With Australian troops on the Solomon Islands
Did you feel a lot of pressure when you sang the
national anthem at the Mundine/Geale fight?
To be given the opportunity to perform the national
anthem for the Mundine/Geale fight in front of an
audience of more than 10,000 people at the Sydney
Entertainment Centre was an honour – but it was
also a little daunting, and somewhat scary walking
out into the ring for the first time. It made me feel
very proud to be an Australian. It was one of the
biggest highlights of my career... I like to think
when I am singing a song like the national anthem
that I make it my own rendition, and perform it
from the heart.
What was it like to perform at the Tamworth
Country Music festival this year?
Tamworth is always an amazing time of the year
and it’s the best way to start the new year, playing
for country music fans. I had a great show this year
with my band at the West Tamworth Leagues
Club where we played songs from my forthcoming
album Silver Lining. It was an amazing few days in
Tamworth and I am already excited for next year’s
festival.
What are the most important things you
learned about songwriting during your
songwriter tour in Nashville?
I would say one of the most important things that I
have learnt about songwriting on my tour in
Nashville is that there is no particular way of
writing a song and no particular method is right or
wrong. You can write a song in so many different
ways. It all depends on what works for the writer,
or the situation you are in at that time writing that
song.
Who are some of the artists you worked with as
a songwriter?
Some of the amazing songwriters I have worked
with – Phil Barton, who is Australian-born and
moved to Nashville to pursue his songwriting
career, his highlight being A Woman Like You which
was cut by Nashville's Lee Brice. Michael Davey,