A Sunshine Coast duo who have made the roadways of Australia their home, travelling troubadours and natural lovers JC & the Tree have funnelled their passion for adventure with their latest piece of original music.
The pairing of singer-guitarist Jesse Tree – who handmade the acoustic guitar and didgeridoo he played on the new track – and violinist-pianist Jacinta, 'Wide Open Plain' fuses prog-rock with their indie-folk sound.Written roadside while traversing the Nullarbor Plain during their first national run of shows they dubbed 'Big Lap Tour', and inspired by the breathtaking scenery of Australia's interior, 'Wide Open Plain' is a riveting, magnetic, at times tranquil, and powerful sonic journey.
Euphoric, electrified yidaki, soul-stirring guitar fingerpicking and haunting strings bleed together with earthy, powerful vocals. Eddie Vedder meets John Butler vibes with more than a smattering of Xavier Rudd feels.
"This song is a big step for us creatively," JC and the Tree says. "We wanted to capture the power and serenity of the Australian outback, but also challenge ourselves musically."
Ahead of the song's release tomorrow (25 July), today scenestr is stoked to premiere 'Wide Open Plain'. Enjoy.
"It's heavier, rockier, but still us," adds the pair. "Lyrically, the song contemplates the transience of human lives as a temporary part of a larger journey, exploring how our bodies emerge from the land and ultimately return to it, echoing nature's eternal cycle of birth, death and rebirth."
With previous festival appearances including Woodford Folk Festival, Airlie Beach Festival of Music, Caloundra Music Festival and Yackandandah Folk Festival, Jesse is currently making his third acoustic guitar. His second guitar is made out of timber he sourced and prepared himself from a tree that naturally fell during a cyclone.
"Last year during our first national tour, we were halfway along the longest, straightest stretch of road in Australia. Mesmerised by the endless horizon of the Nullarbor Plain, we pulled over to take some promo photos on the road," JC & the Tree share, detailing how 'Wide Open Plain' was written.
"Our instruments were out, the camera was rolling, and we just started jamming. Before we knew it, this song pretty much wrote itself, right there next to the highway, with trucks zooming past us. It was one of those moments where the music just happened."
The pair will be full-time on the road for the rest of 2025 as they tour down the east coast of Australia from northern Queensland, then into rural Victoria and South Australia before returning for shows in New South Wales and Queensland.
