During tough times, there’s nothing quite like a good-old sunny country sound to lift your spirits. And that’s what one of our best country duos is aiming to bring to Dubbo tonight (Friday, May 1) and Orange on Sunday, May 3.

Award-winning folk/country/blues pairing of Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningham are celebrating the release of their album 'Everything Around You' with a national tour across the country that brings them to our region.

With one critic recently declaring “Urquhart and Cunningham’s unforced optimism provides much-needed solace and relief" with the pair’s “heartfelt songs and rich harmonies” maybe just what music fans need at this time.

Seeking to draw on life's joys and struggles, the album aims at being an uplifting collection of songs about hope, love, and resilience, offering light in the midst of life’s challenges.

“Music is a miraculous form of expression that can inspire hope, and that’s what we want to do with our songs,” Josh said of the album.

“Sharing our hopes, dreams and reflections feels like an important thing to do, not just for our own kids but for everything and everyone around us,” Felicity added.

Part of their appeal is their different backgrounds, with Felicity a country hit-maker and Josh from the folk-rock trio The Waifs, before the two got together as successful partners in life and music.

Their debut, 2021’s 'The Song Club', was nominated for a Golden Guitar and ARIA awards and topped the country charts, with 2023’s 'Birdsong' album winning three Golden Guitars including song of the year for 'Size Up'.

“Music is a miraculous form of expression that can inspire hope, and that’s what we want to do with our songs,” Josh explained.

“Sharing our hopes, dreams, and reflections feels like an important thing to do, not just for our own kids but for everything and everyone around us,” Felicity said.

As one might expect from such an eclectic mix of musical forms and styles, the album was produced by three producers, Felicity, Josh, and Matt Fell, at three different studios and features guitars ranging from acoustic, electric, baritone, bass, resonator, and slide.

Other instruments include mandotars, banjos, ukuleles, glockenspiels, jaw harps, Hammond organs, Wurlitzers, Mellotrons, drums, and percussion, and pedal steel with special guests including daughters Tia Hannah on fiddle and Ellie Hannah on bass guitar.

While male-female singing duos have always been prominent in country music, the combination of Felicity and Josh’s writing and harmonies, adds rich textures to that story, Josh believes.

“I had sung a few songs in The Waifs’ but right from the start Fliss told me I’d be singing in every song.

“Sometimes we sing more conventional harmony parts, and sometimes we sing the song together from start to finish, working together to create one voice,” Josh said.

In working together, the two are more than their combined parts and aid each other’s efforts, Felicity argued.

“When you write a song it has to be nurtured, you need that support.

“We’re able to do that for each other and that’s a gift, it shows in the music that we make and love so deeply,” she revealed.

Every night they perform on stage, Josh says, they feel that affection and love returned by the audience.

“The connection at a live gig, that human interaction, is something that technology won’t ever replace,” he said.

After kicking off the year with performances at the Illawarra Folk Festival, Tamworth Country Music Festival, Nundle Rocks, Riverboats Music Festival, and Cobargo Folk Festival, they hit the road and come to Dubbo on Friday, May 1 at the Crossroads Bar, 80 Macquarie Street. They will also appear at Badlands Brewery, Orange, on Sunday, May 3.