My Countrytown: Teak – Emerald

Regional towns are in our blood here at CountryTown! From Tamworth to Toowoomba to Noojee, we love the pubs, the people and the places that make Australia tick. But most of all, we love the amazing country musicians our regional centres produce, like Teak.

Teak is known to Australian audiences through her 2015 appearance on The Voice, where she made it through to the Top 12 finals working with coach Joel Madden. Her success on the show launched her career, and she was invited to tour with rock legend David Gates from the 70s band BREAD. She has also performed at Tamworth Country Music Festival, Road to Roma and Gympie Music Muster. 

When she is not globetrotting, Teak – who grew up with The McClymonts – is a mum of three who loves crystals, cooking, and gardening. She also shares her passion for storytelling and music by teaching music lessons from her property in Emerald. 

She released her EP, Handmade in December 2020. We premiered her latest single, Seventy Five – an anthemic love song about the 1970s music Teak loves and showcases her glorious voice and talent for writing melodies – back in May.

To get to know Teak a little better, we’ve asked what she loves about her hometown, Emerald, Queensland.

1. Small Town Community

Emerald has a very tight knit community one that is very grounded. We have some beautiful little local businesses that bend over backwards to support one another. If I’m heading to a store, I’m bound to run into someone I know. There’s always a shake of the hand or a tip of the hat and I feel really fortunate to have that and to be able to raise my children surrounded by people with those values.

2. Cotton Fields

Emerald provides 25% of Queensland’s cotton! These fields look amazing right before harvest time you can be travelling on the outskirts of town and find cotton all along the sides of the roads it can be very beautiful almost similar to the likes of snow falling down. 

3. Mining

We have bulk mines surrounding Emerald. My hubby is a diesel fitter in the mining industry and has been for over 10 years now. Our kids think its super cool when we have big machinery travel through the Main Street of town being transported to mines. 

4. Emerald UNDIE 100.

The Emerald 100 is a big race day. I’ve been lucky to play at this event a few times now. I think the last time I played there I'd just travelled back from Stockholm, Sweden on 36 hours of flying. I arrived home, walked off the plane, showered and then gigged for 6 hours straight that afternoon ... although, I was pretty wrecked from travel, this is just one of those events you just don’t want miss!! The last race of the day is the running of the UNDIE 100 where all the men run the racecourse in their jocks ... actually I have seen a few female contenders in my time too! It's a great day out and usually winds up at a local pub. 

5. Big Skies 

We have big, big skies from our beautiful sunsets to a night sky filled with thousands of stars. It's one thing I miss when I travel or I’m in the city for music. I also miss the sound of crickets and stillness at night when I’m away. One of my favourite things to do is star gaze in an open paddock.

To keep up to date with Teak, follow her on Facebook here.

For more of our My CountryTown series, check out here.

Image: Supplied