Australia’s Davidson Brothers (Hamish and Lachlan) are packing for the US, leaving tomorrow (9/4) for a month touring the States with their band in tow.
Theirs is a story of determination and tenacity, and it shows what can be accomplished when talent, hard work and perseverance come together.
The boys first gained nationwide attention in Australia when they were among the winners in the 2005 Nescafe Big Break competition, and have since won dozens of awards within the Aussie music scene. Earlier this year, they won a Golden Guitar at the Australian Country Music Awards. They took the trophy in the Instrumental of the Year category for their song, Left Hand Drive.
Later this month they will be a featured showcase performer at the IBMA World Of Bluegrass in Nashville, the first time an all-Australian band has been so honored.
Hamish and Lachlan first attended the IBMA convention in 1997, when both were in their teens. They’ve since made the trip for IBMA three more times, taking advantage of the Nashville studios and players to record an album during each visit.
All the while they’ve been promoting bluegrass – and their original music – in the somewhat less hospitable climes of Australia, teaching other musicians to play and sing in a bluegrass style, and carving out a niche for themselves in the burgeoning country music scene down under.
Lachlan explained how the band has used networking to leverage their hard work into a string of September dates at major US festivals and an IBMA showcase.
“This will be our first official tour of the USA, with work VISAs and all that. Last year I attended IBMA to be part of the International Summit meeting which really encouraged me to pursue our international connections.
It started with some follow-ups from the Gig Fair at IBMA in 2007. We locked in a gig at the Tri-State Festival from there. Also that year we did a guest spot at Starvey Creek, and they followed through with a booking for this year. Bean Blossom has given us a guest spot, and we are on the bill at Jerusalem Ridge in Rosine.
In January we applied to Showcase at IBMA and we were selected. It was only the second time we have applied. We released our first single in the USA last July on Prime Cuts of Bluegrass, which got a great response.”
The Davidson Brothers Band features Hamish on banjo and fiddle, Lachlan on mandolin and fiddle, Peter Cooper on resonator guitar, Daniel Watkins on guitar, and Joshua Verco on bass. Both brothers provide lead and harmony vocals, with Watkins contributing as well.
“We thought this would be our best opportunity to get as much exposure possible in the US bluegrass scene without being there all year. This seems to be the best time of year to be there, with so much on.
Bringing our own band from Australia – all young guys – is really important to show that not only Hamish and myself can play at the level of today’s bluegrass, but we have trained up a whole band to really showcase our talents.
We’re looking forward to the many connections being established at IBMA, and can’t wait for the feedback on our track on the Showcase CD – and how we are received with our Aussie sense of humor and style of entertaining.
We are both extremely excited!”
Here’s a music video from one of their previous CDs, a track called Raised On The Road, directed by Ross Wood.
