Gundiymara mob identical twins Callum and Jackson McPartlane are Bo’Ness – a country rock duo who at just 18 years of age are kicking serious musical goals and will be dropping their new single ‘Still Young’ tomorrow (audio attached). The single follows on from their previous release ‘Light Up The Airwaves’, which peaked at #16 on the CountryTown Hot 50 airplay charts.
Produced by multiple ARIA and Golden Guitar winning Matt Fell, alongside Nashville based ex-pat Sam Hawksley, ‘Still Young’ explores the theme of living in the moment and not letting your past or future bother you. The lyrics came to life during a writing session between Bo’Ness and their long-time friend Mike Carr, whom they’ve known since they were babies. Growing up in a musical family, they’ve been on stage since they could strum a chord and have recently taken the centre stage on The Red Hot Summer Tour - a national tour featuring Aussie rock giants like James Reyne, Jimmy Barnes and The Angels. They also competed on the small screen in 2020, making it to the Top 20 on The Voice Australia and were also named semi-finalists in the International Songwriting Competition the same year.
With a live show to complement their blazing Country Rock sound, this year they’ll be crossing state lines for the Variety Bash, join Amber Lawrence at her Brisbane show in September, and can’t wait to once again hop aboard the Red Hot Summer Tour. They’ll also be opening for Reece Mastin, The Screaming Jets and James Blundell at select shows.
As outspoken victims of bullying, they’re also proud ambassadors for Kind is Cool and Bullyzero. These twin brothers are indeed ‘Still Young’. Yet, from their commanding vocals and insightful words you could be easily fooled. There’s nothing quite like sibling harmony and these boys are an excellent example – so good, Mornington Peninsula Magazine praised “you’ve got to hear them to believe it”.
Of course, we all know success doesn’t happen overnight and Bo’Ness have certainly paid their dues. Growing up just outside of Melbourne, in rural Whittlesea, as the children of parents in the music industry, the brothers were drawn to performing from an early age. “Every so often we’d be asked to go up on stage with the artists our parents were touring with,” recall Callum and Jackson. “We would always get good reactions and that helped us big time with being comfortable and confident on stage.”
There was a time as kids when their love of AFL may have thrust them towards a career on the sports field. Yet the music in their blood compelled them to trade the Sherrin for guitars and pursue a life on the stage. It was acts from well before their time, like the Beatles, Elvis and most of all the Everly Brothers that shaped their early compositions and gave them a fierce love for sibling harmony.
With all those influences in a melting pot, joined by their current heroes – Keith Urban, John Mayer. The Living End and Paul Kelly - the boys describe it as “a real mix up”. Mornington Peninsula Magazine describes it as, “you’ve got to hear them to believe it”.
These two aren’t just in it for the fun and fame either – they aren’t afraid to tackle difficult issues with their lyrics and pride themselves on sharing music with a message. As outspoken victims of bullying and domestic violence they’re honoured ambassadors for Kind is Cool and Bullyzero. Their 2020 debut single, ‘We Don’t Need this Town’, inspired by their dealings with domestic violence, shot to no. 10 on the iTunes Australian Country Chart and No. 6 on the AMRAP regional chart – proving people are ready to listen to what these two have to say.
The last two years have been a whirlwind for Bo’Ness. Since that debut single the twins have delighted audiences on the small screen, appearing on The Voice Australia 2020, where they made it all the way to the top 20. They’ve also been a staple on the Red Hot Summer Tour for the last two years; opening the show for some of Australia’s greatest Rock alumni, like Jimmy Barnes and Diesel.
While honing their skills on the big stages the boys have been gearing up for their next run of releases. Their first new single, ‘Light up the Airwaves’ (released in Feb 2022), is an uplifting headbanger, that radiates the positivity and energy of Bo’Ness’. Penned by none other than Chris Cheney of The Living End, the track has received over 110, 000 streams on Spotify and counting.
That’s not the only Aussie music royalty the boys have recruited for their new project either. Produced by multiple Golden Guitar Award and ARIA winner Matt Fell, alongside Nashville based ex-pat, Sam Hawksley, their new work features co-writes with Lachlan Bryan, Andrew Swift, Mike Carr and David Carter. Another of their upcoming tracks features music legend, Diesel.
With so much success at such a young age it seems like a dream come true for Callum and Jackson. But it’s a dream built on a literal lifetime of hard work and commitment. Their lively Country Rock has quickly captured the ears of audiences around the nation and their flawless harmony keeps you coming back for more. Yet it’s the poignant messages within their music that really makes these songwriters stand out from the crowd.
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