Alt-country queen Caitlin Harnett on tequila, touring and her love for The Pony Boys

"I met Sam first, and he played guitar for me and we toured the States together, and then one night at The Courty in Newtown, over many beers, Josh [Piltz] said he would play drums for me, and we've never looked back," Harnett says.

"We've had a couple of different bass players and now we're finally stuck with Mr Sexy Nick Ryan."

In finding her bandmates, Harnett found her true voice. And what a voice it is. Gone were the sweet '70s folk-inspired songs that found a home on her 2014 album The River Runs North.

It was time to get down and dirty with the Pony Boys and their Americana/alt-country tendencies.

Caitlin Harnett & The Pony Boys have long been considered a force to be reckoned with on the touring circuit. The raucous energy of their live shows saw them crowned best live act in NSW at the 2020 National Live Music Awards.

The band has toured the US twice with Susto and The High Divers and have supported the likes of Tony Joe White, Hurray For The Riff Raff, Bernard Fanning, The Nude Party and The Felice Brothers.

Asked to define their live shows, Harnett replies: "It really depends on how much tequila we've had ... you can definitely expect some dancing, everyone jumping up on the stage with us, some offensive banter and lots of joy."

Following the release of singles Make You Feel Blue and 5am Caitlin Harnett & The Pony Boys released album Late Night Essentials in 2020. It was recorded live in just one day in the living room of Joseph Ireland (The Middle East, Joseph Liddy The Skeleton Horse).

"It was so wonderful to release it. It felt like such a long time coming," Harnett says.

"It can be quite scary to put out music but it got such a good response and I'm really proud of what we did."

Working with Ireland made a seemingly impossible task possible.

"Joe is such a supportive and positive energy. He's always encouraging us and keeping us in high spirits and brings so many great ideas to the songs," she says.

"We set up in Joe's living room, intending to just record every song live and use them as demos, but we ended up keeping them all and making a record."

Do yourself a favour and check out some of the band's video clips as well as their social media. Neither Harnett nor her Pony Boys are what you would call shy or reserved.

"We love to have fun and not take ourselves too seriously. I think that's really important," Harnett says.

"We respect the music and take that seriously but we are also a bunch of weirdos and just want to have a laugh."

As the band's reputation grows, they are playing to bigger and more diverse crowds. They played at the Tamworth Country Music Festival and now have gigs up and down the coast, including the indie/alt-rock Festival of the Sun in Port Macquarie. Harnett is excited to be mixing things up.

"It honestly feels so wonderful to see our crowds growing and to see so many different people at each show," she says.

"As a band playing music that isn't mainstream, it's very cool to see young people digging the music and having a great time.

"This year's Tamworth Country Music Festival was honestly one of the best. We've been doing it every year for a number of years now and this one was my absolute favourite.

"We made some friends for life, had a few too many Westy margaritas, and played some really great shows. Everyone needs to go once in their life. It rocks."

Somehow, amongst all the gigging, the band also found time to hit the studio.

"We went in to record three songs and came out with an album's worth, so there will be some new music coming very soon."

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