Kyogle singer Renee Jonas releases new single

A rising country music star has returned to her Kyogle roots to launch a new track that has shot straight up the iTunes charts.

Kyogle country singer Renee Jonas is thrilled with the initial success of her most recent release.

Roseberry Creek resident Renee Jonas is making a name for herself in country music circles after her latest single Step Up received strong support this week.

The tune’s No. 1 status on the Australian iTunes Country Songs Chart comes after Ms Jonas returned to her Kyogle roots to work on her latest tracks.

She heralds from a remote rainforest upbringing, having grown up around the Toonumber National Park on a property her parents still own.

“Before digital we didn’t have power, we didn’t have phone reception, it was very remote,” she said.

“It was very much a little bush-kid life.

“I’d skip around the forest singing to myself because I thought everyone sang.”

Ms Jonas didn’t consider her singing anything special or a skill to be developed until her high school teachers encouraged her in Kyogle High’s musical Charades in 1997.

She then started to take her singing seriously.

Noted for her talent, the youngster entered the Casino Beef Week Talent Quest under the guidance of Carol Lockhart.

Soon after she took out the NSW amateur Lismore Talent quest, bettering well-known country trio The McClymonts who she thought she’d never win against.

The win set Ms Jonas up at the Conservatorium of Music where her singing journey took it’s next big step.

Kyogle country singer Renee Jonas is making waves in the Sydney countrymusic scene.

She now balances her time between recording commitments in Campbelltown and her parents’ piece of paradise.

“I was teaching in the Kyogle music shop and singing all through the Northern Rivers area with my band Boogie Nights,” she said.

“I scraped up all my money and saved up for a couple of years and moved to Sydney around 12 years ago and started from scratch, building myself up, getting back into the industry until finally I could afford to record my debut EP.

“Country music is as much about putting in the miles as it is putting in the work.”

She has been recording her vocals in her bedroom and sending them to domestic and international producers.

“Blame it on the wine” I wrote with three Canadians and one producer, he produced the track in Canada and I recorded the vocals, half up in Kyogle with local guy Brett Hamlyn and we sent it all off and it was mixed in Canada.”

Ms Jonas said she had a few releases planned for this year, including an Anzac song due for April.

She said she was leaning towards assembling a Christmas album with a mix of covers and her own take on things.

“Right now I’m in the process of rescheduling Tamworth and I want to come and visit mum and dad a bit more,” she said.

Ms Jonas said her iTunes ranking showed her music was mixing it with some more widely-known artists.

“This means that I’m not just competing against singers like Amber Lawrence or Darlinghurst or Casey Barnes who are releasing their own music and have huge followings,” she said.

“I’m competing against Keith Urban.

“I’m competing against Carrie Underwood and Garth Brooks.

“That means that every single person that chose to purchase music on that day chose me over some of these other artists.

“And that’s amazing.”