Brad Cox is a country lad, every step of the way. When he’s not writing, recording or touring, the Australian country artist lives the good life on a plot of land in central Queensland. It’s a place where music and nature come together, his very own slice of Australian paradise.
“I had my bee suit on the other day and robbed my beehive for some honey. I planted a few extra trees, picked some passionfruit, we burned a huge stick pile last week,” he tells Billboard. “And then I’ve also got a beautiful grand piano in my house. So when I’m not outside doing farm jobs and loving that, I’m inside playing this beautiful grand piano. I’ve got it so good.”
Cox has earned it. Raised in Jindabyne, in New South Wales’s Snowy Mountains, the artist made the country music community sit up and take notice when he won the 2018 Toyota Star Maker competition at the Tamworth Country Music Festival, and kept the momentum going with a self-titled debut album. He was snapped up by Sony Music, and released My Mind’s Projection, peaking at No. 12 on the ARIA Albums Chart in 2020.
The following year, Cox launched the “Happy Hour Down Under” station on Apple Music (he’s no longer running that ship), and a third album, Acres, dropped in 2023, giving him a first appearance in the ARIA Top 10, peaking at No. 7 peak.
Then, in 2024, a new deal with Warner Music Australia. The first fruits of that arrangement blossomed last year with the release of his fourth album, Endemic Intelligence In Multiple Dimensions, and another trip to the ARIA Top 10, and another No. 7 peak position.
Today, Cox drops the first taste of new music in the sonic shape of “What Are The Odds,” a ballad that invites us in to explore his gentle side.
“It was written for my wife. I keep saying that it would’ve been the perfect wedding song, but I’m just two years late on that one,” he says with a laugh.
“It’s pretty honest. It’s written about the fact that, you know, there are so many variables and twists and turns in life, and you might end up in the same elevator or the same taxi as the person you’re meant to spend the rest of your life with, which is so rare.”
Is there more where that came from? “It won’t be this year,” he admits. “I’ve been writing a bunch and, yeah, trying to just figure out what the next 18 months looks like. I’m not going to confirm, but it’s always on the cards. I’m definitely putting some groundwork down for that to be the case.”
Cox, a four-time ARIA Award nominee, will swap his comfort zone for another, when he heads off for another tour of his homeland, getting underway Friday, July 17 at Perth’s Astor Theatre. Expect to hear songs from across his catalog, including fan faves from his independent years.
“I’m addicted to playing,” he enthuses. “I love it, man. It’s my favourite thing. It’s the drug. I love writing songs, I love recording music, but I’m just addicted to playing. And that’s the thing that keeps me in this game, is playing live. Particularly headline shows. Festivals are awesome, but when you play your own shows, every single person in that room is there for the music that I’ve written. There’s something really special thing about that.”
American audiences got a sample of Cox’s talents when he performed at CMA Fest in Nashville last month. Playing in the home of country music, “it’s slightly intimidating,” he recounts, “but at the same time, that’s that also breeds incredible inspiration.”
For now, Cox is happy to make as many trips to North America as it takes. But for this rising country star, Australia will always be home. “I belong in Queensland, and I will go there as many times a year as I need to, and I will come home to my beautiful, quiet oasis in central Queensland with my fruit trees and my goats, and then I’ll go back again.”
Brad Cox’s 2026 Tour of Australia and New Zealand:
July 17 — Astor Theatre, Perth WA
July 19 — Lion Arts Factory, Adelaide SA
July 24 — Hotel Brunswick, Brunswick Heads NSW
July 25 — Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane QLD
July 29 — The Station, Jindabyne NSW
July 31 — Forum, Melbourne VIC
Aug. 1 — Enmore Theatre, Sydney NSW
Aug. 8 — Tanks Arts Centre, Cairns QLD
Sept. 19 — The Whitianga Oceans Festival, Whitianga NZ
Oct. 10 — Strummingbird Festival Ballarat VIC
Oct. 17 — Strummingbird Festival Newcastle NSW
Oct. 18 — Strummingbird Festival Sunshine Coast QLD
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.billboard.com ’
