Adam Eckersley & Brooke McClymont

Adam Eckersley and Brooke McClymont are two of Australia’s finest singer-songwriters and acclaimed performers in their own rights, however despite being married they had never actually worked together in a musical capacity until very recently.

City Hub spoke with the duo backstage at the third show of their extensive national Highway Sky tour.

Working together was something both Adam and Brooke told us they have wanted to do for a very long time but with Adam being busy with his band, the Adam Eckersley Band, and Brooke busy with The McClymonts the opportunity simply never arose until now.

“We’ve spoken about doing this ever since we’ve been together really, but we always thought it wouldn’t happen until maybe 10 or 15 years down the track,” explained Adam. “Brooke’s sisters have been having babies recently though so The McClymonts were having a bit of a quiet period and we realised this was our opportunity.”

Knowing they had a very limited window to put Highway Sky together the duo knuckled down and managed to complete the entire writing and recording process in just five and a half weeks.

Obviously before beginning the process there was a worry that working so closely together could cause tension in the relationship.

“We talked to each other a lot before we even got into the studio so we kind of knew what we wanted to achieve out of it,” said Adam with Brooke then adding, “By having that in the forefront of our minds we were very conscious about not making it uncomfortable for anyone if we did argue but thankfully that was never a problem though.”

Now as the duo hit the road touring there is a mixture of emotions running through them.

“Our whole relationship we’ve gone away from each other nearly every weekend so it’s nice to be together for this one,” said Adam.

“It’s funny I now have to scroll to find Adam’s name in my phone because I haven’t called him in so long,” said Brooke before Adam jokingly replied, “I’m sure that by the end of it we’ll be wanting to go to the opposite sides of a mountain for a while.”

Whilst there are nerves about the reception of bringing country music to the city the duo are also confident in what they have created with this record.

“Country music is so broad in terms of what it is these days, our songs in particular are just songs from songwriters who just so happen to be country people,” explained Adam, “They’re country in the sense that they’re true stories about family and relationships. So I think if you’ve got a heartbeat you’re going to find something to associate with in what we’re doing.”

Apr 27. Leadbelly, 42 King St, Newtown. $28.60-$58.15+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.theleadbelly.com.au