Amber McIntosh, Diesel & More: The Highlights From This Week’s ‘Grass Roots’

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

Finnian Johnson – Dishonest

A force-of-nature talent with the passion to match, emerging singer-songwriter Finnian Johnson has a deep love for country music. Over the past few years, he has been honing his craft and building a solid reputation performing at shows and festivals, combined with national television exposure on season 11 of the popular television series The Voice Australia, where he made the Top 12. Winning hearts and fans across the country with his deep and dulcet tone, it now seems fitting for Finnian to release his original music, starting with a self-penned soulful pop-country track called Dishonest.

Amber McIntosh – Wasted

Wasted is a song about deep heartbreak after realising that the person you were in love with is incredibly toxic. It touches on the embarrassment felt after ignoring all the red flags. The lyrics are a double entendre, not only relating to how Amber McIntosh is getting “wasted” as a way of dealing with the pain and how she wasted so much time on the wrong person, but how he made her feel crazy – and crazy for loving someone like him. Inspired by the late Patsy Clines’ 1961 hit Crazy, the song Wasted takes on a more modern twist of dealing with heartbreak in today’s society.

Diesel – Pasadena

Diesel shares new single Pasadena from his forthcoming record Bootleg Melancholy, due out on October 13. A relaxed moment to stop and reflect, Pasadena is yet another colour on the palette of Diesel's artistry. He is currently on tour around Australia, with dates pencilled into 2024 in celebration of the album. An exuberant 14 tracks that make up what is at once the most diverse and most cohesive album Diesel has recorded to date, it highlights absolute virtuosity from the multiple ARIA Award-winning singer and guitarist. Travelling across time, place and memory, this is rousing, yet reflective adult pop music that celebrates the joys of everyday life while braving the difficult stuff – the challenges we all eventually face – with insight and tenderness.

Helen Townsend – Is This Love

Award-winning, West Australian singer-songwriter Helen Townsend is that rare artist who can make large venues feel like lounge rooms. Get comfy and lean into her richly lyrical songs, get up and dance, sing along because she’s singing about you, fall in love with the stagecraft... Whatever your desire, it’s all good because it’s just you and Helen; when the lights go up ,no one will ever know. Townsend’s new single, Is This Love, asks the age-old question, the one we’ve all wanted answered sometime or another. Dressed up in irresistible honky tonk blues, Is This Love is an instant dance-floor filler and the first leg of a musical oeuvre that has Townsend at the peak of her powers and will have audiences beaming and calling out for more.

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