‘From the heart’: Wolfe Brothers sweep Golden Guitars
Kat Wong |
Australia’s most decorated country duo were about to chase their American dream when they realised they couldn’t call the US home.
The Wolfe Brothers’ album Australian Made is a homage to the sunburnt country and the stories of its people, and on Saturday night, it helped the duo sweep the 2026 Country Music Awards of Australia.
Nick and Tom Wolfe won five of the eight Golden Guitar awards they were nominated for including the top gong for album of the year, contemporary album of the year, duo of the year, vocal collaboration of the year, and heritage song of the year at the ceremony in Tamworth.
Asked about almost moving to America, the brothers said they had made the right choice.
“This is our home, this is where our family is, this is the country we care about,” Tom told reporters after their win.
“Australian country music is from here – it’s from the heart, it’s songs about farmers, battlers, real people and us.
“Right now there is this wonderful international country music boom … the best thing for us is to do our modern type of country and sing about this place: Australia.”
The results bring the duo’s career Golden Guitar haul to 15.
Country music veteran Kasey Chambers, who had received the most nominations in 2026, won three of the 13 categories she was up for.
The Divorce Song – a collaboration with ex-husband Shane Nicholson – earned Chambers the Golden Guitar for single of the year and song of the year, while her album was awarded alt-country album of the year.
Chambers now has more than 20 Golden Guitars to her name while Nicholson has more than 15.
“I don’t think we thought we’d be standing up here together again ever,” Chambers said.
“We hadn’t written a song together since the divorce and it’s really special you (Shane) took a chance on me for this song.
“We definitely do divorce way better than we did marriage.”
Male artist of the year and new talent of the year went to Wade Forster while Max Jackson took home female artist of the year for the second year in a row.
Two-time ARIA winner Fanny Lumsden and her husband Dan Stanley Freeman won video of the year for Look At Me Now, which encapsulates the past decade and a half of her career through snippets of the life the couple share.
“This particular clip is quite different in that it’s not the world of the song, it’s the world of our lives,” Freeman said.
GOLDEN GUITAR WINNERS 2026:
FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
* Max Jackson
MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
* Wade Forster
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
* Australian Made – The Wolfe Brothers
SONG OF THE YEAR
* The Divorce Song – Kasey Chambers featuring Shane Nicholson
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
* The Divorce Song – Kasey Chambers featuring Shane Nicholson
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
* Look At Me Now – Fanny Lumsden
ALT COUNTRY ALBUM OF THE YEAR
* Backbone – Kasey Chambers
TRADITIONAL COUNTRY ALBUM OF THE YEAR
* Start All Over Again – Brendan Radford
HERITAGE SONG OF THE YEAR
* Australian Made – The Wolfe Brothers
VOCAL COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR
* How Many One More Times – The Wolfe Brothers with Zac & George
AAP travelled with the assistance of Tamworth Country Music Festival
AAP
