Cinema moment that gave country music legend Lee Kernaghan goosebumps

One of Australia’s most iconic country music legends has relived his goosebump-inducing moment during a Top Gun screening.

Lee Kernaghan got goosebumps when his own film was previewed at a Top Gun screening. Picture: Supplied

An idea conceived in pre-pandemic 2020 resulted in a life-altering shock last week for Australian icon Lee Kernaghan after he took his seat at the cinema to watch Top Gun.

As previews for other movies thundered across the big screen, he was nearly jolted from his chair when his own face appeared in a promo video for his documentary film, Lee Kernaghan: Boy From The Bush.

The country music legend shared the poignant moment with news.com.au ahead of the movie’s release on Thursday, highlighting the cathartic effect of the project, filmed predominantly in outback Queensland.

Lee Kernaghan got goosebumps when his own film was previewed at a Top Gun screening. Picture: Supplied

A culmination of 30 years of travelling and touring Australia, the film offers raw insight into the musician’s deep connection with parts of the country that inspired his music.

“There’s moments in my life and career that put the goosebumps up the arm and sometimes the tears well in the eyes,” Kernaghan said.

The four-time ARIA Award-winning artist wanted the film, which came together in the thick of the pandemic, to be about Australia, and “not so much about me”.

“It’s about the people and the towns that inspired the songs,” he told news.com.au.

His film features rare archival footage from early on in his career. Picture: Supplied

Production of the film, which the musician said was “part concert, part roadtrip”, got lucky with a “small window of opportunity” between lockdown restrictions where a small a gig for a few hundred fans at The Tivoli, a live music venue in Brisbane, could be filmed.

The concert features alongside rare archival clips from early in Kernaghan’s career, as well as new footage of Kernaghan collaborating with fellow Australian musicians Mitch Tambo and Isiah Firebrace.

The trio collaborated on the song Come Together, written while sitting around a campfire on the banks of Dumaresq River, in Queensland’s Darling Downs.

Kernaghan hoped the film showcased parts of the country that inspired his music. Picture: Supplied

Kernaghan said the experience, which included a smoking ceremony, had been “just magical”.

He said viewers could expect to be taken on a journey throughout the film, which was directed by Red Dog’s Kriv Stenders.

“That’s what this documentary film is about. Just taking you on a journey, and doing it in a way that it all unfolds into the songs and the music,” Kernaghan said.

“It’s a trip down through the years and the tours that I’ve done and the people that I’ve met along the way, and the big things that have impacted me during my career.”

Lee Kernaghan: Boy From The Bush will be in cinemas across the country from July 28.