Seven years after their last tour together, the popular country rock duo of Drew McAlister and Troy Kemp - McAlister Kemp to their fans - have reunited for a new tour and album.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Their first new single, Paid for Drinkin' Beer, comes out on Friday, June 17.
The two road-tested their partnership in late May, playing shows in Dubbo and Toronto with a full band, and doing an acoustic set at the Beer Shed Brewing Company in Campbelltown in Sydney's West.
"It's a relief to know we've still got it," Drew McAlister says. "A lot of water has passed under the bridge. We're having a good time on stage. We did the Beer Shed. That was just Troy and I on acoustic guitar and we haven't done that for years. And man, it was the two of us on stompbox and we had a good time.
"We didn't really have a plan, we sort of made it up as we went along, sort of had a set list. You know, when the two of us getting going, we start bouncing off one another and chatting, its just funny as hell. It's good."
Things have changed: Kemp, who was previously living in the suburbs of Newcastle, now calls Nashville, Tennessee, home. He plays solo and continues to write and perform there.
McAlister, from the Blue Mountains, has recorded two solo albums and was part of Adam Brand and The Outlaws successful record project.
Now under the management of Dan Biddle, they are set to hit the road with their We Roll Tour, starting in August. While they are playing a headline show at Mount Isa Rodeo on August 12, the tour officially starts August 19 at Moonshiners Bar in Tamworth. The tour includes a main stage gig at Gympie Muster and slots at Savannah in the Round festival in Mareeba, Queensland; and the Country Rock Festival in Bungendore, NSW.
The biggest acknowledgement they are back on the Australian scene: McAlister Kemp will be releasing a new album on August 19.
"If you look at the stuff we used to write, we haven't strayed too far from that for this new album," McAlister says.
"We purposely did not show up to do a bro-country album. We wrote a country album, and that's exactly what we stuck to.
"I think it would be cheating the fans if we did. You know. I think we're kind of giving them what we know we do, just in a different time. Obviously the production is slightly different, a bit bigger. We've got some wonderful topics we've written about, wonderful songs, some party songs. I think it's what people would expect from McAlister Kemp."
One of the first singles is After the Breakdown. The chorus rings out:
Cause broke don't mean that it can't be fixed, And it ain't gonna last forever.
It's just finding all of those broken bits and putting you back together, Just get on back behind that wheel.
"When we wrote that song, that was our first song back that we'd written together in five years," McAlister says.
"We sort of sat down. I don't think we planned to write that day, it sort of happened. We were talking about a couple of people we know who were going through a pretty hard time, and it just got us to thinking, what everyone had been through with COVID, I guess, you know, you gotta get up and keep going."
It's been a rough few years in the music business, McAlister can attest.
"Over COVID, I was mowing lawns, that's what I did," he says. "Mowing lawns and landscaping, because there was nothing else to do. I had to put food on the table."
When everything is added up, it's probably not surprising the two are making music together again.
The McAlister Kemp story
They had success from the beginning, as McAlister Kemp. Their first album, All Kinds of Tough, was launched in 2010, followed by Country Proud in 2012 and Harder to Tame in 2014. They make straightforward country rock, anchored by their dual vocal harmonies, Kemp's electric guitar and McAlister's acoustic guitar. Their riffs are catchy, and their lyrics connect with a loyal country following.
They picked up a Golden Guitar for Best New Talent in 2011.
They made a splash in Nashville in 2013, playing a private party at country star John Rich's home (Mount Richmore) in Nashville.
But when it appeared they were at the height of the powers, they split up, playing their last shows together early in 2015.
"It sort of imploded, for want of a better word," McAlister says of the break-up. "It has been good for us, I think.
"Troy and I have talked about it. At the time, things happened, and pretty quick. We'd been solo guys for 20 years before we met, and then suddenly, we're releasing our 'Best of' album, in a five-year period.
"So, it all happened pretty fast, and, I guess, we were both solo for 20 years, we were pretty set in our ways before we met. So, look, it was an itch that needed to be scratched, simple as that. And we went and did that."
Now, they appreciate what they made and what they have more than ever.
"It's still amazing," McAlister says of returning to the live stage, "when they start singing All Kinds of Tough back to you, and Blue Collar Night, and It Don't Buy Your Love. Like 700 people singing that chorus back you, it's really cool. It never gets old, it never gets old."