Corey Colum – the voice, the stories
When it comes to singer-songwriters, they don’t come much more country than Corey Colum who has spent the last 10 years in the Kimberleys and Pilbara in Western Australia.
Corey is now on the verge of re-launching his original music career which saw him win the Telstra Road to Tamworth Songwriter Award in 2009 with much of the crowd talking about the quality of his vocals and songwriting, snagging him the People’s Choice Award on the night.
Releasing his debut album in 2011 through ABC Music, the West Australian has worked with artists including Eskimo Joe, The Waifs, The Choirboys, Sunny Cowgirls, Lee Kernaghan, Shannon Noll and Steve Pigram.
Corey describes his plans for 2023 and 2024 as a fresh start, recording all his own material in Perth releasing singles in the lead-up to the album.
Growing up in Australind, the singer-songwriter said country music was his first musical love and he headed to festivals as soon as he got his drivers licence, spending plenty of time at the Boyup Brook, rodeos and festivals and his career grew from there.
Corey then packed up and headed to the Tamworth Country Music Festival in 2007 and attended the CMAA Academy of Country Music.
After winning Telstra Road to Tamworth, he headed to Nashville to soak up the experiences of Music City before releasing hit singles including West Australian Woman and Hot Out Here which both enjoyed airtime on the Country Music Channel and radio stations across the country.
In 2014, Corey also snagged a sought-after spot on the stage at CMC Rocks the Hunter and, during his time in The Kimberley from 2013 to 2020, he played for much of the year at Home Valley Station.
Now based in Onslow, with his wife and three daughters, Corey regularly plays local gigs around the Pilbara region and is ready to relaunch his original recording career after focusing on raising a family and working full-time on properties, driving trucks, working as a machine operator and as a plumber, which is his trade outside of music.
His focus now is writing for his upcoming album which he will co-produce and names his major inf
“My ultimate goal is to make a living solely from country music,” he said.
“I love the sounds, love the instruments, the whole package of country music - the songwriting, the stories and the rhythm to it.”
He said he enjoyed having a license to create as a songwriter, as it didn’t always have to be your life story in a song.
Festivals and live gigs are where the award-winning artist really shines, enjoying the atmosphere of the events and the people he meets along the way.
Corey has again hit the ground running this year and will be playing as many gigs in WA and over East as he can as he relaunches his original shows and releases new music.
