A blend of rootsy rock, country folk, and 60's flavoured guitar pop, Tracey Bunn delivers a gutsy swag of songs that express mixed feelings of desire, regret and wanderlust, leavened with a healthy dollop of good humour. She has spent over 20 years honing her craft, touring relentlessly in venues and festivals across Australia, Ireland, Europe and the UK, both solo and with her former band the Toe Sucking Cowgirls. Her exuberant live shows have garnered praise around the world and her songwriting has drawn a host of awards.  
Her song /Shutup and Let Me Breathe/, from her album 'By The Wayside' (produced by Anne McCue and recorded in Nashville), was recently recorded by Aussie music legend Colleen Hewett and the video used in Rotary Australia's Violence Free Families campaign.  

"Her honest heartfelt songs convict her of the heinous crime of being a fine writer, observer and teller of tales. She is a woman who demands we listen and then delivers.” MAVERICK MAGAZINE UK

 

Crisscrossing her continental homeland with a guitar and no fixed abode, Tracey Bunn has traveled a long way from her Western Australian childhood home, to Darwin, New Orleans, and Mexico and then on to Nashville, Tennessee. 

Every road mile Tracey has covered has been accompanied by music. From her early days in Darwin playing country-rock in the late 1980s, she branched out across the world with Cajun, zydeco, mariachi music and western swing before decamping to Ireland where she found herself playing folk.

On her return to Australia in 1999, she met Gleny Ray, a formidably talented fiddler, accordionist and keyboard player, and together they became the Toe Sucking Cowgirls, a festival sensation who, over six grueling years, toured endlessly, released three albums and garnered a swag of awards.

Her underlying panic anxiety disorder began to impact her life and soon both the band and her recent marriage came to an end. So Tracey hung up her guitar and walked away from music. The words of her song “Shutup and Let Me Breathe” hint at how her panic manifests and how others respond to it – “You don’t have a clue/ that the way that I’m feeling is not about you”.

Two years later, she began writing songs again, different songs – songs that were more introspective, serious. But it was a chance meeting with expat Aussie singer/songwriter Anne McCue that inspired her to record her first solo album. She applied for, and was given, an ArtsNT grant to make this dream a reality.

Tracey headed for Nashville, Tennessee, to record By The Wayside with McCue, alongside Aussies Mark Moffat and Bones Hillman, and some of Nashville’s top gun session musicians.

By The Wayside is a gutsy, powerful statement of intent. It is a luscious blend of country, folk and pop rock, sometimes reminiscent of kd lang and Patsy Cline. McCue’s production and musicianship has created the right musical framework to present Tracey’s strong, personal songs.

 

MUSIC COLLABORATIONS

: 2015 - TRACEY BUNN (& THE HANDSOME DEVILS) - 3 piece original Country/Roots DARWIN NT Australia 

: 2007 -  2015 TRACEY BUNN (& THE BAREBACK RIDERS) – 2-5 piece Original Country/Folk/ Rock DARWIN NT Australia 

: 2000 - 2006  TOE SUCKING COWGIRLS – 3-5 piece Original Country/Cajun/Celtic DARWIN NT Australia 

: 1999 - 2000  HARISSA – 3 piece Original Zydeco/Bluegrass DARWIN NT Australia 

: 1998 - 1999  BUNN & HAYES DUO – Original Country/Celtic/Folk Co CLARE IRELAND 

: 1997 - 1998  BEEBOS GIRL – 6 piece Original Folk/Rock NEW ORLEANS USA 

: 1994 - 1995  DOREEN – 5 piece all guitar Acoustic Alt Country Covers/Originals DARWIN NT Australia 

: 1993 - 1994  FUNNEL OF LOVE – 4 piece all girl Original Folk/ Pop DARWIN NT Australia 

: 1991-1992 RED HOT BASS CHAKRAS – 8 piece 70’s Disco Covers DARWIN NT Australia 

: 1990-1992 PEKAS (Yothu Yindi, Horse Trank) – 5 piece Original Swamp Rock DARWIN NT Australia

 

DISCOGRAPHY

: BY THE WAYSIDE – Tracey Bunn  2011
10 tracks
Recorded 16 Ton and Flying Machine! Studios Nashville TN USA
Produced by Anne McCue 

: RED DOOR DEMO – Tracey Bunn 2007
4 tracks
Recorded Planet Mars Studio COBARGO NSW Australia
Produced by Damon Davies and Tracey Bunn 

: THIRTEEN THONGS – Toe Sucking Cowgirls 2005
13 tracks
Recorded Elevated Brains Studio HEPBURN SPRINGS Vic Australia
Produced by Richard Pleasance and TSC

: FLAMIN’ SHEILAS – Toe Sucking Cowgirls 2001
15 tracks
Recorded Bloody Dog Studios SYDNEY Australia
Produced by Marcus Holden, Michael Vidale and TSC 

: TOE SUCKING COWGIRLS 2000 Self Titled EP
6 tracks
Recorded live at The Darwin Restaurant DARWIN NT Australia
Produced by Ray Cattermole and TSC 

: TRACEY BUNN & PAUL HAYES 1998 Self Titled EP
6 tracks
Recorded Harmony Row Studio ENNIS Co Clare IRELAND 

: PEKAS 1992 “Since You’ve Been Gone” Single
Recorded ABC Studios Ultimo SYDNEY Australia
NT Winner of JJJ Unearthed

 

FILM

: INTO THE HEART OF THE UNKNOWN 2000
German Mini Series filmed in Alice Springs
Produced by SATTELITE STUDIOS Sydney Australia 

 

: TOE SUCKING COWGIRLS 2004 (unreleased)
Documentary of Cowgirls on the Road
Producer Deb Thorsen CINNIBAR Productions, ADELAIDE Australia