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LEE KERNAGHAN

BIOGRAPHY

Lee Kernaghan’s music rumbles across the Australian landscape like a souped-up ute belting out a cloud of dust. For more than three decades, this modern-day bush balladeer has bridged the gap between country’s classic storytelling and a new breed of arena-rock showmanship. From the moment his debut album, The Outback Club, made waves in 1992, Kernaghan has channelled the heart and grit of regional Australia with tracks that have become anthems—“Boys From The Bush,” “Hat Town,” “The Outback Club,” and “She’s My Ute,” among them.

His list of accolades reads like a career-spanning highlight reel: 13 studio albums (all Gold, Platinum, or multi-Platinum), 40 chart-toppers, and four ARIA Awards, including the Outstanding Achievement Award for his seminal work Spirit of the Anzacs—the highest-selling Australian album (all genres) of 2015. He holds 38 Golden Guitars and has been inducted into both the Australian Country Music Roll of Renown and the CMC Hall of Fame.

But numbers alone can’t capture the raw energy and unmistakable authenticity that pours from every Kernaghan gig. After a sold-out run in 2024, he’s hit the road again with Boys From The Bush – The Concert, taking his trademark swagger and a setlist that spans three decades of hits to fans across the continent. This new tour features an all-star band and the promise of brand-new material—tracks that carry on his tradition of shining a spotlight on the spirit, resilience, and humour of life in the bush.

Kernaghan’s devotion to rural Australia doesn’t end when the house lights go down. His Pass the Hat Around Australia and Spirit of the Bush tours have raised millions of dollars for drought, flood, and bushfire relief, while also supporting hospitals, schools, and volunteer organisations. Whether he’s banging out crowd favourites onstage or putting his time and resources behind the communities he loves, Kernaghan has become a living symbol of the outback’s give-it-a-go ethos.

2015’s Spirit of the Anzacs marked his artistic high-water mark—spending four weeks at #1 on the ARIA all-genre album chart. Transforming letters from Australian servicemen and women into a work that bridged generations and genres, the album cemented Kernaghan not just as a country star, but as a storyteller whose work had become part of Australia’s cultural fabric.

For proof of Kernaghan’s enduring impact, watch Lee Kernaghan – Boy From The Bush, the 2022 film by Universal Pictures. Part concert film, part road map to his storied career, it reveals how one man transforms the triumphs and trials of the land into songs that resonate far beyond country music’s borders.

Following the success of his top-selling ARIA Country Album of the Year, Backroad Nation, and recent collaborations—“Who I Am” (with James Johnston) and “Country Is Coming to Town” (with The Wolfe Brothers)—Kernaghan has a new album in the pipeline for late 2025.

In a world where trends shift with the wind, Lee Kernaghan remains a constant—an artist whose music and mission embody Australia’s wide-open spaces and unwavering solidarity. His live shows are a testament to the enduring power of a good story set to a driving beat—and the promise that, no matter how far he travels, he’ll always come back home to the bush.

 

Career Highlights

  • Vocal collaborations with Trisha Yearwood, Olivia Newton-John, Dierks Bentley, Robby Kernaghan, Slim Dusty

  • Hit Maker of the Decade (twice)

  • Four ARIA Awards

  • 38 Golden Guitars

  • 40 #1 singles

  • Over 2.5 million album sales

  • 2006 Order of Australia recipient

  • 2008 Australian of the Year

Lee Kernaghan

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©2025 by Lee Kernaghan.

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