From Prince Albert To Broadbeach: Josh Stumpf Makes His Way Down Under

Canadian country music star Josh Stumpf will be bringing the ‘Leftover Whiskey’ to the Gold Coast’s Groundwater Country Music Festival this week.

Josh Stumpf Profile

Described as the love child of Chris Stapleton and Morgan Wallen, Saskatchewan-born country music artist Josh Stumpf has made his way down under for the Groundwater Country Music Festival, held later this week down at the Broadbeach Parklands.

While on ground, he caught up with Countrytown to chat about the Australian country music scene and how it differs from our cousins in the far, far north: Canada.

Despite the distance, being from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Stumpf has heard that the Aussie country music scene can be “can be rowdy, which I love,” though he notes he’s also heard they “do their research when a new artist comes to town, that they like, know all the words to songs going in.”

The Aussie reputation isn’t the only thing keeping Stumpf on his toes though when traversing his way through the southern hemisphere’s largest island-continent. He is contending with a lot of changes.

“I knew the plugs would be different, I knew that you guys drive on the other side of the road,” he laughs. “But yeah, the McDonald’s menu is crazy different. Like, there’s so many things on there that we don’t have that I’m actually kind of jealous.”

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All jokes aside, Stumpf is ready to party with the best of them and with the release of his new single Leftover Whiskey you can expect that he hits on the sad subject matter and blends it seamlessly with outlaw country and two-step that will keep you toe-tapping your way through the three-day festival.

“I grew up on country, I grew up on a lot of post-grunge, early 2000s – I call it divorced dad music – that kind of rock,” he recalls. “3 Doors Down, Nickelback… that is a lot of my influence, so you might hear that shine through.”

His humble Canadian accent frets through giving comparison of himself to other artist greats (“someone told me Cameron Marlowe one time, which I will definitely take because I love that guy’s voice”), and also through the delivery of his raspy chords – which you can hear in his popular cut Johnnie Walker (Back To Me).

“It’s just kind of the idea of personifying this bottle sitting up on the shelf that can see everybody coming in and out of the bar and it knows everything that’s good,” he explains. “Like a security camera, kind of.

“The whole idea behind it is coming into the bar alone, talking to the bottle as if you’re, you know, talking to a bartender.”

Groundwater Country Music Festival has continued to grow over the years and has become an annual fiesta down on the Gold Coast.

With local and international stars alike on ground to soak up the gorgeous spring sun and vast expanses that locals have come to love down the coast, Stumpf is truly in for a treat, provided he carries enough sunscreen to protect that gentle Canadian disposition.

“I’m just looking to have a good time,” he enthuses. “See, everybody said that it’s beautiful, it’s right on the beach… So I’m really looking forward to that, but it’s just gonna be a big party”.

But who is he most keen to see at this year’s edition of the festival?

“I’m just kinda exploring some of the new ones, but you know what? Tyla Rodrigues was at the CCMAs in Canada not that long ago and I got to meet her, and she was great,” he admits. “So I’m very excited to see her perform, as well, again.”

Rodrigues recently teamed up with American country music sensation Braxton Keith tackling the old country classic Do I Ever Cross Your Mind which has made her one to watch by punter and star alike and has seen her frequent Groundwater consistently as a homecoming show when she isn’t busy touring the world herself.

The party down at Groundwater is sure to be stacked with the impressive lineup they have managed to curate with names like Kasey Chambers, The Wolfe Brothers, Kaylee Bell, Beccy Cole, James Blundell, and Lane Pittman all listed to perform alongside Stumpf who is willing to experiment with a new audience.

“I got a couple of covers in there that I love performing back home so I’m curious to see how well they’ll do over here as well”, he teases, while also noting fans can look forward to hearing his latest single, Leftover Whiskey.

“I really loved the melody first,” he says of the song. “That’s my favourite part of it, is how the melody kind of flows through the song, and, when we started writing it… it just ended up being really catchy and I really like the song.”

Groundwater Country Music Festival runs from October 16th-18th at Broadbeach Parklands as part of Experience Gold Coast. Tickets to this year’s event are on sale now.