If Dylan Wright’s latest single Those Nights feels like a warm, slightly bittersweet hug from your teenage years, that’s because it kind of is.
When asked to throw it back to one of “those nights,” Wright doesn’t hesitate. “The good old days. Yeah, I remember there was a time where, I think I was in year 10 or 11, and my best mate, he lived around the corner and we were just coming back from a friend's house, riding our bikes down the middle of the street,” he says. But it’s what follows that gives the memory its weight. ”We’ve kind of lost touch, I haven't spoken to him in a while, he lives in the shire still, but if I do see him, it's just like no time has passed. You kind of don't realise in those moments that it ends. It’s kind of sad.”
That blend of nostalgia and reflection sits at the heart of Those Nights, a track Wright actually wrote two years ago, “just before going on Idol,” with a clear backup plan in mind. “I wrote it just before going on Idol, because I planned if I didn't win, this is the song that I was going to, this is the next single.” The release may have taken a little longer than expected, but as he puts it simply: “We still got there.”
While Those Nights leans into missing simpler times, Wright says adulthood hasn’t stripped him of innocence, it’s just reshaped it. “I think growing up you do make a lot of mistakes and you try and learn from that,” he reflects. “But I think I'm gaining my innocence back through my daughter's eyes in a way.”
Whether it’s teaching them to cook, helping them ride a bike or attempting increasingly ambitious hairstyles, fatherhood has become both grounding and inspiring. “I actually got compliments at school the other day from little girls like, oh who did your hair? And Piper was like, dad. And yeah I could tell they were impressed.” His latest effort? “Today was a Dutch braid.” Execution review? “I didn't really do it, but it was an attempt.” he laughs.
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Sonically, fans may have noticed a lift in energy compared to the Half a World Away EP. Wright confirms there’s been a shift, but not a total emotional overhaul. “Yeah, I mean yes, yes and no. There are some sad songs coming. But there are happier songs and going on from that the stuff I’ve been writing is much happier and more upbeat.”
Part of that evolution comes from personal work behind the scenes. “The past six months I’ve been studying counselling, and I’ve been doing a lot of kind of inner work on myself,” he shares. In unpacking his own patterns, he’s realised just how foundational music has always been.
“I’ve come to realise music has always been there for me, songwriting has always been there for me…. I started writing songs and then mum got sick and I didn't have anyone,I had to go to hospitals and kind of cook for myself, make sure she was having medicine, all at 16. And I had no one around me that kind of understood that, so I would sit in my bathroom and play and the reverb of that would sort of help me feel less alone and feel like someone was singing back to me I guess.” It’s a powerful image, and one that explains a lot about his introspective catalogue. “Songwriting has always been that kind of therapist for me.”
He admits it’s easier to write when he’s hurting, “I do find it easier to write when I’m sad”, but these days he’s spreading his creative output across three projects: his solo work, Sons of Atticus and electronic outfit Breathe. After an eight-month gap between releases, he’s not easing back in quietly. “I just wanted to hit the ground running and be like, this is what’s happening and you can't stop me.”
On top of new releases, Wright has locked in a 21-date for his headline The Songs & Stories Tour, a run that promises old favourites, fresh songs and even some unreleased material. “People should come out because they’re going to hear old songs, new songs, I am even going to do the first ever song that I did at my singing lessons…. And you’ll get to hear the stories of where songs have come from, and then I get to hear [the audiences’] stories too so we’re helping each other there.”
It sounds like a mammoth year coming up for Wright, but it’s already off to a flying start. Wright’s side project with good friend Matt Joyce, Sons of Atticus, recently walked away with their first Golden Guitar win this January and delivered one of the most honest award-night thoughts you’ll ever hear. “The first, honestly, the first thing in my head was like the bluegrass people are going to hate this.” he says with sincerity but a laugh.
“We listen to bluegrass all the time, we listen to country, we listen to so many other kinds of music and the songs that we write aren't just down one lane.” Instead, the moment became something much bigger. “To win something [with Matt] was just amazing, like oh we’ve done it and for such a huge industry award that some of our idols are voting on, it was a very special night.”
From riding bikes down suburban streets to juggling three musical identities, studying counselling and adding Dutch braids to his skillset, Dylan Wright feels like an artist in motion - creatively, emotionally and literally. As he gears up for a massive year ahead of releases and touring, it’s clear he’s not slowing down anytime soon.
