The Sit Down with Josh Setterfield
Having first been introduced to Australian artist Josh Setterfield during his first trip to the UK back in 2023, we have been closely following his releases and progress across the Australian country music scene. After a quiet 2025 in terms of releases, Josh has gone all out to finish 2025 with the release of a country rock cover of Simple Plan’s Perfect and now just a few weeks later he is releasing a follow up single in the form of Unapologetic. As Josh heads into this new chapter, he has also teamed up with Nashville based producer Jonathan Roach. We caught up with Josh this week to find out more about the releases and what to expect ahead of one of Australia’s few country rock artist.
How have you been, man? It’s been a while since you’ve been over this way.
It really has. I think a visit is overdue. It’s been a while, but I’ve been flat out, probably more than ever. This year has been full of changes, and I feel good about a lot of it—just some overhauls I felt were needed.
You're definitely keeping yourself busy to end the year by the looks of it. There’s no winding down for 2025, is there?
I don’t think I ever wind down! I’m always on the go. Honestly, I do it to myself—everything you see me do is DIY. Music videos, live shows—I do it all myself. I’ve only got myself to blame for being so busy. It’s just ingrained in me. One day, if I become a bigger artist and people do all this for me, I’ll be like, “What do I do now? Just play music? Weird.”
First off, can I just say thank you for releasing two songs towards the end of the year, and neither of them is a Christmas song.
Oh, my God. I’m so stoked that you said that. I’m going to throw her under the bus here—my manager the other day was like, “Do you want to release a Christmas song?” I was like, no. I don’t want to release a Christmas song. Why does everyone do that? I can’t stand it.
That’s the best thing I’ve heard all week! I’ve been getting emails about Christmas songs since September. When Dayna sent this message, I was like, here we go, another one! I listened to both, and I was like, “No, Josh, you’re definitely in my good books!”
Oh, good. I’m glad someone’s on my side. These two songs we’ve put out are definitely not Christmas songs. They’re quite the opposite. I’m very stoked you’re on my side with the Christmas song thing.
Dayna’s going to hate us now, by the way.
Oh, God. Yeah.
Let’s get into the first release then. “Simple Plan – Perfect.” Absolutely massive tune.
Yeah, it is, man. A lot of people ask why I decided to cover that song. I’m not the type of artist that does covers. We’ve always talked about if I were to record an old classic, what would it be? Simple Plan is actually the reason I became a musician. When I was 12, I saw them on MTV playing “Addicted.” They were jumping around, destroying a room, and I thought, man, these guys are the coolest dudes I’ve ever seen. I 100% want to be like that. When we were thinking about which song to cover, I said it has to be a Simple Plan song, and their biggest hit was Perfect. I relate to it; I grew up feeling like I wasn’t good enough, and I still feel that way sometimes. I played it once at a show, and it absolutely went off. I couldn’t believe the whole country crowd knew it. I thought, this is the one. The reaction has been amazing. The band has seen it. Simple Plan has seen it, and I’ve spoken to the guitarist about it.
They sent you a message on socials, didn’t they?
Yeah, man, it was crazy. I spoke to Jeff, the guitarist, and he absolutely loves it. He was honoured I did it. It’s a pretty big thing for me. I just put it out there for myself and the fans who love the song. I’m a bit of a crossover act with pop-punk-rock in country. It felt right, and I’m very happy with how it went. We play it in practice but haven’t played it live yet. It feels good to have it under my name—not my song, but something I’ve released.
When you do a cover, you don’t necessarily expect the original artist to even know about it though, let alone comment and acknowledge it.
No, not at all. It’s an honour. I’ve met them a bunch of times. I’m the biggest fanboy. I’ve told them they inspire me. My fans started tagging them the day it was released, and they saw it. The power of the people!
Were there nerves about how the wider audience would accept it?
Yeah, probably a little at first. As I lean into this new direction in country, it aligns with me more. Some people who don’t know the song just think it’s mine. I’m fine with that! It was always purely meant as a tribute to the guys that got me started. Then, on top of that I get the haters saying say it sounds exactly the same as the original, which is a weird kind of compliment. They tried to be nasty and it's just like, well, actually, I'm totally cool with that. Then there’s people saying they can’t hear the country in it, but it’s my style of country.
You should screenshot those comments and send them to Simple Plan.
Exactly. “See, we aren’t that different. Put me on a support spot, man.”
How have you been, man? It’s been a while since you’ve been over this way.
It really has. I think a visit is overdue. It’s been a while, but I’ve been flat out, probably more than ever. This year has been full of changes, and I feel good about a lot of it—just some overhauls I felt were needed.
You're definitely keeping yourself busy to end the year by the looks of it. There’s no winding down for 2025, is there?
I don’t think I ever wind down! I’m always on the go. Honestly, I do it to myself—everything you see me do is DIY. Music videos, live shows—I do it all myself. I’ve only got myself to blame for being so busy. It’s just ingrained in me. One day, if I become a bigger artist and people do all this for me, I’ll be like, “What do I do now? Just play music? Weird.”
First off, can I just say thank you for releasing two songs towards the end of the year, and neither of them is a Christmas song.
Oh, my God. I’m so stoked that you said that. I’m going to throw her under the bus here—my manager the other day was like, “Do you want to release a Christmas song?” I was like, no. I don’t want to release a Christmas song. Why does everyone do that? I can’t stand it.
That’s the best thing I’ve heard all week! I’ve been getting emails about Christmas songs since September. When Dayna sent this message, I was like, here we go, another one! I listened to both, and I was like, “No, Josh, you’re definitely in my good books!”
Oh, good. I’m glad someone’s on my side. These two songs we’ve put out are definitely not Christmas songs. They’re quite the opposite. I’m very stoked you’re on my side with the Christmas song thing.
Dayna’s going to hate us now, by the way.
Oh, God. Yeah.
Let’s get into the first release then. “Simple Plan – Perfect.” Absolutely massive tune.
Yeah, it is, man. A lot of people ask why I decided to cover that song. I’m not the type of artist that does covers. We’ve always talked about if I were to record an old classic, what would it be? Simple Plan is actually the reason I became a musician. When I was 12, I saw them on MTV playing “Addicted.” They were jumping around, destroying a room, and I thought, man, these guys are the coolest dudes I’ve ever seen. I 100% want to be like that. When we were thinking about which song to cover, I said it has to be a Simple Plan song, and their biggest hit was Perfect. I relate to it; I grew up feeling like I wasn’t good enough, and I still feel that way sometimes. I played it once at a show, and it absolutely went off. I couldn’t believe the whole country crowd knew it. I thought, this is the one. The reaction has been amazing. The band has seen it. Simple Plan has seen it, and I’ve spoken to the guitarist about it.
They sent you a message on socials, didn’t they?
Yeah, man, it was crazy. I spoke to Jeff, the guitarist, and he absolutely loves it. He was honoured I did it. It’s a pretty big thing for me. I just put it out there for myself and the fans who love the song. I’m a bit of a crossover act with pop-punk-rock in country. It felt right, and I’m very happy with how it went. We play it in practice but haven’t played it live yet. It feels good to have it under my name—not my song, but something I’ve released.
When you do a cover, you don’t necessarily expect the original artist to even know about it though, let alone comment and acknowledge it.
No, not at all. It’s an honour. I’ve met them a bunch of times. I’m the biggest fanboy. I’ve told them they inspire me. My fans started tagging them the day it was released, and they saw it. The power of the people!
Were there nerves about how the wider audience would accept it?
Yeah, probably a little at first. As I lean into this new direction in country, it aligns with me more. Some people who don’t know the song just think it’s mine. I’m fine with that! It was always purely meant as a tribute to the guys that got me started. Then, on top of that I get the haters saying say it sounds exactly the same as the original, which is a weird kind of compliment. They tried to be nasty and it's just like, well, actually, I'm totally cool with that. Then there’s people saying they can’t hear the country in it, but it’s my style of country.
You should screenshot those comments and send them to Simple Plan.
Exactly. “See, we aren’t that different. Put me on a support spot, man.”
There’s also your own single coming on Friday, “Unapologetic.”
Yeah, dude. I’m really excited but nervous. It’s a whole new brand for us. Perfect and Unapologetic are the first songs this year. I’ve been quiet on releases, figuring out what I want to do. Everything is so overdone; I hate all the reels like, “Is this the song of the summer?” I’m tired of seeing it. I’ve got people on my side, but some see me as an outsider. It takes more work to get opportunities, so I’ve doubled down on the Josh Setterfield thing and am creating music I want to make. I don't care about rules. I'm going in. I'm doing it my own way. Unapologetic, is the first one. It's a new producer. It's a new sound. I'm having fun with music again, man. It's put excitement fire in my belly. I really hope people like it because I absolutely love it.
As you said, this is going to be the first release with a new producer too.
Yeah, Jonathan Roach from Nashville. He works with Royale Lynn, Lakeview, and other artists that push the country rock boundary. I said to him I would love to work on some stuff with you, but I don’t want to sound like Lakeview. There’s already a Lakeview, I want to be Josh Setterfield. We’ve created a new country-rock sound, in-your-face but still with pedal steel guitars. I feel like I’ve found my sound.
You’ve always wanted to do your own thing and not copy others. Has that influenced this direction?
A thousand percent. I don’t stand for copying, I’ve got that song about the guy who copied me a while back, and I don’t stand for that We’re artists, we’re supposed to be creative and not just rip off someone else’s thing. I tell Jonathan, “I don’t want to sound like anyone else. Let’s do something that feels right.” I can take influence from others, like Simple Plan, but the road less travelled is a bigger win because you did it yourself. I want to be my own person and I want to stand out in my own way. If I can go out there and pack shows, you can show people that this is working and they can’t deny it.
Country is such a wide genre—country rap, country rock, even metal. There’s an audience for everyone.
Yeah, I love that. A lot of traditional country fans probably aren't a fan of the fact that country has evolved. I feel like country is the widest genre in the world right now because it's country mixed with this, country mixed with that. Fresh is good. As soon as something new comes out, artists pop up with similar styles. It’s exciting. At festivals like Buckle and Boots, we are very different on the lineup to most the other artists, and the people that come up and talk to me afterwards are the people that got dragged along with their partner. They're like, oh, we kind of like country, but we love you. I'm like, yes, because I'm an outsider. That feels good.
When Jonathan sent you Unapologetic, did you know you were going to love it and had to get this track out before the end of the year to finish 2025 on a high?
Yeah, we did four songs to test if we’d gel. Unapologetic, was actually the one that we weren't too sure what direction it would take and was the last track we did. He sent it to me and said he wasn’t sure if I would like it as it is very different and very dark. I was like, ok, show me the idea and then we can build on it. Instantly, I knew 1000% it was the look and sound I’d been searching for. It starts like a dark rap song, then punches you in the gut with the chorus. It was this shock value I want to have on people. I’m excited.
Do you think trips to Nashville, the UK, and Canada helped you over the last few years soak up the atmosphere of what country music is around the world?
Yeah. You can see what each country wants. The US obviously is leading; Australia is a little bit behind still. I feel that the UK is catching up very fast too. Canada and the US are the first two, but there’s definitely a stock standard that gets played there. Some artists, like Hardy, push rock country to open people’s eye and try to break down those boundaries. It’s good to break walls and show evolution. I found a UK artist, on a random playlist, doing rocky country too. It’s starting to spread and pop up more. In Australia, I'm probably the only one pushing boundaries with the rock side. I love finding new acts in the same lane of what I’m doing, and I’ll back those people a hundred percent.
Yeah, dude. I’m really excited but nervous. It’s a whole new brand for us. Perfect and Unapologetic are the first songs this year. I’ve been quiet on releases, figuring out what I want to do. Everything is so overdone; I hate all the reels like, “Is this the song of the summer?” I’m tired of seeing it. I’ve got people on my side, but some see me as an outsider. It takes more work to get opportunities, so I’ve doubled down on the Josh Setterfield thing and am creating music I want to make. I don't care about rules. I'm going in. I'm doing it my own way. Unapologetic, is the first one. It's a new producer. It's a new sound. I'm having fun with music again, man. It's put excitement fire in my belly. I really hope people like it because I absolutely love it.
As you said, this is going to be the first release with a new producer too.
Yeah, Jonathan Roach from Nashville. He works with Royale Lynn, Lakeview, and other artists that push the country rock boundary. I said to him I would love to work on some stuff with you, but I don’t want to sound like Lakeview. There’s already a Lakeview, I want to be Josh Setterfield. We’ve created a new country-rock sound, in-your-face but still with pedal steel guitars. I feel like I’ve found my sound.
You’ve always wanted to do your own thing and not copy others. Has that influenced this direction?
A thousand percent. I don’t stand for copying, I’ve got that song about the guy who copied me a while back, and I don’t stand for that We’re artists, we’re supposed to be creative and not just rip off someone else’s thing. I tell Jonathan, “I don’t want to sound like anyone else. Let’s do something that feels right.” I can take influence from others, like Simple Plan, but the road less travelled is a bigger win because you did it yourself. I want to be my own person and I want to stand out in my own way. If I can go out there and pack shows, you can show people that this is working and they can’t deny it.
Country is such a wide genre—country rap, country rock, even metal. There’s an audience for everyone.
Yeah, I love that. A lot of traditional country fans probably aren't a fan of the fact that country has evolved. I feel like country is the widest genre in the world right now because it's country mixed with this, country mixed with that. Fresh is good. As soon as something new comes out, artists pop up with similar styles. It’s exciting. At festivals like Buckle and Boots, we are very different on the lineup to most the other artists, and the people that come up and talk to me afterwards are the people that got dragged along with their partner. They're like, oh, we kind of like country, but we love you. I'm like, yes, because I'm an outsider. That feels good.
When Jonathan sent you Unapologetic, did you know you were going to love it and had to get this track out before the end of the year to finish 2025 on a high?
Yeah, we did four songs to test if we’d gel. Unapologetic, was actually the one that we weren't too sure what direction it would take and was the last track we did. He sent it to me and said he wasn’t sure if I would like it as it is very different and very dark. I was like, ok, show me the idea and then we can build on it. Instantly, I knew 1000% it was the look and sound I’d been searching for. It starts like a dark rap song, then punches you in the gut with the chorus. It was this shock value I want to have on people. I’m excited.
Do you think trips to Nashville, the UK, and Canada helped you over the last few years soak up the atmosphere of what country music is around the world?
Yeah. You can see what each country wants. The US obviously is leading; Australia is a little bit behind still. I feel that the UK is catching up very fast too. Canada and the US are the first two, but there’s definitely a stock standard that gets played there. Some artists, like Hardy, push rock country to open people’s eye and try to break down those boundaries. It’s good to break walls and show evolution. I found a UK artist, on a random playlist, doing rocky country too. It’s starting to spread and pop up more. In Australia, I'm probably the only one pushing boundaries with the rock side. I love finding new acts in the same lane of what I’m doing, and I’ll back those people a hundred percent.
We are noticing more Australian’s move to Nashville or they just stay in there lane at home. You seem though to be trying to make the best of both worlds with North American trips, including Canada while still being based in Australia. Is it important to keep that homegrown influence but at the same time adding in these new experiences?
It’s hard to chat about. If you want to go global, people say you must move to Nashville. But it’s 2025; you can do this remotely. I’m having a call with you right now from here to England. Right now, it’s doable to do this from a distance and I think they just want to know you’re serious about stuff. I went to the US for CMA Fest in June and that was the first time I thought I could move there. I’ve spoken to a bunch of artists that have moved to Nashville, and some of them have only moved across the States and said the move has been hard. I’d be moving from the other side of the globe! No matter where I live, I want to be in Australia, the UK, Canada, the US. Have a base, but be in these places just as much as the other places.
Your last trip to our shores was 2023 now.
Too long ago. I wanted to go this year, but transitions with songs meant it didn’t end up happening as we needed to focus on that. In 2026, I’ll 100% be back. I want to get on a couple of festivals, even get back to Buckle and Boots. We did Manchester, Birmingham and London last time and I’d love to hit those places again and more. The room in London just had such an energy and was where so many artists had their start. I’d love to play their again. That was a great little venue.
With this new music out now can we expect this to be the start of a new release cycle?
Yes, so much music coming. I can’t say a hell of a lot, but for the first time ever, we have a lot in the bank. We’ve done the Rise and Fall era, and now I get to do something completely new. Jonathan and I are recording remotely; tonight at midnight we start because he’s in Nashville, and I’ll probable go to sleep at 6 AM. That’s going to be my whole week ahead of me. We’ve got lots of songs coming and I’m really stoked to be putting the first one out this Friday—definitely not a Christmas song!
I should let you nap before you start recording then, but good luck Friday with Unapologetic.
Thanks so much. Loved chatting.
Hopefully we chat again in a couple of months with more music or even in London with beers.
There’s a lot coming, I’ll hold you to that.
It’s hard to chat about. If you want to go global, people say you must move to Nashville. But it’s 2025; you can do this remotely. I’m having a call with you right now from here to England. Right now, it’s doable to do this from a distance and I think they just want to know you’re serious about stuff. I went to the US for CMA Fest in June and that was the first time I thought I could move there. I’ve spoken to a bunch of artists that have moved to Nashville, and some of them have only moved across the States and said the move has been hard. I’d be moving from the other side of the globe! No matter where I live, I want to be in Australia, the UK, Canada, the US. Have a base, but be in these places just as much as the other places.
Your last trip to our shores was 2023 now.
Too long ago. I wanted to go this year, but transitions with songs meant it didn’t end up happening as we needed to focus on that. In 2026, I’ll 100% be back. I want to get on a couple of festivals, even get back to Buckle and Boots. We did Manchester, Birmingham and London last time and I’d love to hit those places again and more. The room in London just had such an energy and was where so many artists had their start. I’d love to play their again. That was a great little venue.
With this new music out now can we expect this to be the start of a new release cycle?
Yes, so much music coming. I can’t say a hell of a lot, but for the first time ever, we have a lot in the bank. We’ve done the Rise and Fall era, and now I get to do something completely new. Jonathan and I are recording remotely; tonight at midnight we start because he’s in Nashville, and I’ll probable go to sleep at 6 AM. That’s going to be my whole week ahead of me. We’ve got lots of songs coming and I’m really stoked to be putting the first one out this Friday—definitely not a Christmas song!
I should let you nap before you start recording then, but good luck Friday with Unapologetic.
Thanks so much. Loved chatting.
Hopefully we chat again in a couple of months with more music or even in London with beers.
There’s a lot coming, I’ll hold you to that.
