We Speak Country

Olive Mae Celebrates Country Life on New Single Small Town

Published

3 hours ago

November 1, 2026

Olive Mae. Photo via @olivemaemusic.

Western Australian country singer and songwriter Olive Mae is celebrating the quirks, characters and close knit communities of rural Australia with her new single Small Town, a lively country track inspired by her hometown of Cowaramup. The song was released on October 30.

Small towns have a way of keeping everyone connected. Everyone knows your name, news travels quickly, and keeping a secret can be nearly impossible. But when life gets tough, there is usually someone ready to lend a hand. It is a way of life Mae knows well. Drawing on her own experiences, she has created a playful tribute to the familiarity, humour and sense of belonging that come with living in a close knit community. The track blends a classic country groove with folk and alt country influences, with lively fiddle from Luke Moller and the distinctive Australian vocals of Mae bringing the story to life.

It is a song about the familiarity of living life in a Small Town where everyone knows your name and knows your business but will also help you anytime you need them to, Mae explains. I think this song will resonate with anyone who lives in a close knit community and it is one of my personal favourites.

The song was cowritten with Golden Guitar nominated lyricist Kath Stewart during the first SHE Songwriting Retreat of Mae, an initiative run by acclaimed Australian country artist Lyn Bowtell. Produced by award winning producer Matt Fell, whose credits include Sara Storer and Shane Nicholson, Small Town is the third single to emerge from their recording sessions for the forthcoming second EP of Mae, which is due in early 2027. The release follows Country Songs, which reached number three on the Country Songs Top 40 Australian Airplay Chart and number ten on the AMRAP National Airplay Chart. A music video produced by Jay Seeney of Blacklist Productions was filmed in and around Cowaramup, taking in the main street of the town, the local bowling club and a nearby gravel road. Mae, a 2025 graduate of the CMAA Academy of Country Music, will play the NewFarm NewCountry Festival in Denmark on November 7, followed by Pemberton Mill Hall on November 8 and a house concert in Margaret River on November 13.

We Speak Country

Fanny Lumsden Reflects on Family and Roots in New Album Traditions

Published

53 minutes ago

November 1, 2026

We Speak Media

Fanny Lumsden. Photo via @fannylumsden.

Australian country artist Fanny Lumsden has released Traditions, her fifth studio album, out now as of October 30, 2026. The 11 track record turns its attention to family and roots, and to the question of which traditions a person keeps, which ones they reshape and which ones they finally let go.

Lumsden launched the album the way she has built her whole career, in person and close to home. Her release week celebration in Tooma, the small New South Wales community at the heart of her story, brought her band and her people together for a live launch she described as insane, the kind of night that only happens when a town shows up for one of its own. That setting suits the record. Traditions is an album about where a person comes from and what they carry forward, written by an artist who has always treated rural Australia as more than a backdrop.

The new record follows Hey Dawn, the album that won Best Country Album at the 2023 ARIA Awards, an honor announced by Dolly Parton. That win confirmed Lumsden as one of the defining voices in Australian country music, a storyteller whose work pairs small town detail with big, singable choruses. Traditions now takes the next step, gathering 11 songs that weigh inheritance against independence. For longtime listeners, it is a homecoming. For new ones, it is an open door into one of the most distinctive catalogues in modern Australian country, the work of an artist taking stock of her life with gratitude and clear eyes.