Busby Marou have conquered the Australian charts and are becoming a national treasure - but Mudgee holds a place in their hearts, as they head here next Thursday.
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The Rockhampton duo - Tom Busby and Jeremy Marou - struck ARIA Gold with their self-titled album, while the follow up Farewell Fitzroy debuted at #5, before Postcards from the Shell House went to the top. And they're continuing to grow their reputation as one of Australia's hardest working live bands, touring to promote their latest work The Great Divide.
But before any of that there was a memorable early gig.
"Our first show outside of Queensland was actually in Mudgee, supporting Lior, which was so many years ago now," Tom said.
"We just thought we've got this great opportunity, being a couple of young guys from Rocky, and we played at Roth's Wine Bar. And it was just so good, the best night, we went out with all of the locals and a few have since come to our shows in surrounding areas.
"It was a really fond memory and something we'll never forget. We've been trying to get back to Mudgee ever since, so this is really cool."
He joked that in the intervening time "I like to think that we're 10 years better". But what has occurred has been the shift to an even more personal style of songwriting on the latest album, which audiences have been connecting with.
"The new music has gone really well, obviously we like those songs a lot more than the others at the moment because they're new and fresh, but they mean a lot more to us personally and we're keen to share them with an audience," he said.
"What exists now - that didn't back then - is the serious issues, mental health and seeing some of our mates struggle and even ourselves battling our own demons from time to time, and what you see in the music industry.
"And really caring about it, because as a young fellow you don't care, but now getting older - around 30-50 - you see a lot of men in particular who really struggle.
"The title track, 'The Great Divide', almost felt too personal to sing because it's about a mate we were close to. But once we started singing it people were coming up to us after gigs and saying 'thank you so much, you understand, my brother or someone I know is struggling' - it makes you realise people connect to this."
And while Mudgee was already a special place for the pair, Tom said they always make sure that they head to regional areas.
"We pride ourselves on making the full show a ripper and we try to go to regional towns, because we're regional boys ourselves," he said.
"A lot of bands just go to the cities - and try to capitalise on the big markets and make people come to them - but we find that doesn't necessarily work for us.
"Some times you get spoiled in places like Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, because there's always something on. We like to go to the people, there are towns that get missed by touring circuits, so that's a big thing Busby Marou have done for a long time - and people appreciate it.
"Shows in the regions become events, everyone's excited and the vibe's great.
"There's no rules at our gigs apart from respecting and looking out for each other. If there's kids there, older people, younger people, whatever, get in and have a bloody good time.
"If you want to sing and dance, go nuts, if you want to sit back on a chair and take it all in then you can do that too. As long as you're into it, you're going to get a ripper show."