Fanny Lumsden

It was far from the ideal launch of singer/songwriter Fanny Lumsden's third album Fallow back in March. Overnight, coronavirus put Australia's music industry into mothballs, the promotional tour was postponed and a year's worth of performances cancelled.

But from her home on the western side of the Snowy Mountains, the ARIA-award-winning performer and UNE alumna is characteristically upbeat and philosophical. "It's been pretty bumpy; we had to cancel a lot of stuff and shift as much as we could online," Fanny says. "But it's okay; we're getting on with it, and the album has been well received, which is great. Our farm at Tooma is a beautiful place to be locked down."

In other ways, the timing of the album's release could not have been better. Its intensely personal songs were written during a tumultuous period over the 2018-19 summer, when Fanny had given birth to her first child - Walter - and she and husband Dan Stanley Freeman were struggling with the death of his dear mother.

Fast-forward to March 2020, after the worst bushfires in Australian history and the onset of a global pandemic, and the collection was resonating with audiences for different reasons. One country music blogger described it as "the balm that is just right for these times".

"The songs are a little more personal, more reflective, and it's often the case that when you get more personal, the songs become more universal," Fanny says. "The impact of the bushfires was profound. It wasn't one big fire that came through in a day or two and was gone. Fires burned in our region for 50 days and we didn't have power for 26 days."

After evacuating the family and all their prized possessions, Fanny and Dan were not sure whether or not their home or the little stone cottage in which they'd recorded Fallow would still be standing when they returned.

We were blocked off from the outside world; it was an extremely stressful time," Fanny says. "But our little valley community really rallied together, which was very heartening.

That Fallow was launched at the Tooma Recreation Grounds to a crowd of 600 locals, with all ticket proceeds going to the Tooma Marargle Bushfire Recovery Fund, says much about its creator.

"I'd written these songs in the valley, where we live, and I wanted to celebrate the joy I get from my surroundings," she says. "I wanted to produce something hopeful, and being able to help people in my own community has been really nice. It was weird that the contents of the record were so apt for the situation."

A self-professed "show pony", Fanny grew up in a family of "farmers and teachers and nurses, but also opera singers and concert pianists and musical theatre performers". "There's a lot of show business in my family, and it was actively encouraged," she says.

But it was a Rural Science degree at UNE that, ironically, provided the impetus for Fanny to take a music career more seriously. "I had grown up on a farm and was very interested in the agricultural world; I didn't have plans to become an artist at all," she says. "But I am a very creative person and the science degree was very factual; there wasn't much room for opinions and creativity. The need for a creative outlet prompted me to start writing songs, to provide some balance for my brain and myself."

A few local gigs - the first of them at The Armidale Club - gave Fanny a taste of what might be possible but, after completing a thesis on wool and sustainability in high-end fashion, she took a job in Sydney as a wool broker. It lasted a year, until she could no longer resist the musical momentum building as she played songwriter nights around the city under the distinctive nickname given by one of her UNE friends.

My full name is Edwina Margaret Lumsden and I was collecting books by English children's writer Enid Blyton in the final year of my degree," she says. "I loved those books, and one of the characters in The Faraway Tree was named Fanny. This friend started calling me Fanny as a joke, but the name stuck, and when I started performing it was a name people remembered. Even my husband and his family now call me Fanny.

Her debut album Small Town Big Shot, financed by crowdfunding, established Fanny as a "breath of fresh country air" (Rolling Stone Magazine) and she soon developed a reputation for honest song-writing, witty observations  and frank admissions (like peeing in the pool and stealing Juicy Fruit chewing gum). An affection for Australia's rural heritage and "all things old" characterised both Small Town Big Shot and her second album, Real Class Act, which debuted at number 1 on the ARIA Country Charts and earned her a swag of awards.

"I have always been in to anything old because it tells a story," says Fanny, a passionate fan of vintage clothing, whose merchandise includes a timeless "flannie". "Anything nostalgic that makes you remember another place, another time. And I love celebrating mundane things like hot chips because everyone can relate to them. I think the funnier and sillier things about ourselves make us who we are, and relatable to others."

A consummate professional she may be, but Fanny tries never to take herself too seriously. Following the successful song of the same name, totem tennis features at every one of her Country Hall Tour gigs, which Fanny started in 2012-13 to bring "a full band and production number" to tiny towns and isolated halls around the country, raising community funds in the bargain. To date, Fanny and the Prawn Stars have travelled 250,000 kilometres and won a legion of far-flung fans - from preschoolers to grandparents.

"It's a grittier, very intimate way to have an experience with an audience," she says. "We've performed in times of drought and fire and flood. I have worked hard to create a show that acknowledges the hard events that communities go through, without dwelling on them. We bring a big show, even if it's on the floor of a shed in the middle of nowhere that has just been through a dust storm. At the same time, there is no smoke and mirrors; we all eat together at the barbecue."

When the dust settles on 2020 Fanny is looking forward to doing it all again. "I think people will really want to see others, to let their hair down and have a good time," she says. "It's all about giving people a hopeful experience."

Celebrating the humour and rich flavour of rural life is a hallmark of Fanny's polished music videos, which often feature her family and friends ("I can be bossy and they won't get angry with me"), however it's never at the expense of authenticity.

They are real people, like me," she says. "There are so many stories that haven't been told by everyday people that are extraordinary, and I am privileged to have a platform to do that. I feel I have an obligation to my followers to be honest; to set an example of being exactly who I am. I don't ever want to share bullshit.

Come November, Fanny hopes to be touring to promote Fallow, and getting ready to launch the 2021 Country Hall Tour. Despite the COVID challenges, the album debuted at number 10 on the ARIA Chart, number 2 on the ARIA Country Album Chart and hit number 1 on the Australian Artists Country Album Chart in its second week.

With three Golden Guitars under her belt and her own record label - Red Dirt Road Records - Fanny is true to her country roots, yet her latest music defies categorisation. "Kick arse Alt-Country with a whole lot of heart" is one label, but you'll also find her doing the Teddy Bear Twist on Play School's Show Time. Because Fanny's motivation is simple:

If you are passionate about something, you should do it and share it without fear.