RUSTY Strings is a huge middle finger to the people who didn't jump on the Brad Cox bandwagon until now.
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It's been a long road full of schooners and self-doubt to get to where he is today, but the 2018 Star Maker winner has taken the stumbles in his stride.
"F*** 'em, it never worried me but this song is a bit of an, I was right, you were wrong," Cox said.
"Just doubting yourself is the hardest thing you battle, you wonder if what you've done is good enough, if you're just pushing shit uphill, if you should fix fences and chase cows rather than make no money and have fun every weekend."
Written with bass player Jackson Besley, Rusty Strings is guitar-heavy rock country anthem that's worth a listen on a long drive.
The Jindabyne local shot to fame when he won Tamworth's Star Maker in 2018 and toured the country with his first self-titled album.
He'll back again for Hats Off to Country in July with his Rusty Strings tour and the word on the grapevine is that there's a new album in the works.
And, it's a bit experimental, Cox said.
"99 per cent of my stuff, especially on this new record is all real," he said.
Shit yeah there's a big difference between the two, American country music still has a huge stigma around Australia.
- Brad Cox
"Feelings and stories I've heard, experiences I've had, I think about things for a long time before I pick up a guitar and put pen to paper.
"When the time is right to say something is when it will happen."
It's changes in the industry that have opened doors for Cox to have his music played on mainstream radio.
For a long time American country music dominated the radiowaves, Cox said, but those people who felt Australian country music was rubbish have slowly thinned out.
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"Shit yeah there's a big difference between the two, American country music still has a huge stigma around Australia," Cox said.
"I'd love to be a part of fixing that within popular and commercial culture with our friendly young people in the cities, it's slowly breaking away.
"There's a fair few artists on Triple J with an alternative country feel and it's slowly breaking down those ideas about country."
Cox will be back in Tamworth at Moonshiners Honky Tonk Bar, July 13 for Hats Off to Country Festival.