Capturing Australia’s attention on The Voice in 2022, eighteen-year-old country singer Lane Pittman has had a huge few years, with no plans to slow down any time soon. January saw him win a Golden Guitar for ‘New Talent of the Year’ following the release of his self-titled debut EP, and he’s just wrapped up his second tour opening for none other than country legend Luke Combs. I had the pleasure of chatting with Lane amidst the chaos of touring, talking about everything from his time on The Voice to performing with Luke and his thoughts on the current state of country music in Australia.
Chatting with Pittman is refreshing. At only eighteen, he has a sincerity about him, and it’s clear that he is genuinely excited and passionate about what he does and where his music has taken him. We’re speaking the morning before his first show in Melbourne on the Luke Combs tour, just days after his Golden Guitar win, so the excitement is at an all-time high, and it’s infectious.
Looking back on his time from The Voice until now, Pittman shares, “I still don’t know how to describe it. I’ve kind of been calling myself an anomaly in a way. Because there are steps, logical steps that you’re supposed to take as an artist. You start out in pub gigs and then you progressively get bigger. I went from doing a few pub gigs to reality TV to an arena tour to coming back to doing my own headline tour with a 100 to 300-cap venue. So I’ve just been all over the shop, but it’s been an unreal experience and I’ve learned so much, especially even from my time on The Voice. There was a line that Keith Urban said that particularly stood out to me. He said, ‘In this industry, a lot of people will fake it till they make it, but throughout this process, Lane, I’ve seen that you’ll face it till you make it,’ and that’s an invaluable thing that people even at my age haven’t learned and don’t have.”
Pittman’s mentor on The Voice was Australian country-rock icon Keith Urban, who took the young singer under his wing and guided him to the semi-finals. When asked if this mentorship lasted beyond the show, Pittman explained, “Sadly not, I wish it had. He did play a show in Newcastle a couple of years ago, which I attended, and he came down after the show. Keith’s such a lovely guy, and it’s definitely something in the future that I’d love to reconnect with and just have a chat. I know he was at the Golden Guitars—he would have seen me win New Talent of the Year, which is pretty cool. So it’s definitely something I’d love to circle back to.”
Coming off the show, Pittman was only 15. Thrust into the music industry and the world of writing and recording at such a young age, one thing he is grateful for is the unwavering support of his family and friends. “It’s probably one of the biggest blessings I’ve had in the industry—being supported by giants who have been in the game a long time and really know what they’re doing. But in terms of my personal life, I’ve had a really good support crew between my family—my mum and my brother, my nan, pop, my partner and her entire family. I’ve had a lot of people surround me and be there for me if I’m ever feeling down or need someone to talk to. Even my band—we have such a close-knit relationship. We’re almost like our own little family, so I’m really blessed in that aspect.”
“It was unreal,” Pittman says, speaking of his experience recording his recent debut EP. “I worked with some guys down in Sydney at Ralph Street Studios—Greg Stace and Shawn Mayer, who are just amazing at what they do. The songs all came from Nashville, which was really cool for me—to figure out how that process works and have people pitching you songs. It was a really interesting world, and we’re excited to get back into the studio soon to record another EP, which will be out this year and will have a lot more co-writes from me from our last trip to Nashville.”
When it comes to songwriting, Pittman is still learning the ropes. “I did my first proper writing trip to Nashville in December. So I mean, that was very structured—you’ve got to write with certain people at certain times.” But with mature themes, clever lyrics and catchy beats, it’s clear that Pittman is a natural, and his crew are experts in creating a country hit.
Going into more detail on his songwriting process, Pittman explains, ”It was definitely a lot of personal experience. And you can see that. There’s a song in particular that we’re playing on this tour called “Man I’m Turning Out to Be”, which I wrote in memory of my dad, who passed away nearly seven years ago. That was the first song we wrote on the trip, so I think in a way I really needed to write it because I hadn’t really touched on that. To see people reacting and feeling emotion to something I’ve written, it’s been unreal.”
While some people may consider country music a ‘love it or hate it’ situation, there’s no denying that the genre is having a massive moment globally, and we’re seeing the effects here in Australia. Looking at Spotify statistics, country music streams have grown 73 percent in Australia over the past two years, and Australia is currently ranked #4 for Spotify listeners discovering country music for the first time in the last year. Overall, the genre has increased in popularity by 26 percent in the past year alone. We can also see that 92 percent of Australia’s country streams are coming from metro areas across Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. These statistics really put into perspective just how huge country music is, and I’m confident this isn’t just a phase. Country music is here to stay, and it’s only going to get bigger as more mainstream artists take to the genre and country music gets more radio play.
Pittman shares his thoughts on this, saying, “I think with the growth, people are finally starting to realise that country is a little bit more than beer, trucks and heartbreak songs… Country is in a really healthy spot. You have people like Post Malone, Beyoncé, even The Wiggles doing it. In the Spotify data, we are the fourth biggest country in the world for people who’ve discovered country music in the last 12 months. You can credit that to people like Posty and Beyoncé, obviously Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Zach Bryan—there are so many international acts driving people to get into country, which in turn is helping out our local acts like myself, James Johnston and Brad Cox. The internationals are the gateway into everything that is country music here locally.”
Speaking of international acts, Luke Combs is undeniably one of the biggest names in country music globally, and Pittman has just wrapped up opening for him on his Aussie leg, which he also had the pleasure of doing in 2023. “It blows my mind that I am somewhat friends with arguably the biggest star in country music. Luke is such an amazing guy. We’ve had a few chats on this tour, and you can just see that he is really passionate about music, especially in terms of a live show…. Him and his team, their mentality is to put on the best show for people who have paid their hard-earned money to be there, which has been a really good lesson for me and is a mentality that I want to take with me into the future.”
And with all he has accomplished at just eighteen, Pittman is not slowing down any time soon. This year will see him release his second EP, which he will take on tour, as well as making multiple appearances at various festivals. Country music is in such an exciting era in Australia, and artists like Pittman, with his undeniable passion and talent, are ones to look out for. It’s clear that he is grateful for the journey that’s led him here, with massive plans ahead.
Keep up to date with Lane Pittman via Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Spotify
Header image credit: Brad Murnane
