Ain’t It The Best by Hannah Gillespie – Video Premiere

In late 2021, a chance discovery via a songwriting competition, hosted by Kasey Chambers, was the catalyst for a new phase in singer-songwriter Hannah Gillespie’s career. 

Following the birth of her child, Hannah is now focused on the completion of a new album with Kasey in the producer’s chair and a world-class band bringing her new suite of songs to life.

Her latest single, Ain’t It The Best, is part travel journal, part mid-life crisis and part honest parenting rant. Produced by Kasey, the track was engineered by Brandon Dodd and mastered by Jeff McCormack.

Hannah says, "Just over 2 years ago our little neuro diverse family took a deep breath, packed up our lives, and moved into our caravan to live and explore full time on the road. It was a scary, complicated, isolating, and kind of insane decision to make but we are so grateful every day we did... a few months in I wrote Ain’t It The Best under the awning on a stinking Cairns summer evening. It came quickly and easily, like all the best songs, and it tells that story."

She adds, “After a few glasses of bubbles one evening (and 10 years out from playing music mind) I entered it into a song writing competition run by Kasey Chambers and her studio, The Rabbit Hole Recording Studio, during a random ‘what the hell? moment.’ Turns out she loved it as much as I do, and I won a spot to go record it with her in the producer’s seat.”

The music video, which premieres today exclusively on Countrytown, was created by Hannah and edited by Tim Winterflood.

“I had the idea that I would love to capture the vibe of life on the road with kids, not the ‘living the dream’ version – or the Instagram version, but the real slog – the good and the bad,” Hannah says about creating the music video. “So, I put a post on a Facebook group of mums who caravan and camp with kids and asked them if they would like to submit mobile phone footage of their journeys for inclusion. The response was fantastic, and I received so many excellent videos, it was a very difficult job to decide what to use.”

She continues, “I am so grateful to the families who shared honest parts of their journeys that helped me capture the essence of the song and the story.”

Watch the video below!

Hannah was born and raised in Majors Creek, on Yuin Country, in the Southern Tablelands of NSW. Music was an everyday occurrence in the Gillespie household, so it was only a matter of time before she picked up a guitar and started to write. Hannah undertook formal studies in performance and composition and went on to play widely with a diverse array of collaborators.

Hannah’s debut solo album Growing up Stupid, was recorded under the watchful production eyes of Duncan Lowe and Kevin Nicol and was released in 2009. Her second album, All The Dirt, saw renowned musician/producer Ken Stringfellow at the helm in 2011.

Follow Hannah Gillespie on her Facebook page here.

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