Multi award-winning Singer-Songwriter, Brendan McMahon, grew up in the small town of Kapunda near South Australia’s Barossa Valley. He discovered his love of music at the tender age of 15 after being “awed and floored” seeing Jimi Hendrix play on television; amazed by the sounds that Jimi could pull from a guitar and captivated by the iconic performer’s showmanship. Borrowing money from his mother (and paying it back at $2 a week) he promptly bought himself a $60 guitar and amp rig from a mate.
Initially wanting to be a glam-rock superstar in the 80s and 90s (think Van Halen, Kiss, Def Leppard), McMahon later transitioned to the more storytelling driven tunes of songwriters such as Paul Kelly, Harry Manx, Richard Thompson and Garth Brooks, artists that continue to inspire him today.
Spending his late teens and early twenties as a lead singer/lead guitarist in rock cover bands playing across Adelaide and country Victoria, McMahon honed his skills the hard way – in front of demanding Australian pub and club crowds. In 1998, and now bitten by both the song writing and performance bug, McMahon released a 7-track EP called ‘Picture This’ with his band The Cunning Stunts. ‘The songs, mostly pop rock, now seem too cluttered and uninteresting compared to the music I write today, but I still love to listen to them once in a while as they bring back great memories.”
In 2015 and 2016, Brendan released the solo albums ‘Falling To Earth’ and ‘Marker 7-58’ under the moniker of Satellite Gods, and in doing so was fortunate enough to collaborate and work with some renowned Australian musicians including Peter Maslen (Boom Crash Opera), Jason Vorherr (Darryl Braithwaite), Bob Spencer (The Angels), Simon Hosford (Vanessa Amorosi) and Wilbur Wilde (Ol’ 55).
After supporting artists such as Boom Crash Opera, Russell Morris, Wendy Stapleton and The Chantoozies in Australia, Brendan released the LP ‘On This Fine Occasion’ in 2017, which received great reviews both locally and internationally.
In 2019, McMahon, who now calls Melbourne home, released ‘In The Moment’ – his 4th solo album. Maturity, reflection and drawing on his personal experiences, his inspired yet refined lyrics again take listeners on a captivating journey.
November 2020 saw the release of ‘No Rush Today’, an album that debuted at No. 2 on the iTunes country music chart on release. McMahon feels his 5th solo offering cemented him in the Country Rock space. The album delivered 3 top 10 AMRAP singles, Jack, Sugar Cane Man and Wired to the moon along with strong charting on many other Australian charts including a No.4 position in France with Sugar Cane Man.
The 17th of June, 2022, marked the release of 'As The Road Unfolds', the most successful record to date. It debuted as the highest selling Australian album on the iTunes Country chart. It has also delivered no less than 6 chart topping singles - Jenni J, When I See You Tonight, I Feel A Change, Skin & Bone, Gundry's Track and Back Roads.'As The Road Unfolds' won the Australian Country Music Peoples Choice Award for best album at the 2023 Tamworth music festival.Where to from here...? With 4 chart topping tracks from the highly anticipated 7th solo album already released, 'New Country Morning', 'Time Rolls on', the powerful and poignant 'I Hear Your Voice (The Soldier)' featuring the very talented Montana Sharp and recently released 'It's Good To Be Alive' , it's all ahead full steam.
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