When Ferny Creek singer-songwriter Brendan McMahon visited Havana he was so impressed by the late Ernest Hemingway's shrine in historic Ambos Mundos he wrote Hotel Hemingway.
But a frightened echidna that he freed from a Rowville paddock in Melbourne 's eastern suburbs inspired his fourth album's entrée song Lost My Way.
The son of a former stock and station agent at Kapunda near the Barossa Valley also paid tribute to a steer named Morris in the same paddock on his previous disc that preceded fourth album In The Moment , released in November.
Award winning Virginian quintet Old Dominion is the latest act to name check late Beat author Jack Kerouac in idyllic imagery in its highly accessible music.
I'll Roll - penned by guitarist Trevor Rosen, pianist Trevor Rosen and James Slater - is not among the band's first three singles on its third album released on October 25.
But it's likely to follow Some People Do, Make It Sweet and latest hit One Man Band that airs on Nu Country TV on January 4.
My Heart Is A Bar (and I'm closing it down) is also accompanied by a video.
North Carolina nouveau outlaw country star Luke Combs broke sales records on his second album's debut on Billboard with help from home state mentor Eric Church.
Combs nailed his talent to the bayside cross when he sold out St Kilda Palais in March with femme fatale Arkansas traveller Ashley McBryde.
Now the prolific singer-songwriter, who co-wrote all 17 songs on What You See Is What You Get , topped Billboard Top 200 all-genre chart with 172,000 albums sold.
Texan sextet Whiskey Myers proves why it topped country charts on debut on September 27 with its fifth album in a 12-year career that began in Palestine.
The band mixes Biblical fervour with a fierce outlaw spirit akin to mentors Hank Williams Jr and the late Waylon Jennings.
So it's no surprise that Pentecostal primed entrée single Die Rockin' was penned by singer Cody Cannon and veteran Texan outlaw Ray Wylie Hubbard.
Hubbard, 73 and one of the pioneers of outlaw country in the Lone Star state, is still recording and performing with little mates Shotgun Willie Nelson, 86, and recent octogenarian Billy Joe Shaver.
STEVE MARTIN, MARTIN SHORT
AND STEEP CANYON RANGERS
Grammy winning bluegrass band Steep Canyon Rangers and comedic cronies Steve Martin and Martin Short performed to a capacity crowd at Melbourne Arena.
Their Now You See Them, Soon You Want show attracted an enthusiastic audience headed by Oscar winning actor Geoffrey Rush.
They scored more laughs than the bloodthirsty boxing bout by two retired footballers at the adjacent Margaret Court Arena, named after the former tennis champion and latter-day Biblical bell ringer.
Grammy winning country duo Dan & Shay performed to capacity crowds on three nights at Rod Laver Arena with young Canadian superstar Shawn Mendes.
The chart toppers celebrated major streaming success with recent video clips for Tequila and 10,000 Hours.
Dan & Shay debuted on Nu Country TV on April 22, 2017, with When I Pray For You from the soundtrack of the Sam Worthington-Octavia Spencer-Tim McGraw movie The Shack.
When former Vietnam veteran, disc jockey, actor and latter-day singer-songwriter Joe Sun toured here in 1990 he opted for regional venues and country music festivals to showcase his down-home country music.
Now, 29 years down the Lost Highway the Mid-West dairy farmer's son has followed heroes and mentors diverse as Hank Williams, Steve Young and Guy Clark into that great honky tonk heaven.
Sun, born James Paulsen, in Rochester , Wisconsin, died on October 25 at 76 of natural causes in Palm Bay, Florida.
He toured Australia to promote his 10th album Hank And Bogart Still Live after scoring smashes with Old Flames Don't Hold A Candle To You and Shotgun Rider that later became hits for singing-actor Dolly Parton and Texan Delbert McClinton.
Expat Novocastrian singer-songwriter Morgan Evans performed to a capacity crowd at the historic Forum in Melbourne CBD.
Evans, 34, may have left his singing spouse Kelsea Ballerini at home in Nashville but had two high profile guests on stage.
Grammy winning New Jersey born producer and singer-songwriter Chris DeStefano, who produced and co-wrote all 11 songs with Evans on his second album Things That We Drink To , opened the show.
And fellow Novocastrian Mark Wells guested on Evans 2007 debut single Big Skies from his self-titled album.
JIM LAUDERDALE - KING OF BROKEN HEARTS
OUT ON THE WEEKEND
Dual Grammy winning North Carolina born singer-songwriter and TV and radio host Jim Lauderdale headlined Brian Taranto's sixth Out On The Weekend festival at Steamworks in Williamstown on Saturday October 12.
Lauderdale and fellow Americana Award winners The Felice Brothers , Pokey LaFarge, Joshua Hedley & Jonny Fritz, Sierra Ferrell, Molly Tuttle, Dee White and Tami Neilson were among overseas acts.
Iconic expat Perth artists Brian Cadd and Ruby Boots, Don Walker, Little Georgia and Sean McMahon and The Owls were among the local performers.
Former St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt gave singing superstar actor Tim McGraw and his capacity concert crowd football kicking lessons at Rod Laver Arena on Sunday night.
Country music devotee St Nick, just 36, kicked four new Sherrin footballs high into the bleachers as Tim introduced one of his many hits - I Like It I Love It .
McGraw, 52, reciprocated by emulating his guest with a left foot torpedo and a gridiron throw of another football.
Tim, son of late baseball star Tug McGraw, offered to sing at the AFL grand final in a Nu Country TV interview in April after seeing Nick play against Collingwood in a preliminary final on a previous tour.
The pilot and singing spouse of fellow star Faith Hill wore a Collingwood jumper at that game.
Gippsland dairy farmer's son Michael Waugh proves he is well qualified to write and sing about extremities of drought and flood that have haunted agrarians for centuries.
The latter-day Scotch College secondary teacher and house master grew up near Glenmaggie Dam and Maffra in the Latrobe Valley .
But the fitness fanatic grandfather also found song sources for his third album The Weir while heading west on his push bike and catching Countdown icon Molly Meldrum taking in his garbage bins at his Luxor mansion in Richmond.
Waugh, 48, wrote all 13 songs on his acclaimed album produced by Queensland refugee Shane Nicholson.
Appalachian roots singer-songwriter Tyler Childers returns to Nu Country TV to promote his acclaimed third album Country Squire.
Childers, 28, and singing spouse Senora May perform his new video for House Fire.
The Americana Award singer plans a second Australian tour after debuting here on March 7 with fellow winner John Prine, 72, who returns to St Kilda Palais in April after winning two more Americana Awards this month.
When Texas City born hit-writer George Ducas needed a source for his double murder crime of passion title track for fourth album Yellow Rose Motel he didn't have to look far.
He resurrected fellow Texan singing actor Willie Nelson's famed Red Headed Stranger album and movie as his inspiration.
At just 48 Ducas is almost four decades younger than Willie, now 86, but their traditional country music theme song sources are a common denominator.
Ducas is keen to promote his album on a tour in 2020 - hopefully launched at the 13th CMC Rocks Queensland Festival in March.
Californian trio Runaway June had good reason to bare their hearts on the pathos primed title track finale of their debut album Blue Roses.
The song was inspired by the tragic death of lead singer-guitarist Naomi Cooke's brother Billy Dukes.
Runaway June , featuring late western movie star actor John The Duke Wayne's grand-daughter Jennifer, is touring with Oklahoma oriole Carrie Underwood and Maddie & Tae.
When singer-songwriter-shearer Luke Dickens wrote nine songs for self-funded second album After The Rain he discovered his music was creative therapy.
That was after exploring evil outback serial killers, cyber bullies, snakes and wolves.
But the 2011 Star Maker winner balanced his musical diet with love songs for his son Jordan , now 10, and fiancé Sammie whom he plans to marry in October.
It was therapeutic, Dickens, 37, told Nu Country TV of the album produced by Sam Hawksley.
Shotgun Willie Nelson proved in his video for his 69 th album title track Ride Me Back Home he stills ride high in the saddle with no need to dismount.
Willie, a ripe young 86-year-old, chose that song - one of the few he didn't write on his album - as the title.
The song's equine freedom message - equally relevant here with threats to high country Brumbies - echoes human liberation Willie has extolled since leaving Texas hometown Abbott as a teenager.
Willie loves horses and humans - including pianist sister Bobbie, now 88, with equal passion.
Ride Me Back Home was co-written by Sonny Throckmorton after hearing of Willie adopting horses that he stables at his Texas Hill Country ranch.
When Lukas Nelson and his long-time band Promise Of The Real returned here for their April tour they drove home the message of their fifth album title track with dynamic live delivery - especially at the historic Corner Hotel in Richmond .
It may have been a much smaller venue than those played by Lukas's singing sire Willie, now 86, on his tours.
But the aura of singing actor Willie swirled around the venue as Lukas proved why he followed his sire into movies with major roles writing songs on the soundtrack and performing in the Bradley Cooper-Lady Gaga remake of A Star Is Born.
Lukas's message was and clear - ignore the endless news cycle with its staple diet of war, famine, car jackings, drive-by shootings, murder and mayhem that maul the mean streets of Melbourne and, of course, the Middle East and way beyond.
When Texan troubadour Aaron Watson wrote 20 new songs for his 14th album Red Bandana he didn't have to look far to pay homage to his heroes.
Watson, now 41, opened with The Ghost Of Guy Clark and included eulogies to the late Red Steagall on Riding With Red and a vast cast of mentors in Legends .
Clark, a revered singer-songwriter, attracted celebrity studded audiences on his Australian tours, before he died of lymphatic cancer at 74 on May 17, 2016.
Septuagenarian singing actress Dolly Parton is joined by a vast cast of peers on the soundtrack of her latest movie Dumplings that was released in December.
They include Pistol Annie Miranda Lambert, Mavis Staples, bluegrass belles Alison Krauss and Rhonda Vincent and Adelaide born Sia.
Kentucky roots country singer-songwriter Marty Brown has returned after a 23-year recording hiatus with his fifth album American Highway .
Brown, 53, wrote all 10 songs with his co-producer Jon Tiven after a career rebirth on America 's Got Talent.
The singer is joined by his entire family including teacher wife Shellie and co-writer son Marty Brown Jr on his video for Umbrella Lovers that premieres on Nu Country TV on Saturday July 13.
Australian country music king Lee Kernaghan has released his 15 th album Backroad Nation that he is promoting on a national tour.
Kernaghan, 37-time Golden Guitarist, visited the outback to film videos, featured on Nu Country TV , for Wheels and the album title track.
The album is a riveting reflection of his travels that earned him four ARIA and three APRA Awards while raising funds for long suffering farmers beset by drought, flood and famine.
Kernaghan, 55 and father of two sons, features singing spouse Robby on his album that features 12 new original songs.
Prolific Golden Guitarist and multi-media minstrel Felicity made the most of her decade long hiatus as a solo artist by recording two acclaimed trio discs with Lyn Bowtell and Kevin Bennett.
But it was a pre-marital overseas sojourn with producer-guitarist-photographer-graphic artist Glen Hannah that fuelled New Harmony - entree of seventh solo album Frozen Rabbit, released on April 26.
Felicity and co-writer Luke Webb have detailed the joyous journey that also produced two daughters who have also joined her on-stage.
Singer-songwriter actor and pilot Tim McGraw has offered to sing at the AFL Grand Final during his third Australian tour in September.
McGraw, now 51, wore a Collingwood jumper when he as a guest at a previous final when the Magpies and St Kilda fought an epic battle in front of 80,000 plus fans.
Tim starred in Hollywood movies including gridiron box office smash The Blind Side with Sandra Bullock and Country Strong with Gwyneth Paltrow.
He also wrote his duet with singing spouse Faith Hill - Keep Your Eyes On Me - for 2017 movie The Shack starring British born Australian actor Sam Worthington and Octavia Spencer.
Tim headlines the 21 st Deni Ute Muster on October 5 and Country To Country festivals in Brisbane and Sydney.
LUKAS NELSON AND THE PROMISE OF THE REAL
CORNER MARKET
Fellow Texas raised singer-songwriter Lukas Nelson and The Promise Of The Real performed one of the most dynamic live concerts of the young year at the famed Corner Hotel , Richmond.
Lukas, just 30, proved that he is a genuine keeper of his famed singing actor sire Willie's flame in a two-hour music marathon.
Riverina refugee William Crighton and Melbourne sisters - The Wolfgramms - added spice to the sensational show.
Californian singer-songwriter Devin Dawson had good reason to exploit prison imagery and metaphors in three of 12 songs he wrote on his debut album Dark Horse .
He grew up in Orangevale near the gates of the infamous Folsom Prison and could hear nocturnal sirens roar throughout his childhood.
Devin used gaol backdrops in two of his video clips.
Dawson , 30, also hosted the inaugural Country Music Association Showcase at the historic Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne on Saturday March 23.
Devin led a quintet of singer-songwriters - fellow American Brandy Clark, Canadian chanteuses Lindsay Ell and Tenille Townes and Mornington Peninsula raised multi-media artist Lachlan Bryan - in the prestige concert.
Photo credit - Peter Coates Inside Edge Photography
Nouveau North Carolina outlaw singer-songwriter Luke Combs built on his large Australian fan base on his return tour.
Combs, just 29, and Ashley McBryde headlined a joint St Kilda Palais concert after appearing at the sold-out CMC Rocks Queensland Festival in Ipswich .
Chart-topping Florida Georgia Line headline their concert at Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday March 20 after supporting Georgian star Jason Aldean on their 2016 tour.
The band, fresh from CMC Rocks Queensland festival in Ipswich, perform with another Georgian Thomas Rhett and Tennessee preacher's son Morgan Wallen.
There's no danger of Mid-west refugee John Hiatt hitting the highest notes at the age of 66 on his 23rd solo album The Eclipse Sessions.
But Hiatt, who won acclaim on his Australian tours, delivers droll humour in love metaphors in new single Over The Hill, accompanied by a video we feature on Nu Country TV.
Hiatt recorded his album near Nashville during the total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017.
Georgian singer-songwriter Kip Moore is making his third Australian tour to promote his acclaimed third CD Slowheart.
Moore has expanded his fast growing fan base on his tour with Lee Brice and Charlie Worsham that includes a Melbourne CBD Forum concert on Wednesday April 25.
Kip's record company EMI promotions Chief Dave Parker has donated copies of Slowheart to Nu Country TV members wishing to renew their membership or join up.
DEAD LIVERS 40 TH ANNIVERSARY REMASTERED
GREATEST MISSES CD
Pioneer Victorian outlaw country band The Dead Livers celebrated its 40th anniversary by releasing a re-mastered edition of debut CD Greatest Misses.
By popular demand the band has changed the CD launch venue to the Velvet Room of Thornbury Theatre at 859 High Street , Thornbury, on Saturday May 12.
There are three new alternate songs on the 14 track CD that was re-mastered by Lost In Suburbia guitarist Peter Bird at his Warrnambool recording studio Yelp .
Ironically, bassist Michael Schack and pedal steel guitarist Brendan Mitchell both boomeranged from successful liver transplants to enjoy their musical and personal longevity.
Their Greatest Misses CD is also available as a digital download.
If
you miss Nu Country TV live on C 31 Saturday 10.30 pm or Monday
2.30 pm and midnight and Thursday at midnight there is another
way to see the show at your leisure.
Visit the Channel 31 programs web page and Click on the Nu Country
logo and follow the link to Catch-Up TV.
We
have even more exciting news - Dierks Bentley's seventh album
Home on the eve of his second Australian tour.
EMI promotions ace Bianca O'Neill gave us Dierks huge selling
album prizes shortly before it debuted at #1 on Billboard
on its U.S. release
The album features the Bentley hits Am I The Only One,
Gonna Die Young and his duet with Karen Fairchild of Little
Big Town on When You Gonna Come Around.
Bentley
wrote the title song with Brett Beavers and Dan Wilson about
the shooting of Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords by a mass murderer
in their home state Arizona.
U.S.
President Barack Obama has also adopted Home - featuring
expat Adelaide guitarist Jedd Hughes - as a personal song
in his new campaign.
Bentley, 36, arrived in Nashville at 19 and had big hits before
releasing his acclaimed bluegrass album Up On The Ridge.
All you have to do to win Home is become a member of
Nu Country TV or renew your membership.
EMI Records Promotions ace Bianca O'Neill has donated copies of the hot albums by North Carolina young gun Eric Church.
Eric, 37, topped the all genre Billboard Top 200 on debut with his third album Chief and 5th album The Outsiders that we feature in Series #25 of Nu Country TV .
You can help Nu Country TV survive and triumph on C 31 and win the Chief CD as a token of our appreciation
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to the Dandenongs.
We're
also featured on C 31 in South Australia - home state of expatriate
Greencards multi-instrumentalist Kym Warner and Nashville recording
artist Jedd Hughes.
Golden
Guitar winner Beccy Cole, Jake Nickolai and 2000 Star Maker winner
Cat Southern also earned their stripes in home state South Australia.
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