Every week, ABC Country’s Grass Roots program shines a light on the best independently released country music. Selected from the hundreds of new tracks submitted, the one-hour program is now available on demand as well as premiering each Monday at 9 pm on ABC Country, showing the health of Aussie country music across all its sub-genres. Here are three of this week's tracks you should have on your radar. 

Head here to have a listen to this week’s full episode of Grass Roots.

Faith Williams - Dear August

Faith Williams is breaking hearts across the country with her poignant new song, Dear August.

A moving, tender track about pregnancy loss, Williams tells the story of approaching the month that was meant to welcome a new life. It’s a song about holding love and grief simultaneously, and the quiet strength of holding onto hope.

Williams, a 22-year-old country-inspired singer from the Central Coast of New South Wales, debuted her latest EP, from which Dear August is pulled, Queen of Hearts, in January 2025. The EP features appearances from Kasey and Bill Chambers and was produced by Brandon ‘Dingo’ Dodd.

She said of the stunning song, “The song is written as a letter to the month itself, acknowledging that it’s not to blame for the absence of my child, but still carries the weight of that grief.”

Imogen Clark - Sebastian

Imogen Clark doesn’t stray from traditional country music stylings on her new song, Sebastian. Featuring a fiddle, drums, and guitar, Clark’s vocals are effortlessly smooth and commanding in the catchy tune.

The Nashville-via-Sydney artist has embraced the grit of country on her latest album, Choking On Fuel. Sebastian is an example of her diverse artistry, and with the Australian bluegrass band Midnight Chicken backing her, it’s a song you’ll want to press “repeat” on.

Sebastian follows a year of non-stop touring for Clark, who returned to her roots by recording with an acoustic guitar and capturing the excitement, vulnerability, intensity, and musical dexterity that fill her live shows.

Choking On Fuel also proves just how fast Clark works, with her previous album, The Art of Getting Through, having landed last May, and the deluxe edition released last October.

The Pleasures - Was It Something I Said?

The collaboration between Lachlan Bryan and Catherine Britt—making music as The Pleasures—continues to wow with the driving new single, Was It Something I Said?

Featuring Britt’s devastating, cracked vocals and luscious harmonies with Bryan, plus Bryan’s raspy verse, the pair put a spin on the typical heartbreak ballad by making it a rock tune that wouldn’t be out of place alongside Tom Petty, Sheryl Crow, and Stevie Nicks.

The expressive new single arrives ahead of The Pleasures’ forthcoming second album, Enemy Of My Enemy, which will be released on Friday, 15 August. Was It Something I Said? marks an impressive new era for the duo, showcasing their bigger, bolder, and riff-laden moments.

The Pleasures embrace country as equally as alt-rock, transporting listeners to the ‘90s with the mid-tempo swagger, memorable guitar, emotional Hammond organ, and emotionally charged vocal performances.

You can listen to the latest full episode of ABC Country’s Grass Roots here.