Andrew recently released his brand new feel-good single, “Get Lost” (ABC Music), available now on all streaming platforms. Produced by Matt Fell (Troy Cassar-Daley, Fanny Lumsden), “Get Lost” captures the carefree spirit of summer. With jangling guitars, driving rhythms, and an irresistible sing-along chorus, the track pulses with a sense of freedom and wanderlust. It’s the kind of track that begs to be played loud with the windows down – perfect for spontaneous road trips!
Congratulations on the release of “Get Lost”! What inspired the carefree, road-trip vibe of this new single?
Thank you, a friend of mine actually wrote this one. Blake Dantier is his name, we had been doing some co-writing, I love the way he writes, and suggested that if he had any songs kicking around that might be a good fit that he should send them over for me to have a look at. The moment I heard “Get Lost”, I knew it was for me. I spend a lot of time on the road and truly love going somewhere I’ve never been to before, so it was an immediate connection for me with this song.
The song has a real sense of freedom and wanderlust—was there a particular journey or moment that sparked the idea behind it?
I think for me this song just makes me think of some of the amazing road trips I’ve had the pleasure of going on. Some highlights for me have been a 36 hour drive over three days into the Australian outback dodging wild goats, emus and sheep or driving from LA to El Paso and taking in the incredible rock formations and desert areas on the way, or the week I spent in a remote area of the Flinders Ranges, hiking and sipping whiskey by the fire with my Dad. I could sit here for hours telling you about some of my ‘on the road’ highlights, I’m very fortunate that I get to travel so much doing something that I love.
You worked with producer Matt Fell on “Get Lost,” who’s known for collaborating with Troy Cassar-Daley and Fanny Lumsden. What was that creative process like in the studio?
Matt and I have made three albums together now and are currently working on a fourth, so at this stage I feel there’s a level of comfort in working together. It’s a safe space to throw ideas out there without being offended if they don’t land with the other person. Matt is one of, if not, the most talented person I know. He’s amazing to work with and watch work, he plays multiple instruments on the songs, sometimes I’m not sure where he’s headed with a part, then a day or two later he’ll add in something else that just ties it all together perfectly. He’s also been on the same page as me when it comes to wanting to bring something new to each album and continue to evolve my sound. We’re always trying to kick things up a notch every time we step into the studio.
With three ARIA #1 albums and multiple Golden Guitar Awards under your belt, how do you feel your sound has evolved from Call Out For The Cavalry to now?
I think there’s been an evolution in my sound to a more polished commercially friendly final product. Call Out For The Cavalry was an album that definitely sat in a more of an alt country/Americana sounding pocket, it was an album that I wrote mostly on my own, but as I learned, you can take your time with your first album, there’s no deadlines of pressure to keep releasing music, and if I’m left to my own devices I can be a slow song writer, so for The Art of Letting Go, I stepped out of my comfort zone and started doing a lot more co-writing which of course introduced some new sounds and influences from other writers and that continued to happen again with Lightning Strikes and Neon Nights. Even with this new album that I’m working on, I’ve been writing some different people than on previous records and I think is a great thing, I’ve always said that I don’t just want to go and make the same album over again and working with new people definitely helps to keep things fresh and keep things evolving.
“Get Lost” feels like a summer anthem—do you have a go-to road trip destination or memory that captures the spirit of the song?
Oh absolutely, I’ve been going on a weekend away with friends from high school every summer since we could drive. It’s an hour of winding roads through some mountains before things open up to rolling hills and farms for another hour or two before we arrive at a big log cabin that looks out across a valley and boasts some of the best sunsets you’ve seen. When we were fresh out of school, it was a big party every year, drink until the sun comes up then recover during the day down at the waterhole. These days everyone has families and there are more kids than adults there and we reminisce on the glory days.
‘Get Lost’ is a windows down summer road trip anthem that pairs perfectly for me with that annual weekend away.
Your 2023 win for Male Artist of the Year at the Golden Guitars must have been a proud moment. What did that recognition mean to you personally and professionally?
It was an incredibly proud moment and a true surprise, I remember feeling the wind leave me when my name was read out.
It was different from when I won my first two Golden Guitar awards, that was an extremely emotional moment for me because after 18 years of trying to find where I fit in music and trying to make it “what I do” rather than “something I do”, winning those awards, evening being nominated for them, was like the Australian country music industry was telling me that I was finally doing something right, that I had found my musical home. To then win Male Artist of the Year in 2023, felt like I had truly solidified my place in the industry.
In saying that, like most artists, I don’t release music with the intent of winning awards, but they sure are nice to receive on occasion, along with the reassurance you’re doing something right.
You’ve toured with big names like The Wolfe Brothers and Shannon Noll. What have those experiences taught you about connecting with audiences?
I’ve learned a lot from touring with both those artists. Both put on very rocking shows and on those tours it was just me and an acoustic guitar warming things up for them. The audience was a bit more rowdy than I was probably used to and I had work out very quickly how to keep a room of people engaged with me, some guy they hadn’t really heard of singing songs they didn’t really know. I found that my crowd banter and storytelling really stepped up a notch, on the Shannon Noll tour especially, I didn’t have many upbeat songs, there were a lot of slower songs on that first album, but I worked out how to set an intro of a song up to leave them hanging for the punch line of a joke or the resolution of the story which would come during the song.
Your role as ambassador for Gundagai’s Dog on the Tuckerbox is quite unique—how did that partnership come about, and why is it important to you?
The Dog on the Tuckerbox thing was quite a bizarre and natural progression of events that I didn’t see coming. Now, you should probably know that the Dog on the Tuckerbox is a statue of a dog with a great back story, that’s perched on the top of a fountain next to a cafe 8kms outside of a small town called Gundagai. It’s pretty much half way between Melbourne and Sydney which works out being a fantastic place to stretch your legs, grab a cuppa and for parents to get a break from listening to the kids bicker in the back seat. One day when I was headed past on tour, I made social media post stating “I think it’s illegal to not stop and get a photo when you go past the Dog on the Tuckerbox”, after that I made sure I posted a photo every time I went past, which happened to be a lot, 20 times in 2019 in fact, but it caught on, fans, family, friends and other artists would tag me in their photos or send me photos. The local council caught wind of this and a manager I was working with suggested making me the ambassador, next thing you know, I’m the first and only ambassador of the Dog on the Tuckerbox, and I love it. People send me old memorabilia they come across from there all the time. It’s pretty sweet, and a fun little thing to have on the resume and I’m proud to be the ambassador of such a great little part of Australia.
The Art of Letting Go was one of the highest-selling Australian country albums of 2021. How do you balance writing deeply personal songs with creating widely relatable music?
The whole reason I started writing songs was to express myself. I was going through depression in high school and found that songwriting was a fantastic way for me to get my thoughts and feelings out. There are still songs that I write for me, to express myself, but there are also songs that I write hoping they’ll do well on radio or be fun to play at festivals. Knowing that I wanted to do music as a career, I realised that I can’t just write songs for me, that I need to write songs that people can also have fun with. I’ve found that co-writing has been great for writing those songs, I always found happier songs harder to write, mind you with a loving girlfriend, a newborn daughter and the fact I get to do what I love for a living, the sadder songs aren’t as easy to write these days.
What’s next for you in 2025—can fans expect a tour, more music, or any exciting collaborations?
I’ve just become a dad for the first time so I’m currently spending a bit more time at home than usual, but it’s giving me some time to finish up this new album that I’m hoping to have out later this year along with a tour to follow, in the meantime I’ve got a handful of festivals over the next couple of months to keep me busy. But the main thing for 2025 is new music and being a dad.
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