Bernard Fanning, Paul Dempsey come to Mackay with Dempsey Fanning National Park

Australian music giants of the 90s and 2000s grace the stage in regional Qld for upcoming festival, and this time they’re not sleeping on floors.

Paul Dempsey and Bernard Fanning of Fanning Dempsey National Park. Photo: Cybele Malinowski

Nearly 14 years after Something For Kate supported Powderfinger in Mackay during their farewell tour, two of the country’s music icons are teaming up to grace local stages once again.

Nineties legends Paul Dempsey and Bernard Fanning have combined talents to form Fanning Dempsey National Park and will be playing at the upcoming Summersalt Festival in Mackay.

“I’ve just realised how long it’s been and now I’m ashamed,” Mr Dempsey said.

From what started as a “good laugh”, their happy accident saw them venturing into unknown territory and releasing songs like their newest ‘Blackstar’ which Mr Dempsey says is unlike anything they ever released.

“There’s a simplicity to it. It’s kind of pure pop,” he said.

The two frontmen are now enjoying their new found project, with one off regional shows across the country to celebrate their ‘Deluge’ album.

Paul Dempsey from Something For Kate

It’s a far cry from their 90s heydays where Mr Dempsey recalled couch-surfing in between gigs, performing in any show he possibly could, all while losing money in the process.

“I didn’t live anywhere for a couple of years, I just slept on floors because I couldn’t pay rent,” he said.

“When you’re that age, it doesn’t matter whether you have any money or not, whether you sleep or not, you just keep going on this mad youthful energy and I just chose to do that, getting around the country playing gigs.”

While this punk rock attitude served him well coming out of the Victorian country town of Mornington Peninsula in 1994, Mr Dempsey says playing live is the best advice he can give any up and coming musician.

“If you come from a regional area like Mornington or Mackay, you just have got to do it wherever you can to begin with and hopefully it means you can also go and do it in the next town and the next town,” he said.

Paul Dempsey and Bernard Fanning of Fanning Dempsey National Park

“You don’t know if you’re going to ever hear from anyone but you can go and make a noise somewhere and annoy someone who is enjoying their chicken parmigiana and that person will hear you.

“You can’t rely on anybody else, you can’t wait for anybody else, you can’t wait to be discovered, you just go and have to start doing it.”

After a 30 year career decorated with nine number one albums, millions of sales, a staggering 38 songs in Triple J’s Hottest 100 and scores of awards from ARIA and APRA, the pair are digging into their original 70s and 80s influences, hoping to come across their next “happy accident”.

“Your mission is to make accidents and mistakes because they end up being the surprising things that end up being really fun and taking you on to something new,” he said.

Fanning Dempsey National Park will join the likes of Missy Higgins, Birds of Tokyo and The Waifs at Harrup Park on Saturday, May 3.

Originally published as Bernard Fanning, Paul Dempsey come to Mackay with Dempsey Fanning National Park