Australian New Country

Slim Dusty laid the foundation, but these New Country artists are taking it to the next level and breaking fresh ground in the 21st century, whether they're working off the Oz-Nashville axis or walking the line on home turf. We kick off with heavyweights Lee Kernaghan, straight from the scrub, and Keith Urban, who conquered the States after moving to Kentucky in the early '90s. Kick up more New Country dust in Next Steps.

Sophie and Celeste Clabburn — better known as the Sunny Cowgirls — deliver a Ute-load of laughs with their Aussie-fied version of "I've Been Everywhere" (and if you can sing along the whole way through, you must be a New Country nut). Kasey Chambers pulls at heartstrings with "The Captain" and poster boy Brendon Walmsley measures the emotional impact of "Still Falling" to perfection. Still searching for your inner roustabout? Try our New Country Deep Cuts.

A relentless touring schedule and solid grassroots fanbase have made Women in Docs (the folk-leaning duo of Roz Pappalardo and Chanel Lucas) a trailblazing force within the New Country movement: "Wanderer" confirms the charm of their combined talents. And Sara Storer spins a mean yarn with the "The Ballad of Tommy Foster," in which she puts herself in a bank robber's shoes.

Led by these young guns, Aussie country music has stormed the new millennium with good times and great tunes. These Essentials gather the cream of the new crop in one place, offering a mighty fine sampler of a genre that continues to evolve and crossover into the realms of folk and pop while never losing the spirit of the bush. Our playlist includes a sizeable crowd from the independent Compass Bros label (Adam Brand, Melinda Schneider, among others), alongside the big guns, influential clans (the Kernaghans), and standout collaborations (Sara Storey and Paul Kelly).