3KND Listeners today at after 4pm on Drivetime, Double the excitement for we will have the remarkable and talented Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningham
Felicity Urquhart has long been one of the best-loved and most decorated singer-songwriters in Australian music. Career highlights include seven studio albums, two EPs, countless sold-out headline shows, festival appearances, and 13 CMAA Golden Guitars.
Along the way she has shared the bill with the likes of Sheryl Crow, John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Don McClean, and Rodney Crowell, to name but a few. Her love of music and the joy in sharing it has been central to who Felicity is from childhood. It’s hard not to smile and feel warm when she’s making music.
Josh Cunningham is a founding member of The Waifs, a band that has woven their thread tightly into the fabric of Australian music over a career spanning more than three decades. 10 albums, multi platinum sales, extensive touring of Australia and the world, multiple ARIA awards, induction into the Australian songwriters association hall of fame, countless festival appearances the world over, touring with acts as diverse as Bob Dylan, Keith Urban, Billy Bragg and Weddings, Parties, Anything.
Along the way Josh has also ventured beyond The Waifs, writing songs for Sara Storer and co producing her 2007 album Silver Skies, as well as playing guitar with Missy Higgins during the first three years of her career.
In 2020, Felicity and Josh were each invited to join “song club”, a creative collective that tasked members with writing a song a week to a prompt. Setting initial apprehension aside, they each jumped headlong into the challenge and in no time at all a year had raced by and more than 70 new songs had been brought to life.
Felicity and Josh connected through the experience and decided to try writing together. What started as a casual songwriting session over a pot of tea, quickly blossomed into a full length record and a partnership in both music and life. Their debut album “The Song Club” was released in May of 2021, entering the ARIA Australian country album chart at # 1, and # 10 on the overall ARIA album chart.
The Song Club received four Golden Guitar nominations, an ARIA nomination and won the AIR award for Best Independent country album, establishing Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningham as a potent musical pairing.
The chemistry is not confined to the album only, with audiences consistently charmed by the infectious joy and positivity of their stunning live shows. “Sharing our music is such a meaningful experience for both of us” says Felicity. “The joy it brings keeps us going strong, and getting to connect with folks of all flavours is important and fun. Music is the common thread that binds us and we love what we do.”
The Song Club was known and loved for its sparse simplicity which served the heartfelt story it told to perfection, and live shows were characterised by the same approach which won hearts and ears the country over.
But great artists need to explore and constantly grow, and the intention this time around was to thicken their sound out with a rhythm section and more diverse instrumentation. Working with multiple Aria and Golden Guitar award winning producer Matt Fell has proved a perfect pairing and the timeless, poignant “Unsteady” is a delicious glimpse into what fans can expect from the full album come August.
“There’s a depth and maturity to this collection of songs and sonically and stylistically it’s a real step up from the previous album that we love so much. There’s some classic sounds here and we can’t wait for folks to join us on the next phase of our journey. We’re excited!” Says Josh.
The closing line from their very first single “Spare Parts” still rings true like a statement of intent…”we’re gonna roll on down the road together…” and that’s exactly what they plan to do. There’s more miles to travel, more music to make and more love to share for Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningham.
The acclaimed duo are not intending to be a one album wonder, and their Golden Guitar nominated single “Bogswamp” (from August 2022) is the first of several singles leading up to another full length album planned for release August 2023.
The current single “Unsteady” signals a new direction in an unfolding musical journey and points forward to an album of greater texture and sophistication.