Nashville: Lately It's Australian For 'country'

Could Australia be Nashville's next lucrative A&R source?

With his back-to-back platinum albums in the United States, Keith Urban may have opened the door for country artists from Australia. Other successes in recent years include Sherrié Austin and Jamie O'Neal.

Now, Jedd Hughes is making his bow on MCA Nashville. RCA will introduce Catherine Britt later this summer. And a handful of other artists, including singer/songwriter Kylie Sackley, are waiting in the wings (see story, page 31).

Not since Olivia Newton-John had a string of country hits in the 1970s has the Land Down Under been as well-represented on the U.S. country charts.

Capitol Records' Urban hits the charts again this week with his latest single, "Days Go By," which enters Hot Country Singles & Tracks at No. 37.

Broken Bow recording artist Austin stands at No. 48 with her remake of "Son of a Preacher Man."

And Hughes' debut single, "High Lonesome," is No. 55.

While Australia has a thriving country scene of its own, most of these artists felt the need to come to Nashville to pursue their careers. Urban, Austin, O'Neal, Hughes and Sackley live in Nashville. Only the 19-year-old Britt continues to live in Australia but comes to America often.

In Australia, Britt says, "there is definitely a following, a great fan base that helps us travel and do shows as a country singer. But you're never going to make the amount of money that is going to get you by."

Hughes also says making a living as a country artist in Australia can be tough because it is such a long distance between towns and venues. "It's hard to tour there, and there is just not that many people. A lot of the country artists have day jobs. Pop music is still the big thing down there."

Prior to her move to Nashville 15 months ago, Sackley spent more than five years touring at home. She describes touring as "a lot more expensive" and for an audience of fewer people than an artist could typically draw in the States. "It's not like here where you can do a show in Knoxville [Tenn.] and drive 21/2 hours to Nashville [for another show]. There you have to drive nine or 10 hours to the next town."

Nashville entrepreneur Jeff Walker cites lifestyle and geography in his native Australia as two key reasons it has a thriving country music scene. But that same geography, combined with the country's relatively small population of about 20 million, makes it hard for country acts to tour and to make a living in that territory alone.

"The Australian market is limited as to what you can get in terms of international success," says Walker, noting that "it does provide a great training ground."

As a country artist, "you can appeal to 5% of the market in the U.S. and make a terrific living," says Walker, who owns AristoMedia and Marco Promotions on Music Row. "If you appeal to 5% of the population in Australia you are limited as to where you can go."

A gold-certified album in Australia sells 35,000 copies.

Many Australian country artists get their start playing the festival circuit, including the huge Tamworth Festival in New South Wales in January, which culminates in a nationally televised awards show. Country music is also promoted through trade organizations the Country Music Assn. of Australia and the Contemporary Country Music Coalition, radio, CMT Australia and what Walker describes as "a very aggressive booking infrastructure."

Musically speaking, Austin describes Australia as "a big suburb of Texas." She likens the Australian country music scene to the Nashville institution formerly known as Fan Fair.

"When I went back for the Tamworth Country Awards the first time it was held in a tin shed," she recalls. "There was a sign that said, 'Artist entrance to the right. Livestock to the left.' In a lot of ways it's even more country than it is here. My God, we still have the hay bales [in Australia]."

THE LURE OF NASHVILLE

For most of these artists, a move to Nashville seemed like the next logical step in a country music career, even if it wasn't always a easy one.

Austin notes that "Nashville is the capital of country music. It's like Hollywood—if you want to be an actor you go there."

Hughes came to America in 2000 because he felt it was the best place to hone his singing, songwriting and guitar playing skills and to learn about engineering.

He was "terrified and in shock" when he arrived. "In my first car [ride] I held the door the whole time, because the car was on the other side of the road."

Still, he says, "for me I felt like it was absolutely necessary to come here. I spent a year touring in Australia with a country singer and played most of the major venues and covered the bulk of Australia. The musicians at home do that every year. That's what touring is over there. I didn't want to get locked into it."

Walker says Australian artists are coming to Nashville because they are "very ambitious and see opportunities over here. They come prepared to pay their dues."

Sackley says, "My intention wasn't necessarily to move to Nashville, but I came to visit for a few months and discovered how vibrant Music Row is and how you could make a living as a writer." She is now a staff songwriter for Big Tractor Music.

Austin notes that attitudes have changed in Nashville since she first arrived 10 years ago.

"When I was knocking on doors for writing appointments it was 'God save us from Australian country music singers,' " she recalls. "But that changed. It was like the borders opened up a little bit, and it wasn't so taboo to not be from this country and sing country music."

But there are still too few Australian artists in Nashville for any kind of community to have sprung up.

Austin laughs at the idea. "People always say to me, 'You and Keith [Urban] must hang out all the time and put shrimp on the barbie.' I say, 'Yeah, and we throw boomerangs too.' "

A NEW INFUSION

While the styles of the Australian country artists are diverse, they do tend to bring both an edginess and a more traditional bent to the music.

WFMS Indianapolis PD Bob Richards cites "a bit of a positive [side] in someone from Australia embracing this music and having such reverence for this music, more so than some artists from America."

Most of these artists say they grew up listening to the classic American country artists in their parents' record collections. It is not surprising then that they are often better-versed in the format's history and legends than many of the young American artists being signed on Music Row.

Britt and Hughes are among the most traditional. Hughes is a student of bluegrass music. Britt has a tattoo on her hip featuring the name of her favorite artist, Hank Williams. Her other heroes include Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn. At the same time, her forthcoming album features a duet with the decidedly non-country Elton John.

Hughes, who grew up listening to Buck Owens and Merle Haggard records, thinks Australian country artists "have a slightly different take on country music, and that's what makes us stand out a little more and makes us more appealing. At a younger age we may have more of an appreciation for the roots [of country music], and we may stick to that a little more."

Richards doesn't think the current crop of Aussie artists has any one unifying style. Rather, he calls their sounds "diverse." But that diversity "blends in so well with everything else in country music right now," he says.

The emergence of Australian country acts, he adds, "is part of the world becoming a much smaller place . . . We're open to finding artists and music anywhere, [even] outside of the borders."

Sackley thinks the infusion of country artists from Australia is "good for everyone involved because [we're] bringing a different cultural element to the table."

Hughes predicts a new wave of Australian country artists arriving in Nashville. "I have some friends who are quite uniquely Australian and have a hipper view of country music," he says. "I think they'll be coming over in the next few years."