country

With haunting and ethereal songs that masterfully delve into the depths of ferocious love, heartbreaking loss and steadfast hope, the debut album, Us, by new duo BOWEN * YOUNG unveils a unique style of music the couple has dubbed “Cinematic Americana.”

BOWEN * YOUNG’s timeless debut record created by Clare Bowen and husband Brandon Robert Young is a multi-sensory feast. The music, produced by Sean McConnell, invokes themes painted by the duo’s powerfully authentic lyrics and hypnotic harmonies.

Clare, the charismatic actress who played Scarlett O’Connor in the popular show Nashville, is known as a ray of sunshine around the world. She is an empath who leads with her heart, able to communicate and translate emotions whether on stage or screen.

Born in rural Australia, she moved to Music City in 2012 for the Nashville role and immediately earned respect from the city’s musical leaders. She has performed with artists such as Vince Gill, Zac Brown Band, working with Grammy Award winning producers/songwriters T-Bone Burnett, Colin Linden and Buddy Miller, who became her mentors.

She toured her eponymous album for sold-out crowds with Brandon in Germany, Australia, the US and UK. The pair also earned a coveted spot on Sugarland’s popular “Still the Same Tour” and toured live with the Nashville cast, selling out London’s O2 Arena.

Brandon, who began singing at age five under the gentle guidance of his mother, had a very different upbringing and path to Nashville. In 2000, he moved from Enfield, CT, to Nashville, where he taught himself to play guitar. He worked as a courier during the day and spent his nights filling empty composition books with song after song.

He spent a decade touring with music legend John Hiatt, first as percussionist and background vocalist and eventually becoming one third of The John Hiatt Trio. He worked on three of the famed artist’s albums, the last of which was nominated for a Grammy in the Americana category.

Brandon has collaborated with Grammy Award-winning artists Emmylou Harris, Colin Linden, and Mikky Ekko. Young was also invited by John Carter Cash to finish one of his father’s unpublished works for Johnny Cash Forever Words. Brandon’s music has been heard in shows such as Shameless. A Million Little Things, and Nashville.

It was serendipity that brought BOWEN * YOUNG together in 2013, when Brandon was a last-minute replacement for Clare’s no-show duet partner for her first solo set at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. They immediately discovered they had wonderful chemistry both onstage and off. Brandon proposed to Clare at the Ryman Auditorium during the couple’s Grand Ole Opry set in 2015. They were married by John Carter Cash at the Cash Cabin in 2017.

Double J (formerly Dig Music) is an Australian digital radio station owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It is positioned as a spin-off of the youth-oriented Triple J catered towards an older adult audience, emphasizing genres such as pop, rock, blues, country, soul, jazz and world music, as well as archive content from Triple J's library. Currently it is mostly automated, but has a few regular live programs.

It is available terrestrially via DAB+, as well as other online and digital television platforms.

Jeb Cardwell, a guitarist, singer, songwriter whose music takes you back to the glory days when guitar-driven riffs and rich vocals were king.
A two-time winner of the SAMIA (South Australian Music Industry) award for ‘Most Outstanding Guitarist’, Jeb is also an experienced performer having opened for artists such as Steve Earle and Tony Joe White. He is also an accomplished songwriter collaborating with his sister Abbie Cardwell to co-write ‘Anchored’ which won them the American BMI Songwriting Competition.

After spending a lifetime in multiple bands and as a recording sideman for a diverse range of artists including Chris Altman (Que Paso), Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson (Wreck & Ruin), Van Walker (Celestial Railroads) and ‘Triple J Unearthed’ winner sister Abbie Cardwell, Jeb set out in 2017 to pursue a solo career. After a three year period of writing, recording, re-writing, and re-recording, his debut studio album My Friend Defiance is ready for the world.

My Friend Defiance, a bluesy, Americana, Beatles-esque lesson in guitar tones dripping with Southern swagger. Interweaving synth and piano melodies, slide guitar riffs, rich and soulful vocals and some of the best song-writing Melbourne has seen, Jeb Cardwell's attention to detail is evident in every step of this production.

Three singles have already been released with ‘Blood Moon’ reaching #2 on the AMRAP charts.

Written, recorded and mixed at Union St Studios and mastered by Grammy award-winning Brian Lucey (Black Keys, Lucinda Williams, Liam Gallagher), My Friend Defiance features the crème de la crème of Melbourne's recording artists: Roger Bergadoz (Lost Ragas, Tex Perkins, Jordie Lane), Tim McCormack (Stella Angelico, Downhills Home), Bernie McMahon (Tracy McNeil & The Good Life, Jeff Lang), Mic Hubbard (Spencer P. Jones, Eagle and the Worm) and the Wolfgramm Sisters. Special guests include Kasey Chambers and Butch Norton (Eels, Lucinda Williams).

Jeb’s debut studio album ‘My Friend Defiance’ is out now on iTunes and Spotify through ‘Blind Date Records’.

Campbell's blend of folk, blues and country aligns him with modern Americana but it's clear his influences are wide ranging, from iconic artists such as Joni Mitchell, Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, The Beatles and The Allman Brothers to contemporary songwriters such as Paul Kelly, Neil Finn and Bernard Fanning.

Campbell's songs are a sidewalk cafe, a mood, a glimpse in the mirror. His voice is authentic and intimate, floating with a warmth and a country quality filtered through urban dust. Campbell will release his debut EP in 2022.