Fronted by ARIA award-winning Tim Freedman, The Whitlams Black Stump Band is gearing up for a mammoth run of dates down Australia's east coast including Queanbeyan on August 5.
Freedman's foray into country music completes a circle which started with The Whitlams' country-tinged folk and rock of their first two albums in the mid 90s.
"We used to play Hank Williams and Patsy Cline in beer gardens up and down the east coast," says Freedman.
The Queanbeyan show will be at the Royal Hotel.
The band's latest single The Day John Sattler Broke His Jaw, debuted at number 34 on the CountryTown Hot 50 airplay charts this week.
"I am so heartened that country radio has taken to this track, which is as much a piece of social history as it is a song about football. The Sattler incident is a seminal piece of Australian folklore," Freedman says.
Fresh from their debut performance at the 50th Tamworth Country Music Festival, the band will wind their way from the Tanks Arts Centre in Cairns down to Queenscliff Town Hall on Victoria's south coast, with all shows now on sale.
The Whitlams Black Stump Band is the brainchild of Freedman, who tasked award-winning producing powerhouse Matt Fell to "put your dream band together".
Freedman hatched the idea during a regional solo tour in 2021 when he was enlivened by the enthusiasm of audiences in country towns as they emerged from lockdown. The dream team Fell assembled consists of himself on bass, Ollie Thorpe on pedal steel, Rod McCormack on banjo and acoustic guitar, and long term Whitlams member, Terepai Richmond, on drums.
"We can't wait to get our elbows in the breeze in July starting with a rigorous North Queensland run. Whatsmore, we are thrilled to have such great Country artists on the shows with us", Freedman says.
The band will be joined along the way by special guests including 2022 Golden Guitar nominated artists Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningham, Cass Hopetoun and Raechel Whitchurch, who'll join the Queanbeyan Show.
The frontman sounds completely at home in The Whitlams Black Stump Band, as fans new and old will hear for themselves this winter when the lads hit the road. Tickets are on sale now and available via thewhitlams.com/tour.
- Tour dates are: Wednesday, July 27, Goat Bar, Rockhampton; Thursday, July 28, The Metropolitan Hotel, Mackay; Friday, July 29, Mansfield Hotel, Townsville; Saturday, July 30, Tanks Arts Centre, Cairns; Wednesday, August 3, Gunnedah Town Hall, Gunnedah; Thursday, August 4, Orange Civic Theatre, Orange; Friday, August 5, Royal Hotel, Queanbeyan; Saturday, August 6, Bowral Bowling Club, Bowral; Friday, August 12, Westernport Hotel, San Remo; Saturday, August 13, Queenscliff Town Hall, Queenscliff; Sunday, August 14, Burrinja Theatre, Upwey.
