Country Charmer

It’s been quite a journey for singer/songwriter Morgan Evans, who released his debut self-titled album back in March. 

From Newcastle to playing Nashville, and then taking home a swag of Country Music awards such as New Artist of the Year and Male Artist of the Year. Lovers of country music are in for a treat when they check out the bloke many are touting as being the next Keith Urban!

Morgan, how did touring with acts such as Taylor Swift and Alan Jackson help lift your profile and expand your audience base? 

An opportunity to work in any way with an artist at the top of the game is always amazing. The Taylor tour was exceptionally crazy. We were playing 2,000-seaters and the noise from the crowds was deafening! The connections we made that tour pop up all over the place now, all these years later. The AJ tour was huge too, and probably had more impact for us because we had a couple of EPs out at the time. Bottom line is that artists like that are playing to big audiences and for them to share that audience with us and allow us to warm them up, well that’s just the highest of compliments. 

Why did you choose to record your debut album in Nashville? 

I have spent a lot of time there over the last three years. I first travelled there in 2007. Songwriters, musicians and studio folks from all over the world travel there and move there to work with the best in the biz! I have been fortunate enough to make some really great friends and great creative relationships there and it just made sense to do the record there. Jedd Hughes, an ex-pat Aussie, produced the record. He’s worked with Emmylou, Guy Clark, Keith Urban, Alison Krauss and just about everyone on some level. I felt I was in good hands! 

What did you set out to achieve with the album? 

I just wanted to make the best record I could. I wanted to try some new things and push my own boundaries. I wanted to record the best songs I could with the best vibe I could… In every recording experience I feel like I learn A LOT – especially working in that environment. I am very proud of what we came up with. I look forward to playing the songs every night. 

Tell me about the songs that made their way onto the recording. Were there any surprises along the way in the production process? 

There were a few songs that came to life in different ways; some that snuck on we didn’t expect to make it. One cool moment like that was tracking a song called The Cape. We had a guitar vocal and every time it played back I could hear a certain female voice. I texted Kasey Chambers from across the other side of the world and through the beauty of modern technology she lent her voice to the track. As you can imagine, that was, and still is, a buzz for me. 

What are the songs on the album about? 

Girls, life, love, loss, revenge, peace and the constant struggle with society’s expectations, to feel okay with devoting yourself to something you believe in.

Tell me about Another Goodbye Kiss – most songs about toxic love are from a female perspective, so how does this one roll? 

That one girl that knows how to give you just enough rope to keep you coming back without actually giving you anything but another goodbye kiss… 

You have had a series of awards this year for CMC Music Awards – how has acknowledgement by the industry helped your music? 

Well, actually the cool thing about those awards is that they are 100 per cent fan voted! So that result is just incredible for us. I say thank you for that every night on stage. I can’t say it enough! 

What is your goal for the next year? 

We are releasing the album in Canada next year and plan on spending quite a bit of time overseas. That said, we have a heap of Aussie dates in place too and I’ll always be making regular stops in on the north coast of NSW! I have some great mates there and you need to make time for waves now and then!

What should we expect for your show at the Ballina RSL? 

The best show we have ever played! Ha! It’ll be high energy, fun and well, I guess you’ll never really know unless…