Lee Kernaghan Celebrates 25 Years Of 'Boys From The Bush' With Anniversary Tour

Veteran Aussie country troubadour Lee Kernaghan really hasn't stopped since first slinging a guitar over his shoulder, picking a nice hat and stepping out with 1985's Family Tradition.

Perhaps that constant busyness over the past 30-plus years goes some way to explaining how 25 of them could have passed since the release of the man's seminal single, Boys From The Bush, as the opening track on 1992's full-length effort The Outback Club. But, lo and behold, that hit is now a quarter-of-a-century old, and Kernaghan's raring to hit the road to commemorate it.

The anniversary tour kicks off with a handful of festival spots, beginning at the Tamworth and Boyup Brook country music festivals, as well as Mount Evelyn's outdoor country carnival and CMC Rocks Queensland, in Ipswich, with an outdoor headline showing in Corio squeezed in-between.

The seriously sizeable tour, which keeps Kernaghan on the road through till October, also includes a spot at the Birdsville Big Red Bash, in July, and two further event appearances later in the year, at the Deni Ute Muster (September) and Cruisin' Country (October).

Kernaghan has further headline shows along the way in Griffith, Albury, Shepparton, Swan Hill, Hobart, Launceston, Burnie, Frankston, Traralgon, Canberra, Nowra, Bundaberg, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville, Adelaide, Tanunda, Mandurah, Bunbury, Perth, Geraldton, Tweed Heads and Toowoomba.

As if that weren't already a pretty comprehensive run, Kernaghan has advised that further dates for the tour will be announced in late February, so if he's not coming close to you in this batch of shows, don't fret just yet.

They've long said that time flies when you're having fun, and it has clearly been a tonne of fun over the years for the affable singer-songwriter: since releasing his breakthrough track, he's not waited more than three years between albums, building a full-length oeuvre numbering over 15 full-lengths (including 2004's greatest-hits compilation) most recently bolstered by 2015's Spirit Of The Anzacs — his first-ever ARIA Top 100 #1 album (though he is a frequent chart-topper in the dedicated ARIA Country Albums ladder, and boasts 34 #1 singles to his name).

Add to that a number of charitable pursuits — all proceeds from Spirit Of The Anzacs' title track and accompanying clip are being donated in perpetuity to veteran support groups, while previous concert events Pass The Hat Around Australia, Spirit Of The Bush and Farmhand have raised in the millions for a range of worthwhile causes including natural-disaster relief, hospitals, schools and more — and it's easy to see why Kernaghan has grown and maintained the kind of following that he has over the past few decades.

Although the impetus for this tour is squarely rooted in the past, Kernaghan is keeping eyes firmly on the future, as the long-serving muso has promised new tunes in 2017, which will no doubt start getting a solid lashing on the road. Stay alert for an announcement on that front before the week's out.

Tickets for the Boys From The Bush: 25th Anniversary Tour are on sale now. The run features a range of rotating guest artists including The Wolfe Brothers, Christie Lamb, Tania Kernaghan and James Blundell.

For a full list of dates, venues and other booking details, see theGuide.