Sunburnt Country Music

About 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 (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Sophie Hamley

Category

music · music · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

8 Oct 2022

Latest episode

2 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

465 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   2 Nov 2026

   Zac & George make a splash with Call it a Day

   Short version Country-pop duo Zac & George have released the upbeat and uplifting debut album Call it a Day and are about to embark on the first dates of their tour. Zac tells us all about their music and how it all started. Long version When Zac & George (https://www.zacandgeorge.com/) started releasing music, their upbeat, uplifting country-pop sound was infectious. Almost straightaway they started winning fans, and one of them was Australian country music star James Johnston, who recorded the song ‘Some Things Never Change’ with them in 2023. Since then the duo – who met in high school in Wagga Wagga, NSW, and started jamming together then – have released more singles and become festival favourites. They now have a debut album, Call it a Day, which is, as they said in a post on social media, ‘here to bring you up, to lift you out of a tough day and bring positivity into your life … Right now, we live in such a doom and gloom world and we strive to be a positive part of your life.’ I asked Zac about this when I spoke to him recently – George was on the road home to Wagga Wagga – and also about their harmonies, which are such a feature of their music. Of their songs he makes it clear that the pair are intentional in what they record and how they perform. They want their audience to have a great night, to relax and enjoy the show, and certainly when I’ve seen them play live, they absolutely achieve that. Zac & George are about to kick off the Queensland leg of their tour in support of Call it a Day and you can see them at: Fri 6 November: Sunshine Coast, Venue 114 Sun 8 November: Brisbane, Lefty's Music Hall Fri 13 November: Rockhampton, Great Western Hotel Sat 14 November: Townsville, The Warehouse Sun 15 November: Cairns, The Jack Tickets available here: https://www.zacandgeorge.com/tour (https://www.zacandgeorge.com/tour) There are New South Wales dates to be announced, so keep an eye on their website and socials for that. No doubt their 2027 will get busy, so catch them while you can! Listen to Call it a Day on Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/au/album/call-it-a-day/6804596068?itscg=30200&itsct=music_box_link&ls=1&app=music&mttnsubad=6804596068&at=1001lryz) Listen to Call it a Day on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/album/7h8CpghOdYi5WK6aqv3PAr?si=ZeJxOwNzQD-XLwa-F_in6g) Listen to Call it a Day on YouTube (https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kRfKTIve1vUAF9WKP7R5MiB-CbhfQtCZE&si=AANIYAM9msMpXIhw) For more Sunburnt Country Music: Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/sunburntcountrymusic/) Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/sunburntcountrymusic) YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@sunburntcountrymusic) website (https://sunburntcountrymusic.com/) Substack (https://sunburntcountrymusic.substack.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

2. 

   31 Oct 2026

   Lee Kernaghan roars back with new single ‘4X4 is King’

   Short version Australian country music icon Lee Kernaghan releases his first new single in several years with ‘4X4 is King’, a high-energy ode to the joys of offroad driving, and prepares for his big 2027 Tamworth show. Long version It’s been several years since Australian country music icon Lee Kernaghan (https://leekernaghan.com/) released new recorded music, although he has in no way been idle, touring the land and putting on the big shows that his fans love. Given how much he has toured over the years, it seems appropriate that his first single in a while is dedicated to travel, in the form of four-wheel driving, of which Kernaghan is a longtime proponent. ‘4X4 is King’ is a high-energy ode to going offroad, and written with Nick Wolfe of the Wolfe Brothers and Colin Buchanan, both longtime collaborators of Kernaghan’s. When I asked Kernaghan about his love of four-wheel driving in this new interview, he revealed that it goes further than driving alone. ‘Every song I release,’ he says, ‘gets the LandCruiser test and I’ve been doing that for years.’ He also relates a tale about how he tested songs from his first album, The Outback Club, not in a LandCruiser but in a Ford Contina as he was driving near Deniliquin in New South Wales – and it was at the Deni Ute Muster a few years ago that he debuted ‘4X4 is King’, and had a video shot (still to be released). I ask Kernaghan if, when deciding which songs pass the LandCruiser test, he is also thinking about how they’ll translate live, and he says it’s at the forefront of his decision making, asking himself, ‘What can we do? What can we said that hasn’t been said?’ No doubt fans will be mightily pleased with the inclusion of ‘4X4 is King’ in his set lists, and I was also pleased to talk to Kernaghan, for the first time in a long while (the last time was when all my interviews were phoners). It was a brief chat as he is in demand, but he was, as ever, great to chat to. Lee Kernaghan is playing at the Tamworth Regional Entertainment Centre (known as TRECC) during the 2027 Tamworth Country Music Festival. Tickets available here (https://www.entertainmentvenues.com.au/lee-kernaghan---live-in-tamworth-2027). Listen to ‘4X4 is King’ on Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/au/album/4x4-is-king-single/6813297479?itscg=30200&itsct=music_box_link&ls=1&app=music&mttnsubad=6813297479&at=1001lryz) Listen to ‘4X4 is King’ on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/album/37u4aAYbmdtIoUDPysD4nH?si=pIDUQ5RDQYSiA7ywe0gJjQ) Listen to ‘4X4 is King’ on YouTube (https://youtu.be/yswpP_U8o0Y?si=6wAO2gebaeo8hDB6) For more Sunburnt Country Music: Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/sunburntcountrymusic/) Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/sunburntcountrymusic) YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@sunburntcountrymusic) website (https://sunburntcountrymusic.com/) Substack (https://sunburntcountrymusic.substack.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

3. 

   28 Oct 2026

   Possum on the wonderful world of Paynesville Seafoods

   Short version Victorian folk artist Possum talks about her concept album Paynesville Seafoods, a cycle of songs inspired by her hometown and tracing life, death, rebirth and generational change. Long version ‘If you’re the sort of person who’s not into listening to lyrics, I imagine you’re going to find my music quite boring,’ says Victorian folk artist Possum (https://www.possummusic.com.au/) as we chat about her new album, Paynesville Seafoods, which is a world within a collection of songs set in one location, which we shall talk about. Except it’s hard to imagine how anyone would find this rich, varied collection of songs boring, regardless of their interest in lyrics, because the music tells the stories just as much as the words do. Possum grew up in Paynesville, which is in East Gippsland and, she says, set on a big lake with an esplanade of shops that runs by the lake. ‘It was a great place to grow up,’ she says. ‘We had a great community. When you’re in a small town you know the shop owners and you can walk to your neighbour’s house … ‘I always found it really fascinating, this thing in Paynesville of it being so beautiful there and then having this intense small-town vibe where everyone’s in each other’s business.’ She worked in Paynesville Seafoods while growing up but the shop is no longer there, although there are other fish and chip places in town. Paynesville Seafoods is, however, the locus from which this concept album grows, with Possum drawing on her experiences of Paynesville although it’s not an album about her life so much as the cycle of life in one town, with generational change, death and rebirth part of the cycle of songs. It was wonderful to have the chance to ask Possum questions about this project, to delve into her artistry and make the experience of listening to the album deeper because of it. And Possum is putting on a series of shows for the album – details below. Paynesville Seafoods is available on Bandcamp: https://possumbleary.bandcamp.com/album/paynesville-seafoods-2 SEE POSSUM LIVE Friday Oct 30th- The Produce Store, Mansfield (with Mel Taylor) Sunday Nov 1st- Tolmie Community Social Club, Tolmie (with Mel Taylor) Saturday Nov 7th- Quadrophonic Club, Brunswick (supports TBA) Sunday Nov 8th- Shedshaker Brewing Company, Castlemaine (with Rufous Whistler) Friday Nov 13th- Stratford Courthouse, Stratford (with Stratford Singers) Saturday Nov 14th- Paynesville Wine Bar Thursday Nov 26th- Medusa, Geelong (with The Misty Mornings and Seal Prince and The Roof Rats) For more Sunburnt Country Music: Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/sunburntcountrymusic/) Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/sunburntcountrymusic) YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@sunburntcountrymusic) website (https://sunburntcountrymusic.com/) Substack (https://sunburntcountrymusic.substack.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Who has been a guest on Sunburnt Country Music

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Amber Lawrence
• Jenny Mitchell
• Katie Brooke
• Jacynta'lee
• Tanya Ransom

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

184,485

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 73 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

71

Social presence

94

YouTube

82

Engagement

60

Contact Sunburnt Country Music

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Sunburnt Country Music