There's been more laps around Australia than she'd care to remember, and the lure of Nashville and the rest of the US has been a constant.

However, last month the Newcastle country songstress finally reached the Old Dart as part of her alt-country collaboration, The Pleasures, with esteemed Melbourne singer-songwriter Lachlan Bryan.

The hectic 14-date tour around England and Scotland, playing with Alabama artist Hannah Aldridge, worked its magic.

There was even a lightning 24-hour trip to Paris for Britt and her partner Brad Bergen.

It's fair to say that Britt is hooked.

"It was my first time over there, which was odd because I've been trying to get there for so long, but I've never been able to get there," Britt says.

"It was so fabulous and I feel like we got a really good reception.

"We've been asked back from a few different venues and festivals next year, so I think all and all it was a success."

It's been less than two years since Britt and Bryan released their first single, The Beginning Of The End, as The Pleasures.

The four-piece also features Damian Cafarella (bass) from Bryan's Melbourne Americana band The Wildes and Bergen (drums).

Since then there's been the singles - the bluesy Every Story Has Two Sides, rockabilly stompers Paranoid and Howlin' For My Darling and in August their debut album The Beginning Of The End was released.

The album's tales of marital tension and collapse and Britt and Bryan's role-playing make The Beginning Of The End a darkly thrilling listen.

Tamworth has also opened its arms. Last month The Pleasures received Golden Guitar nominations for Group or Duo of the Year and Alt-country Album of the Year.

"We've believed in this project so much that we were prepared for other people to take a lot longer to get on board with it," Bryan says of the Golden Guitar nominations.

"So it's a really nice thing. I would have been OK with not getting recognised, as we're in this for the long haul, and people will catch up eventually.

"So it's really nice that folks in the industry and our peers have caught on so quickly."

While it would be incorrect to suggest that Britt was treading water prior to The Pleasures, but her solo career had plateaued.

Her most recent albums Catherine Britt & the Cold Cold Hearts (2018) and Home Truths (2021) failed to match the commercial success of her triumphant 2015 record Boneshaker and early favourite Too Far Gone (2006).

The Pleasures have ignited the fire in Britt, again.

"I'm excited about where this goes," she says. "It has so much room for growth, the songs are only going to get stronger and stronger.

"I'm pumped for it. I love the excitement of doing something new and fresh after doing the same thing for 20 years.

"It feels like I'm starting over again."

The recent UK and US tours have also given Britt and Bryan the opportunity to build and hone their on-stage chemistry.

"Personally I feel like it's what I needed," Bryan says.

"It's great when you're in a band and you've done hundreds of gigs together.

"We haven't done hundreds of gigs together yet, but it's starting to feel like we've had."

Britt agrees that the chemistry has deepened through touring.

"With the more we work together - speaking for myself - I've learnt to appreciate Lachlan more as I get to know him," Britt says.

"He's a really hard worker, a great songwriter and showman. Working together, we're bringing out the best in each other and I feel like the best is yet to come.

"I feel if I lift my game on stage, I feel he'll lift with me and vice versa.

"We're always pushing each other to the next level and that's what is great about being in a band."

The Pleasures have a busy summer ahead, with appearances at the Tamworth Country Music Festival and the Port Fairy Folk Festival.

There's also plans to tour the US and UK again, as well as venturing to the European mainland.

The other major goal of 2024 is to get cracking on recording a second album.

"The way we wrote this first record, we had a rule that we had to be in the same place at the same time, which was a crazy rule as we were still coming out of COVID at the time and we live in different states," Bryan says.

"Now we know how we work together and we have a sense of what a real Pleasures song is.

"We may be able to relax that rule a little bit. That said, the songs we've written recently have been together.

"We started writing when we were in the States a few months ago. We're excited about the little bits of new songs we've written.

"We feel that maybe this will take it to another level again."

The Pleasures play Mayfield's Stag & Hunter Hotel on Friday and Dungog's Royal Hotel on Saturday with support from Sydney band The Big Wheels and country outlaw Allison Forbes.