Australians to perform at

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a div ...

in 1974. His international hit ''Armstrong'', a tribute to the historic 1969

moon landing A Moon landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. This includes both crewed and robotic missions. The first human-made object to touch the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 2, on 13 September 1959. The United S ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who became the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor. ...

is now included in a

time capsule A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ...

at the

Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late ...

in Houston, Texas.

Ted Egan Edward Joseph Egan (born 6 July 1932) is an Australian folk musician and a former public servant who served as Administrator of the Northern Territory from 2003 to 2007. Early life Egan was born in Coburg, Victoria, moving to the Northern Ter ...

( AM) began recording in 1969 and has released 28 albums, mostly themed around outback life, history and Aboriginal affairs.

Eric Bogle Eric Bogle (born 23 September 1944) is a Scottish-born Australian folk singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Scotland, he emigrated to Australia at the age of 25, to settle near Adelaide, South Australia. Bogle's songs have covered a variety of ...

's 1972 folk lament to the Gallipoli campaign "

And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" is a song written by Scottish-born Australian singer-songwriter Eric Bogle in 1971. The song describes war as futile and gruesome, while criticising those who seek to glorify it. This is exemplified in the s ...

" recalled the Celtic origins of Australian folk-country. Cunnamulla Fella

Singer-songwriter John Williamson, ( OAM) began to build his reputation as an iconic Australian entertainer with his 1970 performance of his first song "

Old Man Emu "Old Man Emu" is a song written and recorded by the Australian country singer John Williamson. In 1970, Williamson performed the song on TV talent show, ''New Faces'', winning first place. Williamson signed with Fable Records after the win. "O ...

" on

New Faces ''New Faces'' is a British television talent show that aired in the 1970s and 1980s. It has been hosted by Leslie Crowther, Derek Hobson and Marti Caine. It was produced for the ITV network by ATV, and later by Central. Original series: 197 ...

(influenced by novelty works of

such as Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport). It was the first of many popular songs employing

Australian slang Australian English is a major variety of the English language spoken throughout Australia. Most of the vocabulary of Australian English is shared with British English, though there are notable differences. The vocabulary of Australia is drawn ...

. In 1982 he released " True Blue" and subsequent works including '' Mallee Boy'', the lyrical "Galleries of Pink Galahs" and reworkings of Australian

bush ballads The bush ballad, bush song or bush poem is a style of poetry and folk music that depicts the life, character and scenery of the Australian bush. The typical bush ballad employs a straightforward rhyme structure to narrate a story, often one of a ...

and folk songs earned him a permanent position as leading exponent of Australian country and folk music. In 1970, Tamworth's Radio 2TM organised the landmark ''Bicentennial Concert'' to mark the 200th anniversary of the voyage of Captain

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...

along the coast of Eastern Australia. The pioneers of Australian country music

, Joy McKean, Barry Thornton, "Smiling" Billy Blinkhorn,

, Shirley Thoms and Buddy Bishop all featured in the concert which contributed to a revival of interest in Australian country music which had struggled for airplay since the arrival of rock and roll in Australia. The

Tamworth Country Music Festival The Tamworth Country Music Festival is an annual Australian music festival held for 10 days from Friday to Sunday in mid to late January each year, sometimes including Australia Day, in Tamworth, New South Wales. The festival is the second bigg ...

began in 1973 and now attracts up to a 100,000 visitors annually. In 1974, a popular cross-over artist

, ( MBE), ( OAM), received the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

's Top Female Vocalist award in the US, despite protest from American country purists. Her popular hits have included I Honestly Love You and Tenterfield Saddler by Australian singer-songwriter Peter Allen as well as country classics such as "

Banks of the Ohio "Banks of the Ohio", also known as "Down on the Banks of the Ohio" and "I'll Never Be Yours", is a 19th-century murder ballad, written by unknown authors. The lyrics tell of "Willie" who invites his young lover for a walk during which she rejects hi ...

" and "

Take Me Home, Country Roads "Take Me Home, Country Roads", also known simply as "Country Roads", is a song written by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert and John Denver about West Virginia. It was released as a single performed by Denver on April 12, 1971, peaking at number two ...

Aboriginal country

Country music has been particularly popular among the

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait I ...

and

Torres Strait Islander Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia ...

peoples, creating a sub-genre often termed Aboriginal country music.

Jimmy Little James Oswald Little, AO (1 March 19372 April 2012) was an Australian Aboriginal musician, actor and teacher, who was a member of the Yorta Yorta tribe and was raised on the Cummeragunja Reserve, New South Wales. Little started his profes ...

was a pioneer, Georgia Lee was of the same era (1940s–50s).

Dougie Young Dougie Young was a singer and songwriter from South West Queensland. Young had a white father (Frank Young) and a Gurnu mother (Olive Kathleen née McCarthy). Earlier in his life he worked as a stockman, during which he learnt the guitar and st ...

Lionel Rose Lionel Edmund Rose MBE (21 June 1948 – 8 May 2011) was an Australian former professional boxer who competed from 1964 to 1976. He held the undisputed WBA, WBC, and ''The Ring'' bantamweight titles from 1968 to 1969, becoming the first ...

, and Harry and Wilga Williams and their band the Country Outcasts were very popular during the 1960s and 1970s. Gus Williams,

Auriel Andrew Auriel Andrew (1947 – 2 January 2017) was an award-winning Arrernte country musician from the Northern Territory of Australia. Biography Andrew was born in Darwin, and grew up in Mparntwe, Northern Territory. She is Arrernte, the Traditi ...

, and

Isaac Yamma Isaac Yamma (or Yama) (1940 – January 1990) was a country singer from Central Australia. He was a Pitjantjatjara man who was born by a waterhole near Docker River (Kaltukatjara). He started his musical career as a member of Areyonga Desert Tig ...

were active from the 1970s, and the 1980s brought

Roger Knox Roger Knox (born 1948) is an Australian country singer, known as the Black Elvis and the Koori King of Country. Early life Knox is from the Gamilaroi nation, part of the Aboriginal Australian community, and was born in Moree, New South Wales. ...

("godfather of

Koori Koori (also spelt koorie, goori or goorie) is a demonym for Aboriginal Australians from a region that approximately corresponds to southern New South Wales and Victoria. The word derives from the Indigenous language Awabakal. For some people ...

music"), Warren H. Williams, Kev Carmody,

Archie Roach Archibald William Roach (8 January 1956 – 30 July 2022) was an Australian singer, songwriter and Aboriginal activist. Often referred to as "Uncle Archie", Roach was a Gunditjmara and Bundjalung elder who campaigned for the rights of Abori ...

, Ruby Hunter, Tiddas, and the Warumpi Band, among many others. Troy Cassar-Daley is among Australia's successful contemporary Indigenous performers. Carmody and Roach have employed a combination of folk-rock and country music to sing about Aboriginal rights issues. The book, documentary film, and soundtrack ''

Buried Country ''Buried Country'' is the name of a documentary film, book, and soundtrack album released in 2000, and a stage show which toured from 2016 to 2018. A prosopography created by Clinton Walker, it tells the story of Australian country music in the ...

'' (2000) showcase significant Indigenous musicians from the 1940s to the 1990s.

Contemporary

In 1992, The

Country Music Association of Australia The Country Music Association of Australia (CMAA) is an association formed in 1992 that promotes and represents the Australian country music industry. As the peak national industry body, its activities include organisation, promotion and stagin ...

was launched in

Tamworth, New South Wales Tamworth is a city and administrative centre of the north-western region of New South Wales, Australia. Situated on the Peel River within the local government area of the Tamworth Regional Council, it is the largest and most populated city in t ...

to encourage, develop and promote Australian Country Music.

was its first Chairman, John Williamson its Vice Chairman, Joy McKean was Treasurer, Max Ellis Secretary and Phil Matthews Public Officer. After negotiations, Tamworth's Radio 2TM agreed to hand over responsibility for the

Golden Guitar The Big Golden Guitar is one of the many "big" attractions that can be found around Australia. Located in Tamworth, New South Wales, the monument is one of the best-known points of interest in New England. It is also a major attraction duri ...

Awards to the new body. Kasey Chambers

In recent years, country music has consolidated its position as a popular genre in Australia, with well attended festivals and a large number of top-selling albums and songs. By the 1990s, Country music had attained cross-over success in the pop charts with artists like James Blundell,

James Reyne James Michael Nugent Reyne OAM (born 19 May 1957) is an Australian rock musician and singer-songwriter both in solo work and, until 1986, with the band Australian Crawl. Biography Early years Reyne was born in Lagos, Nigeria. His father, Rod ...

singing " Way Out West", and country star

winning the

ARIA Award for Best Female Artist The ARIA Music Award for Best Female Artist, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Indu ...

in 2000, 2002 and 2003 and becoming the youngest artist to ever be inducted into the

ARIA Hall of Fame In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompani ...

Alternative country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style ...

star Chambers is the daughter of steel guitarist Bill Chambers. Her hits include "

" (2002), " True Colours" (2003) and "

Pony A pony is a type of small horse ('' Equus ferus caballus''). Depending on the context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. Compared ...

" (2004) which all peaked in Australia's Top Ten. The cross-over influence of Australian country is also evident in the music of successful contemporary bands

The Waifs The Waifs (originally styled as The WAiFS) are an Australian folk rock band formed in 1992 by sisters Vikki Thorn (harmonica, guitar, vocals) and Donna Simpson (guitar, vocals) as well as Josh Cunningham (guitar, vocals). Their tour and recor ...

and

The John Butler Trio The John Butler Trio are an Australian Folk music, roots/Rock music, rock band led by guitarist and vocalist John Butler (musician), John Butler, an Australasian Performing Right Association, APRA and ARIA-award-winning musician. They formed in F ...

. Singer-songwriter Paul Kelly whose music style straddles folk, rock, and country is often described as the ''poet laureate'' of Australian music. Eclectic rocker

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, ...

has been heavily influenced by the US country music artist

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...

. Cave has recorded a number of country covers including several on his 1986 album ''

Kicking Against the Pricks ''Kicking Against the Pricks'' is the third album released by the rock music group Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. First released in 1986, the album is a collection of Cave's interpretations of songs by other artists. The title is a reference to a ...

'', which has such well-known country classics as "

By the Time I Get to Phoenix "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" is a song written by Jimmy Webb. Originally recorded by Johnny Rivers in 1965, it was covered by American country music singer Glen Campbell on his album of the same name. Released on Capitol Records in 1967, Camp ...

", "

Long Black Veil "Long Black Veil" is a 1959 country ballad, written by Danny Dill and Marijohn Wilkin and originally recorded by Lefty Frizzell. It is told from the point of view of a man falsely accused of murder and executed. He refuses to provide an alib ...

" and "The Singer" (a.k.a. "The Folksinger"). In 2000, Cash, covered Cave's " The Mercy Seat" on the album '' American III: Solitary Man''. Subsequently, Cave cut a duet with Cash on a version of

' "

I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer-songwriter Hank Williams in 1949. The song has been covered by a wide range of musicians. Authorship and production Various writers quoted Williams a ...

" for Cash's '' American IV: The Man Comes Around'' album (2002). Popular and emerging contemporary performers of Australian country include:

(whose hits include the contemporary country classic " Boys From the Bush") and sister

Tania Kernaghan Tania Maree Kernaghan (born 18 July 1968) is an Australian country music singer. During her career, Tania has earned fifteen number one radio hits singles, numerous awards, sell out concerts and record sales in the hundreds of thousands. She h ...

, Melinda Schneider,

Gina Jeffreys Gina Jeffreys (also known as Gina Jeffries, Gina Hillenberg and Gina McCormack born 1 April 1968) is an Australian country singer-songwriter and radio presenter. Career In 1991, Jeffreys competed in The Toyota Star Maker Quest at the Tamworth C ...

Felicity Urquhart Felicity Ann Urquhart (born 4 May 1976) is an Australian country and western music singer-songwriter, and a TV and radio presenter. Her single "Big Black Cloud", co-written with Randy Scruggs, reached No. 1 on Country Tracks National Top&nb ...

Shannon Noll Shannon Noll (born 16 September 1975) is an Australian singer-songwriter who first came to prominence as runner-up of the first season of ''Australian Idol'' in 2003, which led to him being signed to Sony BMG. He has released five top ten albu ...

Tracy Coster Tracy Coster is an Australian country music singer and songwriter. She was born on 12 April 1966. Her father, Stan Coster, was an acknowledged songwriter. Early life It is hard to determine the time Tracy Coster started her career. She was born ...

, Sara Storer, and brother

Doug Storer Doug Storer (1899–1985) was a radio producer, talent agent, and writer responsible for creating and producing radio programs from the 1930s to the 1960s, including ''Ripley's Believe It or Not! ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American fr ...

. Sara Storer's award-winning second album Beautiful Circle prompted Melbourne's

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

newspaper to report that "As we lament the death of

, here is evidence that authentic, yet contemporary Australian bush country has not died with his passing". Her Australian accent, song subject matter and collaborations with established balladeers John Williamson and Paul Kelly link her to the oldest traditions of Australian country music. In the United States, Australian country music stars including

Sherrié Austin Sherrie Veronica Krenn (born 28 August 1970), known professionally as Sherrié Austin, is an Australian actress and country music singer. Active as a singer since her teenage years, Austin initially recorded as one half of the duo Colourhaus, w ...

and Keith Urban have attained great success. In 1991, Urban released a self-titled debut album and charted four singles in Australia before moving to the United States in 1992 going on to chart more than fifteen singles on the US country charts, including ten Number Ones. Urban has proven extremely successful internationally and has won the

Country Music Association Award for Male Vocalist of the Year The following list shows the recipients for the Country Music Association Award for Male Vocalist of the Year. This Award goes to the artist. The Award is based on individual musical performance on a solo Country single or album release, as well a ...

three times and their top Entertainer of the Year honour twice.

Awards and festivals

The

is an annual country music festival held in

(Country music capital of Australia). It celebrates the culture and heritage of Australian country music. During the festival the

holds the

Country Music Awards of Australia The Country Music Awards of Australia also known as the Golden Guitar Awards (originally named Australasian Country Music Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, in Tamworth, New South Wales ...

ceremony awarding the

trophies and the Tamworth Songwriters Association hosts the annual Tamworth Songwriters Association Songwriting Awards. Another important Country festival, the Gympie Muster began in near

Gympie Gympie ( ) is a city and a locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the Wide Bay-Burnett District, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River, which floods Gympie occasionally. The ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

in 1982. The non-profit community-based festival raises funds for charity and attracts around 25,000 fans to listen to stars and new talents alike. As well as mainstream Australian country the event showcases the breadth of contemporary Australian country: from folk and bush poetry, to

alternative country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style ...

. Indigenous country music is in evidence at the

Deadly Awards The Deadly Awards, commonly known simply as The Deadlys, was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. The event was held from 1995 to 2013. Description T ...

, a celebration of Indigenous musicians and their music. The

Mildura Country Music Festival The Mildura Country Music Festival was an annual Australian country music music festival, festival based in Mildura, Victoria, Mildura, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The 1994 event was held in October, which the Australian Country Music Ambass ...

celebrates the ''Australian Independent Country Music Awards'' every October. Other significant country music festivals include the Whittlesea Country Music Festival held north of Melbourne in February, Boyup Brook Country Music Festival held in Western Australian in February, Bamera Country Music Festival held in South Australia in June, the National Country Muster held in Gympie during August and the Canberra Country Music Festival held in the national capital during November. Some festivals are quite unique in their location: the Groundwater Country Music Festival is held beachside in Broadbeach, on the beautiful Gold Coast annually on the last weekend in July. Grabine State Park in New South Wales promotes Australian country music through the Grabine Music Muster Festival; Marilyns Country Music Festival is a unique event held in South Australia's

Smoky Bay Smoky or Smokey may refer to: People * Smoky Babe (1927–1975), American acoustic blues guitarist and singer born Robert Brown * Smoky Burgess (1927–1991), American Major League Baseball catcher * Smoky Dawson (1913–2008), Australian country ...

annually in September and is the only music festival in the world using an oyster barge as a stage. Along with the festivals above, there are also event that include country music such as Musters, Field Days and rural shows.

Media

Australian country music is promoted heavily through dedicated media outlets in Australia including: Television *

Country Music Channel Country Music Channel (CMC) was an Australian cable and satellite music television channel owned and operated by Foxtel Networks. It was the only country music video channel in Australia, created after the departure of MusicCountry from the A ...

Radio *

ABC Country ABC Country is a digital radio station, available on mobile devices, DAB+ digital radio, digital TV and online. A small number of self-help retransmissions, mainly in West Australia and Queensland also carry the station's programme stream. It ...

* Triple M Country Digital *

KIX Country Kix or KIX may refer to: Music * Kix Brooks (born 1955), member of the country music duo Brooks & Dunn * Kix (band), American band who achieved popularity in the 1980s ** ''Kix'' (album), 1981 debut album by Kix * "Kix" (song), a 1997 song re ...

Network *

Planet Country with Big Stu & MJ Planet Country is a country music radio and video program based in Sydney, Australia and presented by Big Stu and MJ. The program airs a country music format focusing on modern, crossover country. The radio show aired live on SWR Triple 9, broadc ...

(program) * Today's Country 94.1 *

98.9 FM The following radio stations broadcast on FM frequency 98.9 MHz: Argentina * CONTEMPORANEA, desde Jose C. Paz. * Activa in Concordia, Entre Ríos * Si in Rosario, Santa Fe * Radio de Folklore in Córdoba * Apuntes in Santos Lugares, Buenos Ai ...

Internet Radio * The Wolf Australia * Australian Country Radio Print Media * Country Update (magazine) * Country Capital News (magazine) Digital Media * The Wolf Australia

References

External links

Marilyns Country Music Muster Smoky BayCountry Music Association of AustraliaCountryMusicNetwork.com.auVintage Country MusicCountry Music Channel AustraliaBen Sorensen's REAL Country – Australian country music interviews
* Listen to an excerpt of

'
'Wrap Me Up With My Stockwhip and Blanket'
o
australianscreen online
* 'Wrap Me Up with My Stockwhip and Blanket' was added to the

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...

Sounds of Australia The Sounds of Australia, formerly the National Registry of Recorded Sound, is the National Film and Sound Archive's selection of sound recordings which are deemed to have cultural, historical and aesthetic significance and relevance for Australi ...

registry in 2010 {{Music of Australia Australian styles of music