Act to tour country-style classics

AN alt-country offshoot of one of Australia’s seminal indie bands are set to bring their sound to the region in support of their debut album.

With The Whitlams Black Stump’s first studio effort Kookaburra out this week, the group, led by The Whitlams founder Tim Freedman, will be promoting the album onstage at Piano Bar in May.

Having toured their set after debuting at Tamworth Country Music Festival in 2022, Freedman said the shows will be bolstered by the album’s release.

“For the first time, people can hear the music before they come to the show,” he said.

“It always makes a difference when they’ve done their preparation and are even singing along in some circumstances.

“There’s enough of the old to keep Whitlams fans happy because we do the biggest hits in a repurposed way so it’s very exciting for people who know our repertoire because they can see how we’ve fiddled with the songs.”

Joined by longtime drummer Terepai Richmond, Freedman established The Whitlams Black Stump in 2021 while travelling in New South Wales.

The majority of their 13-track debut was recorded that same year in Sydney, with the idea to tour the act conceived during tracking.

Performing in a duo format with guitarist Ollie Thorpe for the Piano Bar gig, Freedman said their evolved sound offers something different to the traditional Whitlams style.

“It’s a piano and pedal steel combination, which is very different to the Whitlams rock band, where it’s quite atmospheric and moody,” he said.

“It’s a similar repertoire but very different delivery. An interesting challenge was that I had to slow things down and they were in a lower key so I had to bring my A game as a crooner.

“We liven things up towards the end with some Americana covers like The Best of All Possible Worlds by Kris Kristofferson and there’ll be more surprises once we get in the rehearsal room.”

The Whitlams Black Stump’s Piano Bar performance will take place on Tuesday 8 May.

Tickets can be found at thewhitlams.com/tour/.