Melanie Dyer: 'I Just Didn’t Fit Into Any Of The Boxes That They Offered'

Melanie Dyer is one very busy woman. Having literally just stepped off the plane in Cairns ahead of her performance at the Savannah In The Round music festival, I catch her while she waits to see if her bags will turn up.  

“The flight was delayed three times, but we got here in the end”, Dyer says through a knowing laugh. “If the guitar doesn’t come through, I guess we can always do an acapella country music set!” 

It goes without saying that Dyer was not always this busy. Growing up on a wool and crop farm in Mount Russell, New South Wales, she tried to find ways to occupy her time. After attending the country music festival in Tamworth at a young age, she eventually discovered that music was going to be her thing.

“I was probably the only country singer in my town. I was the random girl who sang country music, but I really looked up to artists like Kasey Chambers. So, I picked up a guitar and started writing songs.” 

Taking to it like a duck to water, she first began to write about her life on the farm, the isolation, and what it was like to grow up in a small town. Later, she began to write about crushes and high school gossip. Needing an audience, she eventually began to perform at her school assembly. Through these performances, she ultimately began to hone her sound. 

“As I got older, I became more influenced by Taylor Swift, especially with her crossover from country to pop. I really gravitated to that in my writing. Then, when I turned 17, I started working with producers who made modern pop stuff. After this, my sound really became modern country.”

After participating in several talent quests in the Tamworth scene, Dyer then decided that she wanted to take her career to the next level. “I just didn’t fit into any of the boxes that they offered. I would always choose really rogue songs, and they wouldn’t really understand why. All of it was a really great experience in preparing me to launch a professional career.” 

Wanting to take the next step, Dyer then auditioned for the first season of The Voice Australia. 

“I decided that I wanted to sing a cover song, but the judges didn’t turn around for me. Then, after the audition, once we got talking, Keith Urban asked me to sing an original. When they heard it, they were all a bit disappointed they didn’t choose me. Obviously, I was, too.” 

A complete blessing in disguise, while leaving the set of The Voice, Dyer was approached by a representative from Universal Music Australia who wanted to sign her. Thereafter, she was signed and began her country music career. In hindsight, Dyer considers the experience to have been beneficial to her music career.

“It just allowed me to organically grow as an artist and not have time constraints placed on that growth. I just wasn’t moulded into anything. I’ve always pushed the envelope of what I think country music is. What music I want to make. Sticking to my guns has been a good thing. I don’t know if it would’ve been that way had I done The Voice and gotten through.”

As Dyer tells me, the work has not stopped since then. Initially, though, Dyer found it something of an uphill battle to get a wider audience to listen to country music. 

“Back then, though, country music was not a cool genre to be in like it is now. Except for Taylor Swift, there wasn’t really a strong pop/country crossover. No Morgan Wallen, Post Malone or artists like Beyoncé dipping their toes into country.” 

With increased popularity, Dyer also considers there to have been a slight dilatation of country music. To determine the legitimacy of the music, Dyer believes the test to be simple, “you can only tell if it’s authentic if there is a truth in the story they’re telling.”  

In recent times, Dyer has also noticed a diversification as to what constitutes country music. “Country music is evolving so much. You can have pop-country, blues, roots, whatever. It’s very diverse. Country music is more based around the lyrics and the accent of the vocals. Production-wise, it could be dressed as a pop song but still be country. When it comes down to it, what makes country music is the storytelling.” 

To evolve with the current country music landscape, Dyer, along with many other Australian country music artists, currently sings with a hybrid accent. “It’s all just a part of adapting to the times. Most Australian country singers sing with a hybrid accent because it can be polarizing to sing in the Aussie accent. So, we’re adapting.”

These changes appear to be working, too. Soon set to support American singer Cooper Alan on his AUS/NZ tour, Dyer is also soon set to play at the Groundwater Country Music Festival on the Gold Coast. 

“I could not be more excited,” Dyer said when speaking on the shows. “I’m doing two shows there. I’ve been announced at the songwriter rounds, which means I get to perform with other artists, too.” 

To do those shows, though, she will need a guitar—something that, given the background of waiting for the guitar to arrive at the airport, sounds like a contentious topic. I think it’s best we leave her to it and wait until the shows. 

Melanie Dyer is set to perform at the Groundwater Country Music Festival on the Gold Coast from October 18- 20. Tickets are free - you can find more information about the festival here.