Boy From the Bush Lee Kernaghan to be inducted into CMC Hall of Fame on Gold Coast

GOLD Coast country music hero Lee Kernaghan will be inducted into the Country Music Channel Hall of Fame when the 7th annual CMC Music Awards roll into his hometown for the first time on March 23.

Gold Coast country music great Lee Kernaghan. Picture: Mike Batterham

HE’S one of the country’s most rewarded, awarded and lauded country music stars, but Lee Kernaghan is gobsmacked at his latest honour.

The Gold Coast country music hero will be inducted into the Country Music Channel Hall of Fame when the 7th annual CMC Music Awards roll into his hometown for the first time on March 23.

“Wow. Just wow,” Kernaghan, 52, said.

“It’s a huge honour but it also makes me wonder, am I getting old?”

The 2008 Australian of the Year, Kernaghan’s induction comes as he celebrates 25 years since the release of his mega-hit country anthem, Boys From The Bush, and debut album Outback Club.

“It was a huge turning point in my life, the release of that song, and to see its popularity grow across Australia was beyond anyone’s expectation including mine,” Kernaghan said.

Boy From the Bush: Lee Kernaghan. in 1994.

While he’s notched up 34 No. 1 hits and won a staggering 36 Golden Guitars since Boy From the Bush debuted in 1992, Kernaghan insists he’s “still the person in that song”.

“Oh yeah,” he said.

“Born in Corryong, in the High Country, when Dad was driving trucks on the Snowy Mountain Scheme — conceived in the Mackay Caravan park, so Dad says — and grew up in the Riverina.

“Mum was a dairy farmer’s daughter from Berringama and grandfather Pat drove sheep and cattle.

“My formative years were spent in rural and regional Australia. No matter where you travel in the world, it’s something you never, ever forget.

“The music has ebbed and flowed between hardcore country and pub rock — or rural rock — and that’s the kind of world I inhabit.

“The common denominator through it all is the lyrics. It’s songs about my experiences travelling Australia, our people and our way of life and it’s that unique Australianness that makes me so passionate about the music.

“It’s not made up. It’s real.”

Country musician Lee Kernaghan and his wife Robby Kernaghan. Photo: Regi Varghese

Kernaghan will perform live at the awards ceremony, to be held at The Star Gold Coast and broadcast live on Foxtel’s CMC, before he backs up for the sold-out CMC Country Rocks concert at Ipswich from March 24-26.

“It’s a huge deal that the CMC Awards are coming to the Gold Coast,” he said.

“They are so exceptional in so many ways. They attract some of the biggest stars internationally as well as the cream of Australia’s best artists.

“The atmosphere is just all for the music. It’s an exceptional event and the awards are voted by the fans.”

Kernaghan will also head out on the road on a national 25th anniversary Outback Club tour to promote his The 25th Anniversary Album, due out on March 24.

“It’s more than a concert. It’s a party, an event — the annual general meeting of the Outback Club,” he said.

“Twenty five years goes by real fast when you’re having fun.”