The only time I have seen Mitchell Steele perform live was over a decade ago, upstairs at the Tudor Hotel in Tamworth during the Country Music Festival. Clearly it made an impression because I remember it clearly: the crowd in that hot room in January, his voice, the way he held our attention, and how he did not shy away from what was a very close audience connection in that space.

He did not release music at that time. Occasionally I would wonder what had happened to him and if he would resurface in the country music space. Then I saw that he was at this year’s Senior Academy of Country Music and that was the signal that he was back. Then I heard he was working on music and that a single was on its way, and I was, at the very least, curious as to what it might be.

When I finally heard the single, ‘Worn Out West’, it was worth waiting for. A decade worth waiting for? Yes. Steele’s voice is wonderful, and so is the story in this song, which he wrote with Kasey Chambers and Brandon Dodd and which they produced, as they did Steele’s album, which does not yet have a release date but suffice to say that there’s a good chance it too will be worth the wait.

I interviewed Steele about the song and his story, and he has had – still has – quite the life. He grew up in a musical family, on the land, working hard as country people have to because it’s a seven-day-a-week job, being on the land. He left school at fifteen to become a stockman, then found work in music on the Gold Coast. He’s mostly been moving between music and the land, between inland and seaside, since.

Steele is fully engaged in all parts of his life, and it is always a privilege to speak to someone who is passionate about what they do. It was clear to me – as it will hopefully be to you when you watch or listen to the interview – that in the years since I saw him perform in Tamworth he’s been forming himself as an artist, understanding both himself and the world better, and figuring out what sort of artist he wants to be. That’s why this one song is so good. That’s why the album is likely to be great.

I hope you enjoy getting to know Mitchell Steele in this chat. I certainly did!

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Something is in the water in the Victorian town of Castlemaine, in an artistic sense. That’s the impression I had from talking to Al Carr and Pete Daly, two of the four members of Castlemaine band Bad Debts. Carr, Daly and the two other members, Mitch Dillon and Al Stanley, are locals whose proximity has led to the creation of an endeavour that none of them was really seeking or expecting.

As I found out when interviewing them about Bad Debts’ debut album, Under Kalimna Skies, Carr and Daly met because they have children going to the same school, not through music circles, although Carr has released three solo albums, amongst other things, and Daly was previously in Melbourne band Blueriver. The collaboration began as the two of them jamming together, then added Dillon and Stanley, who have also been creating music (separately) for years.

‘We were kind of having a bit of fun,’ Carr says, ‘then it got serious all of a sudden!’

It got serious in the form of 13 songs, with the writing shared amongst Carr, Daly and Dillon, making one album, recorded in Castlemaine, and it’s remained serious because, as I found out, they are already well into making their second album.

Part of what I found so interesting about the conversation is that Carr and Daly were well established in their lives at the time they met and became friends. The easier path would have been for Carr to keep making his music and not take up Carr’s suggestion that they jam in his shed. He wasn’t looking for a new musical enterprise.

All four men, however, have embraced newness and the result is a whole body of work that wouldn’t have existed without each of them taking the sort of chance that seems effortless when you’re in your twenties and somehow so much harder when you have kids at school and homes to run. They probably don’t think of it as inspiring but it is – if nothing else, it’s a reminder that if we don’t take chances we never find out what may come of them, whom we may meet and what we may create. Bad Debts turned out to be a safe bet, and they intend to keep backing it.

A note on the audio: sometimes Daly’s wifi dropped out, so things were a little patchy. But that’s podcasting in real life and not in a studio! Occasionally the internet goes wonky.

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If you’ve ever seen Christie Lamb play live you’ll know just how compelling a musical presence she is, with her powerful vocals and inherent musicality. She’s played in all sorts of places, from private events to arena tours, and each step of her career has seen her develop further as an artist. Her artistry has also been developed through tertiary studies, and music is now part of who she is.

Lamb’s latest album, Dare, is the natural follow-up to Truth from 2022, and also an evolution in sound and storytelling. As Lamb is now a mother to Charlotte, with husband and longtime musical collaborator Jonathan English, the new album reflects the family side of her life as well as the fact that motherhood has not meant that she wants to stay home all the time. She’s a working artist, with the atypical lifestyle that brings, and she her songs reflect her reality as well as being relatable to anyone not only balancing work and family life but looking for meaning in both.

Some of the songs on the album were, she tells me during this interview, developed with specific themes in mind while others developed organically. ‘You kind of let the song dictate to you in a way,’ she says, ‘whether it's from a title or a concept or just a feel of a song.’

Lamb clearly approaches the creative process with an open mind and sense of adventure. As she says, ‘Dare to suck. Throw ideas out there [even] if it sounds cheesy or you think it's a bit cringe.’ It’s safe to say, however, that none of the songs on Dare are even remotely cringe! They are, in fact, incredibly earwormy, and you will find yourself being kept company by them, in a great way, for a long time to come.

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Jason Resch was introduced to Australian country music audiences as a member of country-pop four-piece Darlinghurst, who topped charts and won awards for their songs including ‘Pretty Doesn’t Make You Good’.

Resch’s life in music started well before then, however: on a toy piano in childhood, as he told me during our interview, before he moved on to other instruments. He played in a band from the age of thirteen until he was seventeen, and that led directly to him leaving Australia to move to the United Kingdom at the age of eighteen, to write songs for production company Xenomania. He has written songs for Kylie Minogue and Pet Shop Boys, with his songs achieving chart success around the world.

After the UK, Resch moved to Nashville for a while, mainly to write songs, and because he was drawn to country music.

Given his background we talked quite a lot about songwriting, and Resch mentioned how he doesn’t want to write ‘sugar rush songs’ which feel good initially but don’t have lasting impact – I hadn’t heard the concept expressed like that before, and it’s memorable! We then talked in depth about his songwriting, including the fact that he writes daily. And he means daily – as he said in the chat, he tried to take a holiday once!

After years of writing for others, and for Darlinghurst, Resch is now releasing his first solo single, the immediately infectious ‘Talk of the Town’, which he wrote with Michael Paynter and Michael DeLorenzis of MSquared in Melbourne, who also produced the track. Hopefully it will be the first of many solo songs.

Resch was so interesting to talk to, partly for the history of his career and also because of the detail about songwriting. I hope you find him just as interesting to listen to!

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Chloe Marks grew up in Innisfail in Far North Queensland and she now lives in Brisbane. She has been releasing music in various guises since 2015 and now, as Chloe Marks & The Mayhem, she has released two singles this year. The latest is ‘Skip September’.

It was clear during our interview that Marks is an artist who tends to say ‘yes’ to things – and also clear that those yeses have taken her to incredibly interesting places, including the life she has now, creating music and engaged in several different music communities. It takes courage to say yes, not knowing if it will be the right decision, so my impression of her is that she is courageous, and inspiring accordingly.

Marks taught herself guitar at the age of eight and that was the accelerant on what was clearly a burgeoning musical talent that took off in her teenage years, when she joined marching and jazz bands, then began singing.

Studying a Bachelor of Music at university in Brisbane, Marks focused on performance and production, and gained practical experience in recording studios. These are skills she still applies, although not as frequently as she would like, as she tells me in this interview.

Marks formed the blues rock band Scotch and Cider in 2013, going on to rediscover country music through a bandmate, which is what has led her to release music in the country genre, including ‘Skip September’. Apart from her own bands, Marks plays drums for other artists. She’s also released music as a solo artist.

This full embrace of a musical life includes songwriting, and Marks has written over 400 songs. In this conversation we discuss her (longhand) songwriting process along with her other creative endeavours, which include extreme sports photography.

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Mack & Cook are Lizzie Mack and Murray Cook are two members of The Soul Movers, who have released several albums and are festival favourites. They are now creating music as a duo and recently released their first single, the slow burn ‘Time Goes By’.

What goes into this single is the experience of two of Australia’s most established and respected musical artists. Murray Cook is a founding member of The Wiggles, and a passionate music fan – I have seen at gigs of various types around Sydney, and can attest that he has eclectic taste – who continues to evolve what he’s offering as an artist.

Lizzie Mack is a singer with a phenomenal instrument, a gutsy, warm voice that has graced soul and blues songs and is now very well suited to country music.

This interview was a chance to not only talk to them about their history as collaborators, including the story of the Soul Movers, but to find out about their lives in music in general. I could not, of course, have ignored Cook’s involvement with The Wiggles and it was fascinating to find out about their work practices and ethic, and also not hard to see that Cook is still working consistently at his craft, as is Cook, who is just as interesting!

The song ‘Time Goes By’ is about having a lot more to give as people and artists – there is, of course, a cultural focus on young artists, but certainly the audience for any genre is not entirely composed of young people, and those who have lived longer lives tend to have more stories to tell. That is definitely the case with Mack & Cook, and hopefully they’ll continue to bring those stories to us.

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Sarah Catania is a singer-songwriter from Melbourne who released her first single, ‘Venus and Mars’, in 2022 and she’s been steadily releasing singles since then, the latest being the anthemic ‘Front Row’.

A graduate of the CMAA Academy of Country Music, Catania not only made connections with other Academy graduates but returned this year as an intern, an intensive position that also gave her the opportunity to meet Heath Milner, with whom she wrote ‘Front Row’. The song is about having the self-belief to move into the ‘front row’.

‘I've always been quite a confident being,’ she says. ‘So I think “Front Row” kind of embodies those traits that I have as well … I wanted something that could be like a hype song for the girlies because they're the songs that I really am drawn to. And I like putting on in the morning, make myself feel good, get the day started on the right foot.’

Catania has been playing live regularly over the past few years, and her voice has evolved along with her songs.

‘Everything changes all the time,’ she says. ‘Even if I'll watch a video of me performing last year compared to now, I feel like I've changed heaps. It's like this never-ending evolvement and development, which is cool … I can't be anything except myself. I think I'm way too loud and outspoken. If I was trying to fit a mould, you'd know, you could tell.’

Catania currently manages quite a packed schedule – with the aid of a colour-coded Google Calendar, which we discuss! Along with the making of the song and other things, including the video for the song, which features a surprise leading man.

Catania will be performing at the Gympie Muster pre-muster event on 23 August and you’ll also find her at Bridge Hotel in Werribee this Friday, 15 August. She’s also working on a new single release.

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When I saw Melbourne band Elly McK & The Unbelievers play in Sydney last year, it was one of the most entertaining shows I’d ever attended. The band had this groove between them that meant they could fly free within the structures of their songs, and it was evident that they all really liked each other. That is such a great treat for a live music fan, to see the artists having fun, looking like they could play all night if they were allowed to.

The songs have to be there, of course, in order to provide the band with that foundation that allows creativity to flow, and in this new interview Elly and I talk about the songwriting process in the band, which starts with her but invariably involves the other members, Sam Price on drums, Jordy Hickey on double bass, and Monty Price on guitar.

We spoke in depth about live performance and what it means to Elly and the band, and also how it was affected during the pandemic – because although some of us may think that’s all in the past and we should leave it there, for Melburnian musicians it cause a seismic shift in not only their daily lives but their art and how they practise it. Musical acts disbanded or changed shape, and Elly McK & The Unbelievers was a result of that. Their new single ‘Hold On’ was, as Elly tells me in the interview, written during that time and recently recorded live in studio, with an emotional vocal.

If you’re in Newcastle, Kiama or Sydney you can hear that single live and I recommend you do so! As the saying goes, do yourself a favour.

Tour dates:

14 August – Coal & Cedar, Newcastle

15 August – Butcher’s Brew, Dulwich Hill (Sydney)

16 August – Kiama Bowls Club

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