Even with 36 Golden Guitars, an induction into the Country Music Awards of Australia’s Roll of Renown and an Australian of the Year award, Lee Kernaghan has never forgotten his roots.
Born and raised in the Riverina, he has spent his whole music career representing the spirit of contemporary rural Australia.
Now, the country music legend is bringing his national Boys from the Bush 25th Anniversary Tour to the Swan Hill Town Hall on April 23.
The tour is named after Mr Kernaghan’s first single which kicked off his career in 1992.
“That was really ground zero for me and where it all really started,” Mr Kernaghan said.
His first album The Outback Club went on to win an ARIA and three Golden Guitars.
Despite his huge success, Mr Kernaghan grew up in a very typical rural Australian family.
“My mum was from a dairy farming family and my dad came from a droving family,” he said.
Mr Kernaghan’s father, Ray Kernaghan, is also a country music singer with two platinum records.
Father and son were both inducted into the CMAA’s Roll of Renown in 2015.
“My career in country music is definitely something I can blame on my dad,” he said.
“I remember when I was five years old, we had an album called Slim Dusty Live at Wagga Wagga and dad played it so much that the album wore out.
“I think I got brainwashed into country music in the process. It was predestined that I would one day do it as a career.”
Mr Kernaghan started playing guitar when he was nine, formed his first band at 11, started writing songs when he was 13, and at 18 he won the CMAA Toyota Star Maker Award.
“It wasn’t until I was 27 years old that I got to record that first album,” he said.
“So I spent 10 years of slogging it out in the pubs and clubs before being able to record that record.”
He said he had incredibly fond memories of making The Outback Club album.
“I still enjoy singing the songs because it’s about us, it’s about country people and our way of life,” he said.
“I think that’s why it has continued to resonate with people a quarter of a century after it was originally recorded.”
Despite winning a swag of awards and being named Australian of the Year in 2008, Mr Kernaghan said recording the duet Leave Him in the Longyard with Slim Dusty was the highlight of his career.
“That would be pretty hard to top,” he said.
“He took me under his wing in 1993 when I was very much wet behind the ears and fresh from the Riverina, embarking on a country music career.
“To have recorded with the King at that point in my career was massive and I’ll be grateful for the rest of my life for what he did for me.”
He said much of his music was inspired by the country and its people.
“My greatest passion is my country, Australia,” he said.
“To be able to write songs about my country, our people and our way of life is what keeps me on the road and looking forward to the next record.
“I think rural Australia is the heart of the country. It’s a privilege to be able to write songs about the places I’ve seen and where I have come from.
“When I look back on my albums, I see each one as a moment in time.
“It’s all very biographical. Even up to this 25th anniversary album I have just released, every song is taken from the pages of my life.”
Mr Kernaghan has performed at Swan Hill many times over the last 25 years and said he was looking forward to returning.
“This one is more than a concert, it’s in part, a celebration and everyone is invited,” he said.
“We integrate live video into the show and it’s so much fun. We want to make it both musically and visually great.”
Mr Kernaghan’s sister Tania will be joining him in Swan Hill and will perform songs from her new album.
He said he was keen to start the next 25 years of his music career.
“I’m chipping away at a new album at the moment and I look forward to releasing something new in the next year or so,” he said.
“This new album (The 25th Anniversary Album) has just shot to the top of the charts. It went number one on the Country charts and was number two, just behind Ed Sheeran, on the ARIA album chart.
“I just want to thank everyone for the incredible support for the record. I don’t doubt that it will bring them lots of good times.”
The Boys from the Bush 25th Anniversary Tour will visit every state and territory in the country and will wrap up in November.
Tickets for the show can be purchased Swan Hill Performing Arts’ website.
For more Leisure Time news, grab a copy of Friday’s Guardian (April 7).
