The country star arrives in Albury mid-year as part of Backroad Nation, his biggest tour yet with 41 shows announced around the states and more to come in 2020.

"One of my real passions in life is getting on the road, getting off road and if it involves a campfire, a swag and a few drinks, it's even better," Kernaghan said.

"Then being able to turn a lot of those experiences into songs, which I've done on the album, it's really exciting and then to be able to go out and perform them live, it's the ultimate thing to do."

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The singer spoke to The Border Mail while in the studio putting the finishing touches on some lead vocals for the Backroad Nation recordings.

"It's an exciting time," he said.

"It's like the birth of a baby when you release these songs, you send them out into the world, you don't know how they're going to be received or accepted."

With 37 Golden Guitars, four ARIAs and 38 number one chart hits, Kernaghan has achieved a great deal since his boyhood in Albury.

"Where I entered my first talent quest and did my first shows," he said.

"I played pretty well all the pubs in Albury over the years and then all the clubs up and down the river with a three or four piece band.

"It's where I learned about playing music and connecting with an audience and playing music that people wanted to hear.

"You find out pretty fast what's working for people and what's not.

"We had to play everything from The Beatles to Bruce Springsteen, country classics to stuff that was charting. It exposed me to a lot of music and it all gets down into the DNA."

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Kernaghan said while he liked to push the musical boundaries, some subject matter still resonated 27 years after his breakthrough hit Boys From The Bush.

"I love to sing about my country and our way of life," he said.

"Songs like Hat Town and Spirit of the Bush were all about the challenges that a lot of people in rural and regional Australia face and rising up in the face of adversity and really tough times.

"Looking out for your mates, there's broader themes like love, getting out west into that country and experiencing the freedom of all of that and partying hard, something I'm guilty of from time to time."

Joining Kernaghan on his tour will be Golden Guitar winners The Wolfe Brothers and up and coming star Christie Lamb.

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