Rider Essentials: Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningham

Two of the finest stalwarts of the Australian music scene, 13x Golden Guitar-winning country sweetheart Felicity Urquhart and 4x ARIA award-winning Josh Cunningham (The Waifs), are taking the much-acclaimed album The Song Club on the road for their ‘Wanna Go There’ tour.

After being invited to join Song Club, a loose collective of musicians whose task is to write a song to a brief within a week, both Urquhart and Cunningham found in each other musical and song writing partners, and through the process, they also fell in love. 

In 2021, they released The Song Club, which debuted at #1 on the ARIA Country Albums chart and #10 on the ARIA Album chart. The widely lauded album has also earned 4 x Golden Guitar nominations (‘Alt Country Album of the Year’, ‘Country Music Capital News Group / Duo of the Year’, ‘CMT Video of the Year’, ‘Toyota Album of the Year’), and now the pair are keen to take their joyous, harmony-laden sound to stages and audiences all over the country to celebrate.

Find out the things Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningham will take on the road with them as they kick off their tour tomorrow night in Adelaide for this week’s Rider Essentials.

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Josh Cunningham

1. Sewing Kit 

I’m a seamster, and the prospect of being anywhere without needle and thread (at the very least) is unthinkable to me. I was famous for touring with a sewing machine in the early Waifs days until regular flying and escalating excess baggage charges eventually rendered it impractical. I streamlined it down to the essential kit that’s capable of dealing with any creative impulse, repair/alteration, or emergency procedure prior to taking the stage. I’ve gotten myself and my band mates out of trouble countless times and even saved the day for the odd celebrity with a stitch in time or a strategically placed safety pin.  

2. Richmond undies

This takes things a step beyond the golden rule of “one pair per day on the road plus a couple of extras”. My only habit that could be regarded as even remotely superstitious is having to brush my teeth before I can go onstage, but I swear that the true reason the Tigers won the 2017 flag was because I faithfully donned a pair of yellow and black undies every game day. The same pair served the team well through the back-to-back premiership years of 2019 and 2020 until not even the trusty sewing kit could keep them going and they were retired at the end of 2020. Needless to say, 2021 was not a good year for the Tige’s and we failed to even make the eight. I’ve got a new pair this season and am expecting great things.

3. Thermos for a cuppa 

I found a great thermos at TK Maxx which has a single finger trigger action that makes drinking tea whilst driving ultra-convenient and extremely safe. I’ve never seen the exact design before or since, so I hold a deep-seated fear of losing it, having it malfunction or wear out and never being able to replace it. I literally think it was the only one of its kind ever made – maybe a prototype that never went into full production – and I just happened to chance upon the only one in existence. When it finally goes the way of my Richmond underwear, touring, and even life itself, will never be the same.

Felicity Urquhart

1. A good supply of tea

It’s so important to have a good cuppa on the road. Coincidentally, both Josh and I love earl grey tea. There are a few good brands, but Twinings maintains a great flavour hours into the day. We take our own vacuum drinking flasks, so we’re guaranteed to have a hot refreshing black cuppa whenever we need, without always having to find a servo or a cafe. The fact that we share such a deep appreciation for this fine beverage is not lost on us. We know that the many miles yet to travel and the many gigs yet to do will be so much more satisfying on account of Twinings earl grey. 

2. A little room in the suitcase 

You can’t over pack when you go on the road. It’s essential to keep some space available – even if it’s just a little pocket or the zipper you can undo to expand your suitcase for those must have op shop finds. It’s such a buzz spending time in fascinating second-hand shops and we love to go on the hunt anywhere in the country. The rule of thumb used to be that the more remote the area, the better the finds. It still generally holds true but there’s always unexpected treasures we come across in cities or the country, and each find creates a memory association – almost like a postcard or a souvenir from our tour. Last trip we bought a cello in an opshop!!

3. Turquoise jewellery 

I will never leave home without wearing or carrying in my handbag some kind of turquoise jewellery. It is such a positive stone. The gemstones come in an array of beautiful shades of blue, bluish green, green and yellowish green. Its colour is bright, memorable and gives me good vibes. There is one extra special piece that was designed locally in Australia for me by Charleys Forest Silver. I love it so much because it includes the names of my daughters engraved with their chosen stone for each of them.

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Keep up to date with everything Felicity Urquhart and follow her on Facebook here.
 Keep up to date with everything Josh Cunningham and follow him on Facebook here.

For more of our Rider Essentials series, go here.