NB: These are the notes for the podcast episode dated 22 February 2025 – to listen to the songs on YouTube click on the heading for each song.
To listen to the episode with tracks included, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or you can watch the video version below.
For the cumulative February New Releases playlist – which contains these songs and more – go to Spotify.
Nathan Lamont – ‘Bigger Things’
Nathan Lamont is a country-pop artist from Wagga Wagga in New South Wales and a regular interviewee for me because, well, I love this music and he’s great to chat to. His latest single is ‘Bigger Things’ and I did, in fact, have a chat to him about it, and that’s coming up on the podcast. For now, you can listen to the song and if you’re in Orange on 15 March you can catch him at A Night in Nashville, although I believe it is already sold out to the tune of 1400 tickets.
The Wolfe Brothers & Lee Kernaghan – ‘Country Is Coming to Town’
Fresh from their 10th Golden Guitar Award win, The Wolfe Brothers release their new single with Australian country music legend, Lee Kernaghan. The track, ‘Country is Coming To Town’, is a collaboration between these two leading country acts. It is also the follow up to the Wolfe Brothers singles ‘Little By Little’ and ‘Beer In A Bar’.
The Wolfe Brothers, comprised of Nick and Tom Wolfe, have released 6 studio albums to date and amassed streams in excess of 20 million.‘Country Is Coming To Town’, the new single, was penned by Nick Wolfe, Tom Wolfe, Rich Redmond and Eric Halbig, and produced by Rod McCormack.
Says Tom Wolfe:
‘As soon as we wrote ‘Country is Coming To Town’ we knew we had written something fun! To us it felt very Lee Kernaghan influenced, so we thought – let’s ask him to be on it!’
Amy Sheppard – ‘Mr Mistake’
Amy Sheppard is from the band Sheppard, which she formed with her siblings several years ago. Solo she performs country music, and she has a new single, ‘Mr Mistake’, from her debut solo album, which will be released later this year.
Says Sheppard: ‘I’m so excited to release Mr. Mistake on Valentine’s Day—this one’s for anyone ready to move on from ‘their big mistake.’ It’s a fun checklist of red flags to watch out for in a guy who thinks he’s ‘all that.’ Like my previous singles, it’s perfect to turn up loud in the car, and I can’t wait to perform it live for the first time!”
In the first two years of her solo country music career, Sheppard has amassed SIX Top 5 hits on the Australian country airplay chart and was the most played Australian female artist on country radio in 2022-23, and released her debut EP, Nothing But Wild, which reached #1 on the ARIA Australian Country Album chart.
Denvah – Valentine’s Day
2024 Australian Idol Grand Finalist Denvah kicked off 2025 at the Tamworth Country Music Festival, where she was a standout performer at KIX Live in the Park and earned a nomination for New Talent of the Year at the 53rd Toyota Golden Guitar Awards. Her momentum continues as she joins Adam Harvey on his Let The Song Take You Home Album Tour,before stepping onto the stage at CMC Rocks, the southern hemisphere’s biggest country music festival.
When I saw Denvah play at the Metro in Sydney recently, she told us the story behind ‘Valentine’s Day’, her latest single, and let’s just say she had some good material from a breakup and she’s using it to very good effect in this song.
Genevieve Chadwick – ‘Wildfire’
This is a firecracker of a song, and yes that is a bit of a pun. It’s also the first single from Genevieve Chadwick’s third album.
‘The lyrics delve into escapism and the consequences of not facing the truth,’ she explains. ‘“Wildfire” is a call to confront the chaos within, despite the costs and fallout, reminding us that true transformation often begins with an honest reckoning.’
The track is produced by Chadwick along with long-time Kasey Chambers collaborator and drummer Syd Green at his Jervis Bay Recording Studios. Syd also contributes drums, percussion, slide guitar and pedal steel, while Mick Malouf provides bass, and Genevieve rounds out the studio band on acoustic guitar.
Michael Carpenter – ‘If Tomorrow Was Today’
Michael Carpenter is so prolific an artist, releasing singles with the Banks Brothers – with whom he’s had Golden Guitar accolades – and the April Family and the CRC, that I hadn’t realised he hadn’t released a solo single in a while until this new song, ‘If Tomorrow Was Today’, came out. I love Carpenter’s voice, and his melodic sensibilities, and they are both on display in this song.
Says Carpenter of the song:
‘I’d been thinking that I’d been hiding behind my side projects for long enough. I love all of these projects, and am very proud of what they’ve achieved. But I think this song has inspired me to be brave enough to take a step forward again.’
Shara Rose – ‘All I Want’
I interviewed Shara Rose a few months ago, for the second time, and I’m always keen to hear new music from her. She is a singer, songwriter and dancer. Shara creates heartfelt country pop that comes from a place of deep emotion and self-awareness, and this song, ‘All I Want’, is no different.
Tori Darke & Jay Santilli – ‘Trouble’
Tori Darke is in the middle of a tour with Brad Butcher, after they teamed up on The Voice last year and released the single ‘The Chain’. Now Darke has a different teammate in the form of longtime friend Jay Santilli. They have released a fantastic party single, ‘Trouble’. I had a chat to them about it and that will be coming up on the podcast.
Clancy Pye – ‘Days Like This’
Also coming up on the podcast is Clancy Pye, whose new single, ‘Days Like This’, will get you from the first verse. Pye is working towards an album release and I can’t wait for that, as I think she is a terrific songwriter as well as performer. I saw her live last year opening for and as part of the band for Jason Owen and Tania Kernaghan, and she is excellent.
Sons of Atticus – ‘Tennessee Tipsy’
Dylan Wright won Australian Idol last year but before that he was in the duo Sons of Atticus with his friend Matthew Joyce. I interviewed them a while ago, and thought their classic country sound was so strong. Joyce has been touring with Wright in the wake of Idol, and they have a new Sons of Atticus song, ‘Tennessee Tipsy’.
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