Dan Davidson & The Road Hammers Recap On Touring Australia

When Dan Davidson and the Road Hammers touched down in Australia for the Gympie Music Muster, they knew they were in for something different, but the scale and vibe of the event still caught them off guard.

“We're pulling into the Gympie Muster, and our countryman here, Dan, is the international ambassador,” the Road Hammers shared. “First thing you see when you pull up to Gympie is great, big sign. Who's the national international ambassador? Dan Davidson. They even spelled my name right. I was so happy,” Davidson added. “People call me Dave all the time... Do you think my name is Dave Davidson?”

It was Davidson’s first time back in Gympie in a while, and the impact of the crowd hit hard. “You're just driving along through a little goat trail through the woods, and all of a sudden, boom, it opens up, and there's 40,000 people camped out in the in the middle of nowhere. It was amazing,” he said. “It still boggles my mind that you fly halfway around the world and people are singing your songs back to you.”

That kind of dedication doesn’t go unnoticed. “Country music fans in Australia... they do their homework. When an international is coming over, they've done the research. They seem to know what to expect.”

And compared to Canadian festivals? “Not a lot of trees... especially out west. It’s just farmers fields, not a tree in sight, and it’s so hot,” Davidson said. “At Gympie, I’ve been saying this all week, you just joined a country music cult in the forest. You wandered in, and I’ll drink that Kool Aid all day long.”

The Road Hammers also had a more adventurous arrival than expected. “We went the wrong way, so we came in the back and we are not four-wheel drive. We thought we were gonna die. We made this festival a miracle,” they joked. “I dodged two kangaroos, some kind of a small dog animal and a bat hit the windshield. It was wild. I had my kids with me. They were all just like, what is happening? We're on safari.”

As for Aussie acts that impressed, Dan pointed to one standout: “One that blew me away was The Wet Whistles, I feel like they just completely blew everybody away at the acoustic Grove stage. So I really like those guys.” The Road Hammers added: “James Johnston, Kaylee Bell, we did a set with them. They're absolutely fantastic. We’ve been listening to all these artists for a long time online. To meet them and play with them is a big treat.”

They also caught up with some familiar faces. “It was cool to hang with the Wolfe Brothers, Hayley Jensen, and our buddy Josh Setterfield. There's so many, we're becoming part of the scene here now, and it feels good.”

Davidson also gave a special shoutout to Max Jackson, who was recently part of his CCMA nominated collaboration with Tim Hicks. “I think it's really awesome, because I don't know how many Aussies have been nominated for a Canadian Country Music Award. So she might be the first. She might be one of the first anyway. And yeah, we're just so proud of her… she’s lovely to work with. Like, just a cannon of sunshine and rainbows.”

The Road Hammers are also making waves in Australia with their latest single Dirty Hands, Clean Money, now out on local country radio. “It’s a theme everybody can relate to. Work hard, play hard,” they said. “It’s only been out for like a week, and everybody knew the words. You show up in the bush, there's 30,000 people singing your song back. It was a pretty big treat.”

Having toured for over two decades, they’ve played everywhere from China to Spain, but Australia keeps pulling them back. “Aussie is like a second home. We've been here four times now. I think we could kind of change our address,” one said. “I’ve actually started filing immigration papers for all of us,” Davidson joked.

With all their global touring, both acts agreed on one thing: the strength of country music is growing. “Every era has its own traditional or pop sound, but it’s always about the lyrics, the story, the heartbeat behind it,” the Road Hammers said. “It all lives in the same pool.” Dan added, “There’s a home now for everyone in country.”