Harmonious companions

THE most exciting collaboration to come out of the Tamworth Country Music Festival is coming to Townsville next week.

Felicity Urquhart and Brad Butcher ( pictured) have been touring since performing a show together during the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January.

What started as a one-off event turned into a full regional tour, with the latest round of shows bringing them to Cairns, Townsville, Moranbah and beyond.

Butcher, a North Queenslander who has just moved to Yeppoon, said he was glad for the chance to perform with his favourite collaborator in home territory.

“I grew up in Mackay, and we used to travel up to Cairns to play footy,” he said.

“North Queensland’s my home – I made the move to Yeppoon because I wanted a change of pace after seven years’ living in Brisbane.”

Both Butcher and Urquhart have albums out this year, with the tour being named the New Harmony tour after a song from the latter’s album, Frozen Rabbit. They held the show in Tamworth to promote the new releases, and decided to turn it into a tour due to how well it was received.

“I’ve known Fliss for a few years, the music industry is a tight-knit group, and we’re all helping each other,” Butcher said.

Butcher said his new album Travelling Salesman was a long time coming.

“This feels like an album I’ve been trying to make since the get-go,” he said. “I felt confident walking into the studio to record, learning from mistakes I’ve made up to now.”

The titular song is an autobiographical piece, about the journey of life as a performer and where some of his other jobs have taken him.

“I like to write about things I’ve lived through, storytelling is the heart of country music to me,” he said. “But my favourite songs over the years are from the guys who sit on the border of different genres, guys like Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty.”

>>Catch Felicity Urquhart and Brad Butcher at the Dalrymple Hotel on Friday, September 20. Tickets from Oztix.