Colin Buchanan In Real Life

In a career spanning over 30 years, Colin Buchanan has covered more ground than spinifex in the outback. A prolific songwriter and former presenter on Play School and Playhouse Disney, Buchanan has penned and recorded children's albums, Christmas albums, country albums and written and recorded Golden Guitar winning mega-hits for the who's-who of country music.

He now returns with his first new country single in over 10 years titled 'In Real Life', with an album due for release later in 2022.  Produced by multiple ARIA and Golden Guitar winning Matt Fell (Troy Cassar-Daly, Fanny Lumsden, Morgan Evans) at The Music Cellar on the NSW Central Coast, 'In Real Life' was inspired by that aching desire for life to return to normal. And the title comes from an unusual place…

"Last year, someone signed off an email [to me] using the letters IRL - In Real Life," Buchanan says. "We've all had to carry on and do our best with the restrictions of lockdown and border closures and work from home, but those three little letters say so much. It's always better IRL. In Real Life."

The song was also inspired by the first in person meeting of his second grandchild, after 10 months of long-distance Zoom calls. Buchanan, however, insists that 'In Real Life' is not a lament for what we have lost in recent times through lockdowns and isolation. Rather, he calls the song a celebration. "By stealing actual physical presence away from us, the virus and all that's gone with it has shown us how good it is to be TOGETHER. To eat. To laugh. To sing. To dance. To grieve. To help. To worship. To work. To see what happens next.", he explains.

With a storied career spanning more than three decades, Buchanan has released over 40 albums, racked up 4 x ARIA awards nominations, won an APRA Songwriters Award for Most Performed Country Work, and won 9 x Golden Guitar awards. Recording Christmas albums with fellow singer-songwriter Greg Champion under the moniker "Bucko and Champs", the revamped perennial 'Aussie Jingle Bells' with its new lyrics full of Australian vernacular, is now staple at annual Christmas celebrations all over the country, sung by people young and old.

With all this activity, Buchanan has remained a valuable song writing partner, lending his talents to collaborations with Troy Cassar-Daley, Lee Kernaghan, Adam Brand, Tania Kernaghan and others, with many songs winning Golden Guitar awards in the process.

Between lockdowns and shutdowns across the country, Buchanan has still managed to perform shows in rural Queensland and western NSW. "Last year, I was helped so much by couple of gigs - real life gigs - I was able to pull off between lockdowns," he says. "I had a handful of regional NSW gigs in the middle of the year when things opened up briefly and once again, the bush was a gift to me, raising my spirits by unfolding her beauty over ridge, between paddocks, through valleys. Each person who came and listened and welcomed me and my music into their presence was a reminder of all that you get when it happens IRL.". Buchanan will be returning to the stage and performing at the Tamworth Country Music Festival during its rescheduled season in April 2022 to celebrate the 30^th anniversary of his album Galahs in the Gidgee.

Colin Buchanan has been described by the Sydney Morning Herald as "…simply the best singer songwriter to emerge in the Australian Country Music scene in the last decade…". This sentiment is also held by many of his peers in the music industry. 'In Real Life' may be a product of the time we're living in, but it is set to be a future classic.
Open wide, Come inside…Colin's back!

TOUR DATES:
Tuesday 15^th March – Maitland Christian School – Maitland - NSW
Thursday 24^th March - Reforming Presbyterian Church - East Bendigo - VIC
Friday 25^th March - New Life Chapel - Wodonga - VIC
Saturday 26^th March - Benalla Performing Arts and Convention Centre - Benalla - VIC
Saturday 26^th March - Mitcham Baptist Church - Mitcham - VIC
Tuesday 29^th March - Chairo Christian School – Drouin - VIC
Wednesday 30^th March - Chairo Christian School – Leongatha - VIC
Thursday 31^st March - Chairo Christian School – Traralgon - VIC
Friday 22^nd April - The Event's Centre – Tamworth - NSWFriday 9^th Sept - St Peter's Anglican Grammar – Campbelltown - NSW