“There’s so much music over here. It’s insane,” says Rennie-Hynes, who recently returned from Nashville’s five-day Americana Music Festival and Conference. “That was amazing, so much good music. I’ve kind of been based in Austin, and there’s so much good music here as well. You can walk into any bar and there’s some ridiculous band playing. It’s pretty incredible.”
With such a strong connection to American roots music, heading Stateside was always on the cards. With nothing but his acoustic guitar, Rennie-Hynes jetted off to play a series of gigs, making new connections along the way. “It’s worked out weird,” he says. “This guy I’d met through Facebook, he’s in a band over here and they were coming to tour Australia and I was supposed to support them. Basically, I met him and he’s lent us his tour van over here and they’re borrowing my tour van. We kind of traded countries.”
Originally from Woodford, Queensland, Rennie-Hynes’ US visit was a long time coming. In many ways, he’s bringing his music back to the heartland that provided so much of its inspiration. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot the last six months,” he says. “Australia is a large part of my identity; growing up in the bush. It’s like figuring out where I sit and trying to dissect those two worlds. It was really good to be in front of those kind of audiences, where you don’t have to battle, and people like that music from the get-go. In Australia, the Americana scene is growing, but it’s not as big as over here. This is where it all came from and all stems from.”
While he’s comfortable in the States, Rennie-Hynes isn’t going to abandon his homeland. “This is a trip to see where it’s all at. It’s been everything I thought it would be and more,” he says. “The thing was, I didn’t get the proper artist visa that I was supposed to get, so I couldn’t do publicity and things like that for the tour campaign. Basically it’s just word of mouth.
“They really get into this music over here. It’s the heart and soul of what I’m into in a lot of ways. It’s strange, because over here it’s the cool and hip thing to play country music. It’s just basically all young people over here who listen to you, which is a bit of an anomaly compared to Brisbane where there’s so much cover music. I think original music tends to get a bit more respect over here.”
With a focus on storytelling and a live show consisting of gently fingerpicked gems, it makes sense Rennie-Hynes has built a fanbase through playing house concerts. In his opinion, this approach provides an opportunity to connect with people that is becoming increasingly rare.
“It’s far more personal,” he says. “It’s far more intense as well. You definitely don’t have that separation where you just go to a gig, plug in and say, ‘Thanks a lot, see you later,’ and that’s it. It’s like, you go to a gig an hour or two early and they give you a cup of tea and feed you. You sit down with their family and talk, then you play and they give you alcohol afterwards. A lot of the time you stay there as well. It’s changing the game a bit.”
BY JAMES DI FABRIZIO
