DEALING with the loss of his mother, Jimbo Stokes stepped out of his corporate job in the city, and picked up a guitar.
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It had been years since his mother, prominent Tamworth doctor Bronwyn Stokes OAM, passed away.
The words just came naturally to him.
"Mum was a massive figure in my life, so it was something I took a long time to come to terms with," the Scone-based singer-songwriter told the Leader.
The result - his debut single Atlas - was released on Thursday.
The song is a tribute to his mum, someone who "held so much on her shoulders but was selfless and had immense courage all the way to the end".
Dr Stokes OAM was a beloved family practice GP in the Tamworth, Walcha and Merriwa areas who was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her services to regional medicine, in the field of nutrition.
She passed away in 2017.
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Born and raised on a sheep and cattle station near Tamworth, Jimbo wrote the song during COVID, when he teamed up with award-winning producer and multi-instrumentalist, Rod McCormack.
Jimbo moved to Scone at the beginning of 2022, after many years working, studying and playing rugby in Sydney.
He is now a full-time creative, balancing his time between music and visual arts and has also strapped on the boots to play for his local rugby club, the Scone Brumbies.
"I'd learned to play the guitar growing up, but just started strumming away and started doing some writing," he said.
"[Atlas] is one that came pretty naturally and easily, telling the story of me at the time getting about the city but being quite distracted."
The former William Cowper student's music has a strong country influence, but he draws inspiration from a wide variety of genres.
"More the traditional country singers, even going back to Johnny Cash, and then Bob Dylan. A bit more recently, Garth Brooks," he said.
"I'm not a massive fan of modern country pop. I like a bit of rock, and traditional operatic music."
Atlas is available from all digital music platforms.
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