Bud RokeskyAnyone who has had the pleasure of stumbling across alt-country artist Bud Rokesky’s socials will be very familiar with the slick-haired gentleman whose years belie him, often riding in his truck while decked out in high vis for his day job at a paper waste facility – and usually waxing lyrical in poignant and often humorous ways about life and what it throws at you.
From an outsider’s perspective, the day-job night-hustle seems like pretty apt feeding grounds for a country-music maker with an insatiable appetite for pensive, rich but stripped back crooners and a ponderous way with words.
Upon the impending release of his sophomore album Dusk, the Brisbane-based artist is reflecting on his atypical journey to creating the home life he wanted first, before turning to music and leaning on his personal highs and lows to make songs that hit him – and his audiences – deep.
“My number one goal was always to be a dad, then a musician. Music just took a back seat, I guess, while I was living ‘real life’, and falling in love with real life.
“I guess it came in handy, because when it came to writing and singing songs, I could pull from all of that. There's a lot of love for both sides of it.
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“And [my kids] are the most beautiful people. You’re supposed to be fake and be humble and be like ‘I had nothing to do with it’. But sometimes I actually think I had nothing to do with it; they’re nothing like I was when I was their age!”
Rokesky has had time to adjust to this new-ish chapter of his life in music after ticking off that first goal of starting an enriching family life. In 2023, he released his pared-back and dulcet-toned debut, Outsider, garnering comparisons to Johnny Cash and Townes Van Zandt, but, like all good country artists, with a unique journey and a space carved out for his stories to echo from.
In the live setting, Rokesky has covered a lot of ground swiftly and impressively in just a short time on the scene.
He has headlined his own national tour, notched up support slots alongside Cedric Burnside, C.W. Stoneking, Brad Cox, Deacon Blue, Meg Washington, Tim Rogers & Sons of the East, Matt Corby and Tim Easton, and become a must-see on festival stages including Bluesfest, Gympie Music Muster, Woodford Folk Festival, BIGSOUND, Nimbin Roots Festival, Groundwater, Queenscliff Music Festival, Tamworth Country Music Festival, and more.
“But I do really like playing the intimate shows, you hear the crowd a lot more,” he relates. “That relationship between the artist and audience, you want there to be as little barrier as possible.
“I remember when I played the Matt Corby shows, we did the in-ear monitors and they ended up having to put a microphone pointing out to the audience so that I could hear what the audience was saying or yelling or even cheering. It was just so foreign to me.
“But I would love to play some bigger shows again with bigger energy songs. That's something I haven't really got to do much of yet, and it's a big dream of mine. But at the same time, I'm just so grateful for everything.”
Much of Dusk’s 14 tracks were recorded over a seven-day stint at Yama-Nui Studios on the Sunshine Coast. Joined by longtime collaborator and producer Alex Henriksson, multi-instrumentalist and producer Craig Ross, and drummer and engineer Steve Summers, the sessions were quick and simple and focused on following creative sparks and capturing them, rather than obtaining “perfection”.
“The cool thing was, there actually wasn't a clock ticking on the studio time,” Rokesky laughs.
“It was more like a ‘let's see what happens in this first week’. And we just got on with it. I guess there was so much freedom there, we were in such a good place with such good people or friends, and it just flowed so easily.
“But also wanting it to be very human. So, there weren't hundreds of takes of anything. There was no heavy editing. It was mostly acoustic instruments, and whatever the room did, you know. There's a lot of noise on the album because we didn't spend hours moving microphones and, you know, all that stuff.”
There are details that emerge in Rokesky’s songwriting on Dusk that aren’t just tricky wordsmithery to reel in listeners.
Even in conversation, he talks about everyday things in a poetic way, mentioning routine minutiae that immediately turn into vivid scenes or sensations – like growing up staring up at the pressed tin roof on uneventful days at home, or hearing cicadas on long walks around the rural family property in Queensland’s Mary Valley and the notion that “just the sound of them made it seem even hotter”.
Such details are akin to the artists who excel at uplifting and honouring the ordinariness of life, those who see and give value and importance to the “small” things. They certainly enrich Rokesky’s writing, and it’s a trait he’s cognisant of.
“I often wonder if it has a bit to do with the isolation I was surrounded by. There was no distractions. That was it. You know, we would get so bored that we'd say, ‘Okay, well, let's go for a walk on the property’, and then you just go for a walk – which is funny to think you could be so bored we would take going for a walk over sitting around the house!
“There was a lot of long car drives as well. Mum loved music as well, so we always had a huge variety of music to listen to. That’s when I remember really noticing music being its own thing, and thinking, ‘gosh, this is special’.
“Now, being able to do what I do now in my truck, I can spend hours at a time just driving and soaking up all sorts of music. It’s magic, and I'm so grateful I get to do it.”
Bud Rokesky’s ‘Dusk’ is out now. The singer is touring this May - tickets are available here.
BUD ROKESKY
‘DUSK’ 2026 AUSTRALIAN TOUR
Friday 1 May - Bootleggers, Sydney, NSW*
Saturday 2 May - Meatstock Fest, Sydney, NSW
Sunday 3 May - Full Throttle Ranch, Buttai Valley, NSW
Friday 8 May - Shotkickers, Melbourne, VIC^
Saturday 9 May - Shiraz Republic, Cornella, VIC
Sunday 10 May - Royal Mail Hotel, Birregurra, VIC
Friday 22 May - Junk Bar, Brisbane, QLD#
*with support from Lady Lyon & CJ Stranger
^with support from Rupert Bullard & Bad Traffic
#with support from Hayley Marsten & Jarith Hughes
