Trusting Your Spirit: How Angus & Julia Stone Went From Indie Darlings To Master Mentors

If there’s one group in Australian music that embodies the ethos of Wild Turkey’s famous slogan Trust Your Spirit, it’s Angus & Julia Stone. The powerhouse siblings had started writing songs in their earlier years, cutting their teeth playing open-mic sessions at local pubs and recording in their bedrooms – but within a short few years, they’d found themselves darting around the world to headline festivals, racking up prestigious accolades like ARIAs and APRA Awards, and being venerated as Platinum-certified hitmakers.

It’s reflective of the journey that Jimmy Russell has been on, as Wild Turkey’s longest-tenured Master Distiller. Jimmy has been crafting Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey his way for over 65 years. Staying true to his method, and trusting his passion Jimmy’s brand defining influence of doing things his way even when it wasn’t popular has made Wild Turkey what it is today, as Jimmy would say “Believe in what you’re doing, do it the right way or don’t do it at all”. It is this very ethos of trusting your spirit that Jimmy has passed onto his son and grandson who followed in his footsteps. Mentoring them to have the bold confidence to always stay true to yourself with passion & conviction.

How have Angus & Julia Stone championed the Wild Turkey ethos of ‘Trusting Your Spirit” in the music business? Well as Julia explained in a recent interview with Australian Musician, she and Angus were lucky enough to have the guidance of wisdom from those who’d come before them – who knew the ins and outs of the industry and could help the duo navigate the (often turbulent) landscape. “They really showed us through conversations,” she said, “[and] through the way that they moved in the world, that the journey is the important part.”

Another big influence, Julia told journalist Greg Phillips, was an aunty of hers that worked in the music industry: “She was full of wisdom and full of trust. She always said to us, ‘Just trust what you do.’ She didn't expose us to A&R people. We were never told to be different to what we were. I think a lot of people now feel like labels and stuff can come along and say, ‘Yeah, your sound is great, but if you do it more like this, you’ll have more success.’ And I think that’s there from whenever you start in music, you’re really vulnerable to the pressure to be something that you’re not. And we never had that pressure. We always believed in who we were and we felt like what we were doing was good enough.”

That confidence galvanised the duo to really shine in their songwriting, with the bold and engaging songs on their first two EPs – Chocolates & Cigarettes (which arrived in August 2006) and Heart Full Of Wine (which came the following February) – priming them to achieve a major mainstream breakthrough with their debut album, A Book Like This, in September 2007. The hourlong effort peaked at #6 on the ARIA Charts and earned the Stones their first Platinum certificate – an incredible feat for a debut album, and one they smashed with its follow-up: the triple Platinum-certified, chart-topping Down The Way, which hit (and promptly flew off) shelves in March 2010.

Angus & Julia Stone - Wild Turkey House of Music 101 - Credit: Wild Turkey

The Stones’ success was no flash in the pan, either: their self-titled third album produced by legendary Rick Rubin also reached #1 and went Platinum, with 2017’s Snow peaking at #2 and soaring to Gold status. And even with seven years between drinks, their crash-hot fifth album Cape Forestier – which only dropped back in May – was a Top Five hit Down Under and is well on track to earning them another milestone in sales.

Nowadays, Angus & Julia Stone are bonafide masters of their craft; their touring shoes are well worn-in and they know their way around an A&R boardroom. Reflecting on it all with 7 News’ Ailish Delaney, Julia said, “It’s wild to just have this body of work that is integrated into people’s lives, falling in love and their heartbreaks and the birth of their children. We have kids at the show who were born to our music, and then you’ve got grandparents who have been listening since they were parents. It really feels like a lovely thing to put energy into.” Where they once revelled in gleaning wisdom from their elders, the Stones are now primed to be the ones sharing it – and when the opportunity arose with Wild Turkey’s House Of Music 101 program, they leapt at it eagerly. They’ve adopted the role of mentors for ten up-and-coming artists hoping to carve out their own spaces in the Australian music scene. Among them are Angela Rose, Matt Boylan-Smith, Whiskey Jack, BOLEYN and Tanya George. The lattermost pop hopeful told Rolling Stone that Angus and Julia taught her to “lean into the contrast of my work and to really embrace who I am”.

Tanya George - Wild Turkey House of Music 101 - Credit: Wild Turkey

Speaking to The Music, Romanie – another one of the Stones’ mentees, a bewitching singer-songwriter hailing from Belgium and currently based in Melbourne (Naarm) – tells us the program has helped her reckon with the self-doubt and anxiety she feels as an emerging artist: “It’s nice to know we are not alone in feeling these things – talking about fear and still creating and releasing music is so big, we can all give ourselves a pat on the back for it. The mentorship has given me tools for self-confidence and persistence to make a career out of this – [Angus and Julia] were so kind in carving out the time to really listen to our stories and giving us their advice.”

Not only has the program been instrumental in guiding young artists one-on-one, it’s also allowed them to connect with their peers and bolster their sense of community within the Australian music scene. Romanie gushes, “I feel like all ten of us developed into more confident artists over the few days of mentoring through friendship and community. I genuinely loved everyone’s music so much and am so grateful to have met a lot of new friends. “I felt really held by the music industry throughout the mentorship, which is a very unique experience as an independent artist. Things can get quite lonely and overwhelming at times, juggling multiple positions throughout your career whilst also trying to focus on being creative. I feel more confident walking away from it and feel so proud of all of us for making music we want to make. It was nice to see we all have a very unique style and authentic voices which I am excited to learn to lean into with upcoming music releases – trust your spirit and all will be fine!”

House of Music 101 Mentees and Angus & Julia Stone - Wild Turkey House of Music 101 - Credit: Wild Turkey

The sentiment is echoed by fellow Melbourne artist Maddy Herbert, aka Velvet Bloom, who says she found everyone involved in the program to be “so supportive of each other’s projects” – she noted, “This sense of community is why I am so drawn to music.” Whiskey Jack goes on to say in the group’s sessions with Angus and Julia, the siblings “pulled back the curtain on what to expect working in the industry”. The pair, he explained, “shared things I didn't know I needed to hear” and “communicated the importance of authenticity”, making it clear for Jack and his peers that “we each have a unique perspective to offer, and it's our job as artists to share that through our art”. He explained: “Being honest and true to yourself is the truest compass we have in the map of the world. Trust your spirit, it will lead you where you need to be.”

Velvet Bloom - Wild Turkey House of Music 101 - Credit: Wild Turkey

Through their work as mentors, the Stones have helped their students develop a wealth of invaluable skills to thrive in the music industry – the most crucial of which, as Julia revealed in her chat with Delaney, being the power of “knowing your self-worth”. She continued: “It’s something that you have [to use] to navigate through so many aspects of this career. I think just knowing the fact that you’re able to share with the world something you’re going through that someone else can connect with is enough.

“The fact you’re able to be brave enough to get up on stage in front of whether it’s two or 200 people, and say things that you’re going through is really special, and all the other stuff, it’ll fall into place if you stay true to what you’re doing.”

This was a lesson Julia and her brother learned early on, when they often found themselves fighting the hustle and bustle of noisy clubs to engage distracted crowds with their much, much less chaotic brand of dreamy, folk-tinged acoustic pop music. They found, as Julia said to Australian Musician, that “when an audience isn’t listening because they’re playing the pokies or chatting at the bar, a way to draw people in is to really listen to yourself."

This attitude is the epitome of trusting one’s spirit. It’s what emboldened Angus & Julia Stone to write timeless hits like Big Jet Plane and Chateau; to bring folk and indie music to the forefront of the Australian pop scene, inspiring countless artists we also view as stars today; to step out and launch their own, equally beloved solo projects. The Stones are definitive proof that confidence is key, and when you truly do believe in yourself, anything is possible.

To keep up to date with the latest music news with the Wild Turkey House of Music event, head here.

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