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With a jazz inflected country palette driven by gorgeous interplay between pedal steel guitar and violin, ‘Man About a Dog’ sounds like a drive through country hills, elbow in the breeze, with the earth waking up after quenching rains. Starting with Rod McCormack’s propulsive banjo, you can feel the drought breaking, and the grass growing as we drive west into the sun from the Northern Rivers, NSW coast. “On the roof the heavy drops / that’ll break the Silence of the Frogs.”

This recording will be track 1 on The Whitlams Black Stump’s incoming debut album ‘Kookaburra’ and was central to the formation of the Americana lineup, being the first of Tim Freedman’s compositions to have a pastoral theme, describing a surprised singer’s transcendent moment in nature.

The Whitlams Black Stump has been embraced by the Country Festival circuit after solid airplay of their last four singles and have main stage spots booked this year at Bluesfest, Gympie Music Muster and Savannah in the Round, dotted through an extensive national tour. The album is out in March, 2024 and available for pre order now.

Tim Freedman writes: “Like renovators and divorce lawyers I had a “good Covid”. I started booking solo shows, promoting them and travelling around the country on my own, stopping and starting for travel restrictions, but managing 70 solo shows over 2020 and 2021.

As I travelled around Western NSW one week I received the surprising news that some Country radio stations were playing The Whitlams “Man About a Dog’, a recording from The Whitlams comeback album “Sancho”, which had a rural theme certainly, but had not been recorded with any country music aesthetic in mind (thank you Kix FM and Triple A Murri Country). Consequently as I drove between Gunnedah and Dubbo, Orange and Tamworth I started listening to Country radio. Had not the nascent Whitlams played Hank Williams and Patsy Cline in its early years? Yes indeed, and I loved that stuff – give me Willy Nelson, George Jones, Steve Earle, and Lucinda Williams any hour of the day.

So it was that by Mudgee I’d had a simple thought which went something like this: “I tour the country more than most country artists, why don’t I make some country music?” After a particularly convivial afternoon performance at Lowe Winery I rang producer Matt Fell from the pub and asked if he could put some sessions together with his dream lineup. My first choice of band name was quickly discarded – “Tim Freedman’s a Country Member”. It seemed like a good idea three schooners in.

The next month we gathered in the studio in Sydney to start recording the album. Everyone got on so well we formed a touring band, and I’m having a ball with this project, putting one foot in front of the other.”

Tim Freedman – Vocals
Rod McCormack – Banjo, Acoustic Guitar
Ollie Thorpe – Pedal Steel Guitar
Matt Fell – Bass
Terepai Richmond – Drums
George Washingmachine – Violin

SHOW DATES:

Friday 8th March 2024 – Lizottes – Newcastle, NSW
Saturday 9th March 2024 – West Tamworth League Club – Tamworth, NSW

**Tickets are on sale now and available HERE

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AMNPLIFY – DB