Sometimes, truth be told, family ties run little deeper than a shared genetic ancestry. Not enough to form the basis for a musical collaboration…but then the ‘Dustys’ are no ordinary family. The torch that Slim Dusty lit has been passed on as the Kirkpatrick family continue the great musical tradition.
In a unique musical collaboration that spans 2 generations of the Dusty clan, daughter Anne and son David Kirkpatrick, together with Slim’s grandson Jim Arneman (Anne’s son) and his wife Flora Smith, will be presenting a show that pays tribute to their unique musical heritage.
Anne and David spent the larger part of their childhood on the road, travelling and performing with their parents’ country music show. Anne has gone on to forge a successful solo career for herself, releasing 14 albums along the way, and earning many accolades including 6 Gold Guitar Awards and an ARIA for her 90’s release ‘Out Of The Blue’.
David has a busy career as an emergency specialist doctor, but this hasn’t stopped him following in the family footsteps, with many appearances and recordings to his credit—most recently his fine songwriting and singing were featured on the Slim Dusty Family Reunion album and tour, with songs like, “Old Purple’, about Slim’s old touring Fairlane car-
Slim and Joy’s grandson Jim Arneman carries on the family tradition, along with newly welcomed member of the family, his wife Flora Smith! Together they front the lineup that is ‘Small Town Romance”, sharing songwriting and singing duties . Their self titled debut album garnered a finalist nomination at the Tamworth Awards in 2018 and they are currently writing and preparing album number 2!
These shows will be a must-see for Australian country music fans and a rare opportunity to see members of the First Family of Australian country music