Brendon returned from the 2026 Tamworth Country Music Festival with a swag-full of awards, following a welcome comeback to the Australian country scene with the release of his long-awaited album ‘Road To Riverleigh’. Brendon’s songs were recognised in three categories of the Australian Bush Balladeers Association’s Music Excellence Awards. The album’s title track ‘Road To Riverleigh’ picked up Traditional Song of the Year; ‘Cooladdi’, Brendon’s account of a miraculous moment in Australia’s smallest town was awarded Contemporary Bush Ballad Song of the Year; and the Gospel Song of the Year went to crowd favourite ‘God Loves Country Music’. Meanwhile, at the Tamworth Songwriters Association’s Songwriter Salute Awards, Brendon’s songwriting efforts were celebrated for his song of hope amidst devastating drought – ‘Below An Open Sky’.
