Tour through the history of country music in Backroads to Barn Dances

Perth locals Donny Goodman, Emily Gelineau, Adam Springhetti, and Dan Ablett have teamed up for the ultimate romp through the colourful history of country music in their latest musical tribute, Backroads to Barn Dances. Promising an upbeat journey through the golden ages and icons of country music history including Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood, Luke Combs and more, the show takes over Lyric’s Underground on Thursday, January 30, and Friday, January 31—with tickets on sale now. BEC WELDON caught up with presenter and performer Donny Goodman to talk all things country music.

Thanks for joining us! Is this your first show at Perth Fringe World?

Thanks for having me, Bec! This is my first Perth Fringe World show as a producer, yeah. I have played in several shows over several years before, and I absolutely love it. There’s always such a buzz around the city and around Fringe World during the season, and I can’t wait to be a part of it again.

Backroads to Barn Dances offers a musical tour through the history of country music. What motivated you to create the show?

I have always been a country music fan. Growing up in the wheatbelt meant that the internet wasn’t that great. Access to new music was restricted, and that meant I was listening to the same few CDs and tapes over and over. These included John Williamson, Troy Cassar-Daley, Lee Kernaghan, Kasey Chambers, and Alan Jackson, amongst others. I have had the good fortune of making friends with musicians who experience a similar taste in music and a passion for country.

What can audiences expect from this upbeat jaunt through country music history?

Audiences can expect a lot of songs in an almost chronological order. We will start off playing some bluegrass and almost western swing music before the drums really kick in and we get into the style of country that most of us know and love, taking us through the 70s, 80s, and 90s up to the modern-day boom of country songs that we have been hearing.

 Your band also comprises Emily Gelineau, Adam Springhetti and Dan Ablett. Between the four of you, you have an impressive range of instruments covered! How did this country quartet come about?

I’ve been lucky enough to play several shows with all these guys across many years now. All of them are excellent musicians and just great people to be around, so that made the choice easy. Adam is a fantastic bassist and banjo player who has been great for me to play with a lot. Dan Ablett is a fantastic drummer, producer, and singer in his own right who has a deep connection with both music and country culture. Emily is just a phenomenal musician across many genres, and I have really enjoyed performing with her previously, but also just watching her and the absolute passion and joy she brings to any kind of music.

 It’s rare that lessons in history can also be toe-tappers!

I would agree! There weren’t too many toes being tapped during my time at university, at least in lecture theatres! Pretty much most kinds of music in their early years of development were for people to dance to. If you look at jazz, it was in the dance halls across the world from the early nineteenth century. Blues was the same before that and during the same period. Country music was first given that label in the 1920s and really took off in the 1940s. It seems to have stood the test of time and developed in the honky-tonkin’ style that we get to groove to today.

Playing the music of artists like Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Combs, you’ve got all bases covered. How difficult was it to plan the setlist and cut the song selection down?

It was hard to narrow it down. We could easily do a full show of just these artists’ music. Hopefully, the choices we have made are enough to keep everyone happy, and we can all have a good time.

Donny, you’re a staple in the Perth music scene, selling out your 2021 launch show, East of the West, at The Goodwill Club, and multiple 2024 shows at Lyric’s Underground and The Duke of George. Is country music your primary genre? What drew you to country music?

I’ve been lucky enough to play in many different genres across my short time on this earth, but country music always feels like home. As a guitarist and vocalist, this style of music just has everything I want in music. There’s enough freedom to express yourself in certain moments and enough musical sensibility to have a really tight band.

 Do you have a personal favourite country music performer (and why)?

Willie Nelson! He is just an absolute legend for many reasons, but his approach to performing live is just great. Never quite the same but always unmistakably himself. He was a pioneer of the ‘outlaw’ style of country music, which seems to resonate with people a lot.

 Why should audiences boot-scoot down to Lyric’s Underground for Backroads to Barn Dances this Fringe?

For a good time, a good dance, some good drinks, and maybe to learn a few new moves or two.

Backroads to Barn Dances hits Lyric’s Underground on Thursday, January 30, and Friday, January 31, 2025. Tickets are on sale now from fringeworld.com.au