Australian artist Fanny Lumsden has emerged as a formidable force in the realm of country music, her latest album ‘Hey Dawn’ serving as a testament to her unparalleled talent and resilience. Following the success of her previous album ‘Fallow,’ which garnered widespread acclaim and accolades, including the Best Country Album at the 2023 ARIA Awards, Lumsden has cemented her place as a powerhouse in the genre. She is touring the UK in April – with the tour dates at the bottom of this interview.
A true storyteller at heart, Lumsden draws inspiration from her rural upbringing and experiences, infusing her music with authenticity and depth. Hailing from a sheep farm in western NSW and now residing on a farm in the Snowy Mountains region, her connection to the land and its stories permeates through her songwriting. Accompanied by her family on the road, including her husband Dan and brother Tom, Lumsden’s “Country Halls Tour” embodies her commitment to her craft and community, showcasing her artistry in intimate settings across Australia.
With ‘Hey Dawn’ Lumsden embarked on a sonic exploration, incorporating guitar-based indie-pop elements into her signature acoustic songwriting. The album serves as a rich character study, delving into themes of resilience, introspection, and the passage of time. Despite facing challenges such as bushfires and the logistical hurdles of touring during the Covid-19 pandemic, Lumsden’s desire to create music never wavers. Inspired by moments of serenity and self-discovery, she finds solace in storytelling, infusing each track with honesty and vulnerability.
In essence ‘Hey Dawn’ encapsulates Fanny Lumsden’s journey of growth and renewal, echoing the sentiment of its titular track: a reminder to embrace each new day with courage and authenticity. As she navigates the complexities of life and artistry, Lumsden emerges as a beacon of resilience, offering a poignant soundtrack for listeners to find solace and inspiration in their own journeys. We were thrilled to talk to her all about it.
Lovely to talk to you today, Fanny. Thank you for giving me your time.
It’s my pleasure.
Your UK tour is fast approaching (the first date is Weds April 3rd in Leeds) – How’s the tour preparation going?
Oh, it’s flat out! We’ve been on tour over here in Australia and I feel like we’ve just got back home and I’ve chucked everything in the washing machine before we go back out again! (laughing) It’s all good fun.
Your operation is a big family operation with your brother and your husband involved. The kids often tour with you as well – are they coming to the UK with you next week?
We leave in four days! The kids aren’t coming this time because it’s such an intense tour. My eldest just started school as well, he’s only five years old, they are going to stay here although they came with us last year and will be with us again when we come back later this year too.
My sister lives over there, near the Scottish borders so she is going to meet up with us all when we are over too! It’s a big family thing! (laughing) It will be the longest I’ve been away from the kids, nearly three weeks. I’ve been away from the oldest when I went to Nashville and the little one was a baby – they’re with their grandparents so they will have fun!
Your new album ‘Hey Dawn’ has been out for a while now. It’s won various plaudits and awards – has it matched the expectations and metrics of success that you had for it?
Definitely. It’s exceeded them, to be honest. Our last album, ‘Fallow’ did very well, unexpectedly, I reckoned I’d peaked and I was on the way down! (laughing) To then follow up with this record and for it to connect with people so beautifully has been a joy to see.
I just wanted to put out some songs that I loved and tour a show that is full of joy really. It’s been a bonus for ‘Hey Dawn’ to receive the critical acclaim that it has done.
When you say ‘unexpected success’ with ‘Fallow’ – what do you mean by that?
Previous to that, you know, we’d done well, won some awards and the like but I never dreamed that I would win an ARIA award, that wasn’t even on my bucket list of possible achievements! It took Country album of the year in all the categories in all the awards that it could and I was a bit floored with the success of it really!
We made it in a stone hut here on my farm and we shot the videos for it ourselves too. It was also released in March 2020, just as the pandemic was changing the world! The most shocking and awesome thing about that album was the way people connected with the songs – I still get messages today about how the songs mean different things to people and have affected them in wonderful ways. It’s a very beautiful thing that I don’t take for granted.
I find ‘Hey Dawn’ to be a joyful and uplifting listen – was that your mission statement when you set out to make the record?
Yeah. The world of the record usually finds me once I’ve put the record together and then I realise what we’ve done but the ‘Hey Dawn’ songs specifically came at the end of an organic process of writing where I wanted to make music that felt good. I didn’t want to overthink anything, I just wanted to create joy with the songs.
There are elements of indie guitar pop and even bands like the Beatles alongside the Americana and Country music. ‘You’ll be Fine’ gives me Gin Blossoms and bands of that ilk vibes. Country is a broad umbrella these days, isn’t it?
Yeah. Whenever I’m writing or creating music I’m never bound or constrained by what instruments we think we should use. We work to what the song needs and what the song is saying. I grew up in the country, I live in the country and I tell stories about the country – that’s how I connect to being a Country artist.
All of the instruments are played too, that’s important to me. There’s different elements that make a song Country even if it may not be sonically what Country music tells you it is supposed to sound like.
I’m always fascinated by the sequencing of albums and how much thought artists put into the journeys we go on when we listen to an album. Did you do that with ‘Hey Dawn’?
A lot!! (laughing) There’s not many accidents that we stumble into and if there are, we think about them after! (laughing) The sequencing is something that is very important to me, it’s all part of that idea of creating an ‘album world’, which is also important. We spent a lot of time listening to the songs in different order although I always knew that ‘Hey Dawn’ was going to be the opening track. When I wrote that song, I knew straight away what its purpose in the ‘album world’ was.
The flow and the story of the album needs to be woven in a consistent and impactful manner when you make an album. I wanted to create that joyful feeling when you listen to it but you can’t peak that too early on an album! A lot of effort went into the sequencing of the tracks which then, obviously, goes to waste when you listen to it on shuffle on Spotify! (laughing)
Rock and metal albums always close down with a massive, bombastic song whilst Country albums often wrap up with a ballad or something quiet and meaningful. You chose ‘Stories’ to finish the story of ‘Hey Dawn.’
For me, I wanted the song to be almost like an afterthought or an echo of the album. On ‘Fallow’ we opened with ‘Mountain Song’ and then closed with a reprise of that song that was a direct echo. With ‘Hey Dawn’ I wanted it to be more of a lyrical story-based echo because of the themes of the record that all came together in this place that felt contemplative and quiet.
Across all the songs, like ‘Ugly Flowers’ and ‘When I Die’ there is some really strong storytelling going on. What writers have influenced you in your musical career?
Oh my goodness! I grew up listening to a lot of old Australian Country music and a lot of classical music too and the stories of those genres definitely influenced. My dad tells bush poetry and we’d go camping in the mountains with our horses and sit round the fire and my dad would tell stories and yarns around the fire so I grew up with that as a very strong influence.
I also love reading – I read a lot when I can fit it in at the end of the day before I collapse! (laughing) Of course, there’s a lot of writers, like John Prine, that I really admire. As far as Australian influences go, I love Paul Kelly and John Williamson and their reflections on the world.
American Country music is often built on the three pillars of faith, blue collar hard work and rural living – is that the same in Australia because I’m not sure it is in the UK?
I think it’s slightly different when you go back to the roots of Australian music. It exists, for sure, nowadays but the general tone is stories of everyday people, reflected back to them. Australian Country is less woven around reflecting a class of people or a lifestyle but the influence of American Country music is global now and that has an effect on people and on writers everywhere, for sure.
Is the goal of a lot of Australian artists to follow in the footsteps of musicians like Keith Urban and Morgan Evans and head to the bright lights of Nashville or are the majority of Australian Country artists happy to work the home market, which is a fairly big territory to begin with? UK artists are quite conflicted about this.
I think we are the same. There’s a lot of artists that are gunning for the bright lights of Nashville and will definitely make it, they’re amazing, and then there are others that are happy with the home market and what Australia offers. I mean, it’s so expensive to tour outside Australia, I can tell you that from first hand experience! (laughing)
Just getting out of this country alone, let alone touring, is quite a feat! In terms of aspirations, there’s a mixture of both although I think more and more people are looking outside of Australia to try and make careers.
We talked about ‘Hey Dawn’ having this uplifting narrative. Have you started writing any songs for your next project and got any inkling of what they are saying or starting to tell you?
I have, actually. I’ve been writing quite a lot over this past summer, picking my guitar up in the lounge at various moments between the busy stretches of family and farm life! (laughing)
I feel like this next album might be back to being a little bit more introspective. There will still be joyous moments and I still want to keep that element as it’s how we do our live shows, they are very lively and fun, but I think it might be a bit more introspective.
Fanny Lumsden UK Tour: Buy your tickets right here.
LEEDS, BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB WEDNESDAY 3RD APRIL
MANCHESTER, DEAF INSTITUTE THURSDAY 4TH APRIL
LONDON, OMEARA FRIDAY 5TH APRIL
CARDIFF, CLWB IFOR BACH SATURDAY 6TH APRIL
BRISTOL, DARESHACK SUNDAY 7TH APRIL
DUBLIN, WORKMAN’S CELLAR WEDNESDAY 10TH APRIL
BELFAST, EMPIRE MUSIC HALL THURSDAY 11TH APRIL
CORK, DE BARRA’S FOLK CLUB FRIDAY 12TH APRIL
LIMERICK, DOLAN’S SATURDAY 13TH APRIL
