Country singer-songwriter Jasmine Rae is hitching her wagons in preparation for the upcoming Mount Hunter Country Music Stampede at K-Ranch Arena just outside Sydney.
“I'm really excited about it,” Jasmine says about playing the event for the first time.
“I'm now living in Sydney, I'm originally from Melbourne, and now to be doing a show that's really close to where I'm living is fun because there are a lot of country music fans around the Sydney area, so to have a festival near here is going to be really cool. The artists that are there are some of my closest friends, so it's going to be a really fun time and I know the vibe is going to be good.”
K-Ranch Arena is set on 400 acres in Mount Hunter, a region Jasmine says is the heartland of country music and home to some of her most devoted fans. “Country audiences up here are just the best,” she says.
“People talk about having stage fright, that doesn't come into play because it feels like a party. It feels like you're just getting ready to jump up there and have a great time with people who you may not have seen in a little while and they are ready for a great time.
"It's something special. You don’t feel like you're being judged or critiqued – they're part of the show because they bring the vibes.”
Jasmine is performing at Mount Hunter Country Music Stampede alongside her esteemed country colleagues Drew McAllister, Christie Lamb, Adam Brand and Adam Harvey, and says folks can look forward to a set of favourites and some new material.
“We've got a really high-energy show and I do it all in really high heels, so there's always this moment when you go 'is she going to fall over?',” she laughs.
“No, it's lots of energy, this amazing sounding band, if I do say so myself – damn they're good – and we're going to play as many favourites as possible from my other albums and also a new song so it's going to be really, really fun.”
The new material Jasmine will be showcasing at the festival comes from a batch of songs she has been working at since releasing her 2015 album 'Heartbeat'.
“I've been writing for a new record, which has been something that's been on the back-burner for a couple of years now,” Jasmine says.
“I've been waiting for when it feels right to release some new music, so it's been taking shape and it's been looking like an actual piece of work, which is really exciting after a couple years of just writing but nothing's been feeling totally right.”
Jasmine says it's important she write music that can have longevity in a time when music is beginning to be considered disposable.
“I definitely don't want to make disposable music,” she says.
“I don't think anyone sets out to make disposable music but you want to know that even if no one else gets this, I need to make it. I have a purpose for why I want people to hear it and I also have that burning desire to create this thing, so finally we're at that place again and it feels awesome.”
