Watling & Bates are songwriters from Unumgar NSW, raconteurs of contemporary rural Australia and revivalists of the country’s past. Their songs move like a will-o-the-wisp between Australiana and Americana, Gothic country and dark folk, hillbilly and honkytonk.
Our Soundtrack Our Stories is an initiative by ARIA to get local artists streaming in homes and businesses while the live performance sector is down. We've put together a playlist of music of artists and colleagues linked to Kyogle and the Northern Rivers, so you can find us all on Spotify!
The Shelly Jones Band’s upbeat traditional country sound merges with Watling & Bates’ old time Gothic hillbilly and honkytonk style on this latest single from these two accomplished country duos.
Written by Shelly Jones, IF YOU KNEW WHAT YOU KNOW is an upbeat tune that challenges one to think about whether they would do things differently in life if they had their chance to do it all again.
With an infectious beat and a catchy tune packed with perfectly blended harmonies and great musicianship, you’ll want you to kick up your heels and start dancing, even if you don’t know how!
Produced by Lester and Shelly in their home studio, IF YOU KNEW WHAT YOU KNOW is available on all digital platforms.
Candy Moon, released on Valentine's Day 2021, is available for streaming, download, and home delivery as a CD single! Producer and guitarist Thor Phillips and drummer Marcus Schintler have bought some hillbilly swing and rockabilly jazz to this old time classic. Candy Moon was written by Kym Watling, engineered by Thor Phillips, and mastered by Paul Blakey at 12th & Vine Post.
Wonderful to see the long-awaited Kyogle Backroads episode, in which we performed for the launch of the Richmond River Independent community newspaper at the Kyogle Bowling Club!
So grateful to receive our finalist nomination certificates for the Tamworth Songwriters Association (TSA) Salute Awards. This year we were honoured with five semi-final nominations, with one of them, Wondering About My Time, reaching the finals in the Gospel category. Thank you TSA, we greatly enjoy the competition!
2020 marks 140 years since Ned Kelly’s last stand and subsequent execution on the 11th of November 1880. Producer and guitarist Thor Phillips and drummer Marcus Schintler deliver a sharp edge of Australian rock to this colonial tale, with Watling & Bates shackled to the past. Such Is Life 2020 will be released to radio and streaming services on Melbourne Cup Day, Tuesday 3rd November 2020.
Thor Phillips pits a full-house of Dobro against Christopher Ridgway‘s hand of chicken-pickin’ guitar. Watling crashes the saloon with a harmonica while Bates keeps a safe distance and thoughtfully nurses his beer. Wondering About My Time is from the Small Town Tales album, produced by Thor Phillips.
Celebrating the launch of our new independent local newspaper, the Richmond River Independent, filmed by ABC Back Roads for their Kyogle episode. Photo by our local MP Janelle Saffin.
We're back in the studio with Thor Phillips working on our next album. Can't wait to see where the road will lead us.
We've been social isolating for a while now, time to put some spring in our step. Old Times was released to radio on 5th May by CRS Publicity.
The global arrival of COVID-19 forced us all off the road. The music industry, like many others, is shifting its feet in the prevailing conditions, so we're hunkering down in Unumgar to work on material for our next album. We'll make the best of the situation and enjoy a rest from the road.
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