The Sit Down with Melanie Dyer
Back home in Australia, Melanie Dyer had established herself as a leading female contemporary country artist, with hit singles and industry accolades under her belt. Earlier this year, she decided it was time to pack her bags and make the move across the Pacific Ocean leaving Sydney behind and making Nashville home. Now she has taken the opportunity to reflect on several life changing events in 2025 by releasing her new single Homemade. We recently caught up with Melanie to find out about the new single and setting up fulltime in Nashville.
Hey Melanie, thanks for taking the time today.
Thanks for having me, it's lovely to talk to you.
Congratulations on the release of Homemade. It must be quite strange because everyone back home would have had it on Spotify and things way before you had it in Nashville.
Well, the funny thing is there's a hack to that! My phone still thinks I'm in Australia! My Spotify still thinks I'm there, so I got it early. America did not, but it was kind of fitting for the song being Homemade that everyone back home in Australia got it first. It's kind of nice.
At least, you know, it was online and working early!
That is the good bit, but then it's the scary bit too because you start checking the data and you're like, has anyone listened? In the streaming apps, you can check in real time through the back end as an artist to see if anyone's listening or whatever. You start looking at those things really early. So I have to stop myself and remember nobody's heard it because it's only out in a small portion of the world and there’s still time.
It's been out for about two weeks now. How's it been having it out to the world?
It's been great. The response has been lovely and it just feels bizarre being in another country as I moved to Nashville six months ago. I've got two celebrations in a way because of that. It's kind of ironic that I've moved away and then this song is all about home and where I've come from. I've been working on this music to celebrate that and there's nothing like moving countries to really make you realise what you have and what you're thankful for. It's been lovely to hear that it's being played back home and that the response has been good.
Has it made you reminisce of how the last six months have gone or does it make you miss home?
I'm always going to miss home. It's home, you know. But for me, it's been another layer of emotion that's gone with it, because just before I moved to Nashville, my family farm actually sold. My parents decided to sell the farm and it would have been four generations. I was not only leaving countries, but I was in some way, I'm going to be homeless because the next time I go back to Australia, there won't be the home that I grew up in anymore. It's made me homesick in that sense as well, but it's also made me driven to do them proud and do my home proud and my family. It has inspired me to write all this new music as well.
As the child you always have to moan when the parents sell your family home, even if you’ve long since moved out!
I moved out when I was 18. I moved to the city for music and that felt like another world because I grew up in a really tiny town in the middle of nowhere and the city was about eight hours away. During Covid, I actually went back to the farm after seven years of Sydney and I spent time with my mum and dad there. Now, I'm just so much more grateful for that, that time and those memories, because now it's not there anymore. It was just really special to go back and have that extra time.
Then I'm sure the family then complained to you for making this song called Homemade when you're not at home!
I'm sure they're thinking it. They haven't said it! I mean, I would think that, so I can't blame them. They keep me humble as well. They say it how it is, which is good, so I'm sure they're thinking it. This song's for them too, obviously, and I think that they're taking from it what whatever it means to them with everything that's happened back home as well.
I'm going to let you get a bit big headed for a second because it has had some awesome playlist ads, doesn't it? Across kind of all the streaming platforms.
Yeah. I mean, you don't know what the powers that be or the algorithm gods and hashtags and whatever are going to do. As an artist, you just hope that people are going to hear your music and these days, the playlisting is a really big part of that. It was lovely to see that it's been added to some players and it's still being considered for more. I can see that the little streams going up with people listening and it's always really lovely to have that support, too.
Can you look a little bit less in the real time streams now when you know it’s got these playlist adds?
Absolutely. As soon as I saw it, I was like, OK, it's been added to a few things, I know that it's not just going to get lost in the millions and millions of songs that are released every day. I was like, I can relax. I’ve got my social media following and my I call them the diehards as they're my original fans. There's a little group on my Instagram and everybody in there are the real ones that have been there from the beginning. As long as they can hear it and I know that they're sharing it with their families and friends, then that's what matters.
Hey Melanie, thanks for taking the time today.
Thanks for having me, it's lovely to talk to you.
Congratulations on the release of Homemade. It must be quite strange because everyone back home would have had it on Spotify and things way before you had it in Nashville.
Well, the funny thing is there's a hack to that! My phone still thinks I'm in Australia! My Spotify still thinks I'm there, so I got it early. America did not, but it was kind of fitting for the song being Homemade that everyone back home in Australia got it first. It's kind of nice.
At least, you know, it was online and working early!
That is the good bit, but then it's the scary bit too because you start checking the data and you're like, has anyone listened? In the streaming apps, you can check in real time through the back end as an artist to see if anyone's listening or whatever. You start looking at those things really early. So I have to stop myself and remember nobody's heard it because it's only out in a small portion of the world and there’s still time.
It's been out for about two weeks now. How's it been having it out to the world?
It's been great. The response has been lovely and it just feels bizarre being in another country as I moved to Nashville six months ago. I've got two celebrations in a way because of that. It's kind of ironic that I've moved away and then this song is all about home and where I've come from. I've been working on this music to celebrate that and there's nothing like moving countries to really make you realise what you have and what you're thankful for. It's been lovely to hear that it's being played back home and that the response has been good.
Has it made you reminisce of how the last six months have gone or does it make you miss home?
I'm always going to miss home. It's home, you know. But for me, it's been another layer of emotion that's gone with it, because just before I moved to Nashville, my family farm actually sold. My parents decided to sell the farm and it would have been four generations. I was not only leaving countries, but I was in some way, I'm going to be homeless because the next time I go back to Australia, there won't be the home that I grew up in anymore. It's made me homesick in that sense as well, but it's also made me driven to do them proud and do my home proud and my family. It has inspired me to write all this new music as well.
As the child you always have to moan when the parents sell your family home, even if you’ve long since moved out!
I moved out when I was 18. I moved to the city for music and that felt like another world because I grew up in a really tiny town in the middle of nowhere and the city was about eight hours away. During Covid, I actually went back to the farm after seven years of Sydney and I spent time with my mum and dad there. Now, I'm just so much more grateful for that, that time and those memories, because now it's not there anymore. It was just really special to go back and have that extra time.
Then I'm sure the family then complained to you for making this song called Homemade when you're not at home!
I'm sure they're thinking it. They haven't said it! I mean, I would think that, so I can't blame them. They keep me humble as well. They say it how it is, which is good, so I'm sure they're thinking it. This song's for them too, obviously, and I think that they're taking from it what whatever it means to them with everything that's happened back home as well.
I'm going to let you get a bit big headed for a second because it has had some awesome playlist ads, doesn't it? Across kind of all the streaming platforms.
Yeah. I mean, you don't know what the powers that be or the algorithm gods and hashtags and whatever are going to do. As an artist, you just hope that people are going to hear your music and these days, the playlisting is a really big part of that. It was lovely to see that it's been added to some players and it's still being considered for more. I can see that the little streams going up with people listening and it's always really lovely to have that support, too.
Can you look a little bit less in the real time streams now when you know it’s got these playlist adds?
Absolutely. As soon as I saw it, I was like, OK, it's been added to a few things, I know that it's not just going to get lost in the millions and millions of songs that are released every day. I was like, I can relax. I’ve got my social media following and my I call them the diehards as they're my original fans. There's a little group on my Instagram and everybody in there are the real ones that have been there from the beginning. As long as they can hear it and I know that they're sharing it with their families and friends, then that's what matters.
You linked up with Grady Saxman for this release. Is that turning into one of the perks of being based in Nashville to get those link ups on your door step rather than multiple time change zoom calls?
You're very spoilt for choice in Nashville. It's kind of overwhelming, to be honest, being here. Grady's a new collaborator that I found and started working with and we've just recorded what will be my next album next year. He's been wonderful. You go in the studio and these guys and girls that they bring in to play these sessions do it every day. They're just so creative and so talented. I have never made an album in one session where we did all the songs back to back, all the instruments and recording process. I did the vocals later, but to see it all come to life and to hear it being made in real time was something I've never been a part of. That's a real perk of being here and being surrounded by those kind of creative people.
Do you think it's changed your own process and creativity by being in Nashville as well compared to Sydney?
Yeah, for sure. I mean, this town is so inspiring and it's inspired me to be creative more and write more often. I'm writing a lot more because when you're back home, I was touring a lot as well and I'm in this blissful little bubble at the moment where I'm still settling into Nashville and I'm not crazy busy, so it's allowed me to go out and record and write and sort of really get into my creative zone. This town brings it out. In between that, I'm going out and seeing amazing musicians play; you could do it every night of the week; you could do it three times a day in this city. It's great for a musician.
Do you think your writing's changed by being there and getting kind of more sparks of ideas being in Nashville?
Yeah, as soon as you put yourself in a new environment, it does spark inspiration and meeting new people and listening to different things. Funnily enough, the thing that's inspired me the most is the actual process of the farm sale and moving from home and having those memories and the nostalgia of wanting to put that in a time capsule. This album that I'm about to start putting out, with Homemade as the first single, the whole album is actually a concept that surrounds all those feelings and emotions about leaving home and where I grew up and how I grew up and my parents and sisters. The album after that will be very much what's inspired me here in Nashville. But for now, I had to get all these emotions out into this album first.
There's quite a good Australian community in Nashville, isn't there? There does seem to be more and more artists making that move. Was that really important when you looked at moving and in these first few months of being there?
It's so good. I mean, I'm one of many now. We're slowly invading! It's good because it does ease some of those homesick feelings if you're missing home and you want to hear an Aussie accent. I've got so many friends here now and so many incredibly talented songwriters and musicians and artists and even in the background jobs, like tour managers and audio engineers. There's so many Australians here doing great things. The problem is, we all need to venture out and actually make some new friends because we just stick together!
You've been doing the Oz Songwriters Shows as well, which must be a great opportunity to connect with people from Australia and a new American audience
They're some of my best mates, and especially here in Nashville. We got this gig, it was myself, Imogen Clark, Sinead Burgess and Blake O'Connor. I go back with those guys years and years. Sinead I met when I was 12, so we've pretty much grown up together in this industry, and we're all very different but have so many similarities in our paths. We randomly got on this gig together and we road tripped down to Muscle Shawls in one car, and on the way we just were chatting about, hey, why don't we do something together? We've all got new music and things to offer, and we want to cross our audiences and try and build something over here. We decided to do a little tour, and we may do more of that next year. We all got together and played The Bitter End in New York, an iconic venue, and a show here in Nashville to kick it off. We'll see if we can do more of that next year - it'll be so fun.
And just to drop a hint, Sinead has been over to the UK recently, so you can get some tips off her of how to get here!
Hey, we've got to bring Oz Songwriters to the UK! I know that all three of them have actually been over, so I'm the last.
Yeah, Blake was over recently too for a festival.
Yeah, I need to come join the gang and pop my UK cherry because there's so much good stuff happening over there, and I want to be a part of it.
You're very spoilt for choice in Nashville. It's kind of overwhelming, to be honest, being here. Grady's a new collaborator that I found and started working with and we've just recorded what will be my next album next year. He's been wonderful. You go in the studio and these guys and girls that they bring in to play these sessions do it every day. They're just so creative and so talented. I have never made an album in one session where we did all the songs back to back, all the instruments and recording process. I did the vocals later, but to see it all come to life and to hear it being made in real time was something I've never been a part of. That's a real perk of being here and being surrounded by those kind of creative people.
Do you think it's changed your own process and creativity by being in Nashville as well compared to Sydney?
Yeah, for sure. I mean, this town is so inspiring and it's inspired me to be creative more and write more often. I'm writing a lot more because when you're back home, I was touring a lot as well and I'm in this blissful little bubble at the moment where I'm still settling into Nashville and I'm not crazy busy, so it's allowed me to go out and record and write and sort of really get into my creative zone. This town brings it out. In between that, I'm going out and seeing amazing musicians play; you could do it every night of the week; you could do it three times a day in this city. It's great for a musician.
Do you think your writing's changed by being there and getting kind of more sparks of ideas being in Nashville?
Yeah, as soon as you put yourself in a new environment, it does spark inspiration and meeting new people and listening to different things. Funnily enough, the thing that's inspired me the most is the actual process of the farm sale and moving from home and having those memories and the nostalgia of wanting to put that in a time capsule. This album that I'm about to start putting out, with Homemade as the first single, the whole album is actually a concept that surrounds all those feelings and emotions about leaving home and where I grew up and how I grew up and my parents and sisters. The album after that will be very much what's inspired me here in Nashville. But for now, I had to get all these emotions out into this album first.
There's quite a good Australian community in Nashville, isn't there? There does seem to be more and more artists making that move. Was that really important when you looked at moving and in these first few months of being there?
It's so good. I mean, I'm one of many now. We're slowly invading! It's good because it does ease some of those homesick feelings if you're missing home and you want to hear an Aussie accent. I've got so many friends here now and so many incredibly talented songwriters and musicians and artists and even in the background jobs, like tour managers and audio engineers. There's so many Australians here doing great things. The problem is, we all need to venture out and actually make some new friends because we just stick together!
You've been doing the Oz Songwriters Shows as well, which must be a great opportunity to connect with people from Australia and a new American audience
They're some of my best mates, and especially here in Nashville. We got this gig, it was myself, Imogen Clark, Sinead Burgess and Blake O'Connor. I go back with those guys years and years. Sinead I met when I was 12, so we've pretty much grown up together in this industry, and we're all very different but have so many similarities in our paths. We randomly got on this gig together and we road tripped down to Muscle Shawls in one car, and on the way we just were chatting about, hey, why don't we do something together? We've all got new music and things to offer, and we want to cross our audiences and try and build something over here. We decided to do a little tour, and we may do more of that next year. We all got together and played The Bitter End in New York, an iconic venue, and a show here in Nashville to kick it off. We'll see if we can do more of that next year - it'll be so fun.
And just to drop a hint, Sinead has been over to the UK recently, so you can get some tips off her of how to get here!
Hey, we've got to bring Oz Songwriters to the UK! I know that all three of them have actually been over, so I'm the last.
Yeah, Blake was over recently too for a festival.
Yeah, I need to come join the gang and pop my UK cherry because there's so much good stuff happening over there, and I want to be a part of it.
It's been 10 years now since you first really started putting out music. Does it feel that long?
It feels longer. It's funny. It goes fast, like so crazy fast, and you forget what you've done because you're always chasing the next thing and you've always got something to work towards. Recently, it's been nice to have time to kind of sit and actually reflect on all the things I've done over the years and I'll be working on my third album and I did an EP too. I've got all these records floating around and all these songs that I’ve been doing for a while when you start to plan a set list and you have to cram it into like 50 minutes or a 30 minutes for a festival. I then realise that I can't do this song or this song, and you have to start cutting it out. It's great that I've been able to sustain this career and keep building it and somewhat even start again over here. It's kind of refreshing and inspiring. It's been a long time, but hopefully I'll be around for another 50 years or more.
They say Nashville is the 10-year town. Is this when you go, hold on, can I have a head start here because I've been doing it for 10 years already?
I don't know if it works like that! I really hope so though because I think I've actually been coming over and visiting for almost eight years now, so maybe that'll give me a head start and I've done CMA Fest and played the Bluebird Cafe and things like that. I don't know if the locals would acknowledge that, but hopefully I can shave some of those 10 years off!
Have you started your own venue bucket list in Nashville that you want to be doing?
I mean, yes, obviously. My goal, my big dream is to be making my Opry debut. I'm just going to put it out there. I'd love to do that. Not many Australians have done that and it's on my bucket list and the Ryman Auditorium obviously here is incredible. There’s so much history, so many icons have played those stages and I'd love to debut one day. That would be phenomenal.
It feels longer. It's funny. It goes fast, like so crazy fast, and you forget what you've done because you're always chasing the next thing and you've always got something to work towards. Recently, it's been nice to have time to kind of sit and actually reflect on all the things I've done over the years and I'll be working on my third album and I did an EP too. I've got all these records floating around and all these songs that I’ve been doing for a while when you start to plan a set list and you have to cram it into like 50 minutes or a 30 minutes for a festival. I then realise that I can't do this song or this song, and you have to start cutting it out. It's great that I've been able to sustain this career and keep building it and somewhat even start again over here. It's kind of refreshing and inspiring. It's been a long time, but hopefully I'll be around for another 50 years or more.
They say Nashville is the 10-year town. Is this when you go, hold on, can I have a head start here because I've been doing it for 10 years already?
I don't know if it works like that! I really hope so though because I think I've actually been coming over and visiting for almost eight years now, so maybe that'll give me a head start and I've done CMA Fest and played the Bluebird Cafe and things like that. I don't know if the locals would acknowledge that, but hopefully I can shave some of those 10 years off!
Have you started your own venue bucket list in Nashville that you want to be doing?
I mean, yes, obviously. My goal, my big dream is to be making my Opry debut. I'm just going to put it out there. I'd love to do that. Not many Australians have done that and it's on my bucket list and the Ryman Auditorium obviously here is incredible. There’s so much history, so many icons have played those stages and I'd love to debut one day. That would be phenomenal.
Now that you're in this cycle, have you got a time frame of when you want to be dropping releases and things to build up to an album?
Yeah, definitely. It's all the strategy stuff and the planning that goes after the album recording and creation. Obviously, I'm an artist, so I prefer if I could just do that part of it every day, I'd be happy. But, at the same time, I'm an independent artist and I don't have a manager and I don't have an agent at the moment, so I'm doing all of it. I've got to plan the releases and the surrounding shows around that. It's a lot of work, even the concept designs, like what's the cover going to look like? I want to make a vinyl this time. I've never had a vinyl before. All of those things will be keeping me busy, but I'll definitely consistently be releasing music and I'm about to drop a Christmas song for the first time ever, which I'm excited about that too.
And then you've got to fight that urge to not just release one every Friday or drop it all in one go!
I know! It's hard as an artist. Some of these songs that will be on this album are years old now because I've been writing them over such a long a period of time. There's obviously a bunch of nuance because it's a recent event that's inspired it, but there are some that I started writing a year ago, two years ago. You do get that urge to go, I just want to put it all out now because you've lived with it for so long and you forget that nobody else has heard it yet. I'm already working on the next, next album. It just keeps going. It's a vicious cycle, but so fun.
Well, I can't wait to kind of hear more of the track's coming and a countdown to an album as well.
Yeah, it'll be coming soon before we know it. In the meantime, if you like Christmas songs, that will keep you going. I love Christmas. It's like one of my favourite times of the year. It's surprising to me that I haven't written one yet, so a few months ago I was like, I'm not going to miss the boat this year. I'm going to do a Christmas song because every year it comes around, I'm like, oh, I missed the cut off. I can't do it. I said, I'm going to write a Christmas song and I sat on the floor here in my new place in Nashville, and I wrote this song by myself in about 20 minutes. I didn't make any changes to it - I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. You can tell me later! It just fell out of me and I was like, it's meant to be because I've summoning this Christmas song for a long time.
Are you hoping for a white Christmas this year because I guess you're used to Christmas on the beach at Bondi.
I would always go home to the farm. I'd always spend my Christmas camping or just out in the country with the family. This year, my mum, she's a beautiful soul, she said, I can't have you away for Christmas. I'm buying you a ticket home. I will be home for Christmas where the family is.
Then you get the fun of that time change when you lose an entire day going out and land back in Los Angeles before you've even left Sydney.
Yeah, exactly. You just do a bit of time travel in this predicament. I've always wanted like a white Christmas and I'll do it one day, but I just can't say no to a trip back home, obviously.
And then you can put your Christmas single on repeat all day long.
Well, that's it. Someone's got to do it. My sisters partner used to get annoyed at me because he'd stay over and Christmas morning, everyone would have their partners staying in the house and I'd be that one kid that cranked up the carols at like 5.30 in the morning, waking everybody up. Mariah Carey, Michael Buble, Elvis, like all of the classics. Nobody else was as committed as I was, so I'll be cranking my own this year and they better not complain.
Well, thank you so much for your time. And hopefully we can have you over here at some point.
Hey, I love it. I'm working on it. I'm going to put it out into the universe. If we can get over there, maybe with this new album, once it comes out, I can get over there and play some shows because it looks like it's getting pretty cool over there. Lots of country fans growing by the minute and I want to be a part of it.
We’re looking forward to hearing more.
Thanks so much. I'll see you in the UK.
Yeah, definitely. It's all the strategy stuff and the planning that goes after the album recording and creation. Obviously, I'm an artist, so I prefer if I could just do that part of it every day, I'd be happy. But, at the same time, I'm an independent artist and I don't have a manager and I don't have an agent at the moment, so I'm doing all of it. I've got to plan the releases and the surrounding shows around that. It's a lot of work, even the concept designs, like what's the cover going to look like? I want to make a vinyl this time. I've never had a vinyl before. All of those things will be keeping me busy, but I'll definitely consistently be releasing music and I'm about to drop a Christmas song for the first time ever, which I'm excited about that too.
And then you've got to fight that urge to not just release one every Friday or drop it all in one go!
I know! It's hard as an artist. Some of these songs that will be on this album are years old now because I've been writing them over such a long a period of time. There's obviously a bunch of nuance because it's a recent event that's inspired it, but there are some that I started writing a year ago, two years ago. You do get that urge to go, I just want to put it all out now because you've lived with it for so long and you forget that nobody else has heard it yet. I'm already working on the next, next album. It just keeps going. It's a vicious cycle, but so fun.
Well, I can't wait to kind of hear more of the track's coming and a countdown to an album as well.
Yeah, it'll be coming soon before we know it. In the meantime, if you like Christmas songs, that will keep you going. I love Christmas. It's like one of my favourite times of the year. It's surprising to me that I haven't written one yet, so a few months ago I was like, I'm not going to miss the boat this year. I'm going to do a Christmas song because every year it comes around, I'm like, oh, I missed the cut off. I can't do it. I said, I'm going to write a Christmas song and I sat on the floor here in my new place in Nashville, and I wrote this song by myself in about 20 minutes. I didn't make any changes to it - I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. You can tell me later! It just fell out of me and I was like, it's meant to be because I've summoning this Christmas song for a long time.
Are you hoping for a white Christmas this year because I guess you're used to Christmas on the beach at Bondi.
I would always go home to the farm. I'd always spend my Christmas camping or just out in the country with the family. This year, my mum, she's a beautiful soul, she said, I can't have you away for Christmas. I'm buying you a ticket home. I will be home for Christmas where the family is.
Then you get the fun of that time change when you lose an entire day going out and land back in Los Angeles before you've even left Sydney.
Yeah, exactly. You just do a bit of time travel in this predicament. I've always wanted like a white Christmas and I'll do it one day, but I just can't say no to a trip back home, obviously.
And then you can put your Christmas single on repeat all day long.
Well, that's it. Someone's got to do it. My sisters partner used to get annoyed at me because he'd stay over and Christmas morning, everyone would have their partners staying in the house and I'd be that one kid that cranked up the carols at like 5.30 in the morning, waking everybody up. Mariah Carey, Michael Buble, Elvis, like all of the classics. Nobody else was as committed as I was, so I'll be cranking my own this year and they better not complain.
Well, thank you so much for your time. And hopefully we can have you over here at some point.
Hey, I love it. I'm working on it. I'm going to put it out into the universe. If we can get over there, maybe with this new album, once it comes out, I can get over there and play some shows because it looks like it's getting pretty cool over there. Lots of country fans growing by the minute and I want to be a part of it.
We’re looking forward to hearing more.
Thanks so much. I'll see you in the UK.
