Artist of the Week: Jayne Denham

CountryTown is proud to announce Jayne Denham as our Artist Of The Week, following the release of her new single, Highway Vagabond.

The country-rock singer-songwriter has been surrounded by music her entire life, having grown up in a family of singers and entertainers in the Blue Mountains, NSW. Notably, her mother, grandfather and aunties were all in musicals, and Jayne started performing in family shows from around five-years-old. She credits her love of country music to her father, who would play it day in and day out. Jayne later started an all-girl band as a teenager, where she took the reins as lead singer.

She then has scored four #1 smash hits in Australia, six Top 10 songs in the National Country Charts, twelve Top 30 videos, and six CMC nominations. In 2017, her high-octane reputation caught the attention of US promoters, who invited her to perform at the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas, Texas, leading to a demand for her to be constantly touring America for two years. Also known for her trucking songs, her deep connection with American audiences and the trucker community led to Jayne becoming Ambassador for the Women In Trucking Association in the US.

The five-time Golden Guitar nominee has released five albums to date: Sudden Change in Weather (2008), Shake This Town (2010), Renegade (2013), Calamity (2018) and Wanted (2021). The single, Chick Ute, from her debut album charted at #2 in Europe and Norway, #4 in Italy, #5 in the Netherlands and Denmark and #12 on the European Country Music Association Chart.

Jayne knew her new album was going to be called Wanted and when she pitched the title to her good friends and songwriter mates Troy Kemp and Matt Scullion, the result sparked the whole idea to create an album hailing back to the wild west – inspired by old western movie soundtracks yet blending it with modern day country rock.

Wanted reached #1 on the ARIA Australian Country Albums Chart and #2 on the AIR Australian Indie Chart. It has also been Golden Guitar nominated for ‘Contemporary Country Album of the Year’, in which Jayne also scored a nod for ‘Female Artist of the Year’.

Jayne said, "This album is something quite unique. It was created to be a musical journey, an experience. I had an idea to mix country rock and old-time western movie soundtracks together. It's different to what I have done in the past but still me. I just decided to make an album that was artistic, and not just a bunch of songs."

Her latest single, Highway Vagabond is about making your own way, doing things differently and not adhering to the norm. 

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