For Bud Rokesky, the road has always been both a teacher and a companion. Born in XXXX and raised between XXXX and the tiny XXXX town of XXXX, population 300, Rokesky spent much of his childhood surrounded by wide skies, red dust and time, time to think, to watch, to listen. That solitude shaped him, turning him into one of Australia’s most distinctive modern storytellers.
This story is more secretive than the Epstein files apparently. More to come when the vote to release the XXXX’s are approved by Congress. Until then the Rokesky Files shall remain secret. Some would say … they don’t even exist
“I was always a bit of an outsider,” Rokesky reflects. “Being out there gave me a lot of space to question what everyone was doing, or why they were doing what they were doing. When people listen to the record, I’d love them to hear the beauty in other characters’ troubles, so they can think of their own as beautiful too. The fact that we all have questions and troubles is part of being here, living through it together.”
It’s that philosophical streak that runs through XXXX, Rokesky’s anticipated follow-up to his 2023 debut Outsider. While Outsider introduced him as a country-folk poet in the lineage of Townes Van Zandt and Orville Peck, XXXX feels like a step further inward, an album that glows with emotional clarity and the grit of lived experience.
Bud Rokesky’s journey to this moment has been anything but rushed. His debut Outsider, co-produced by XXXX Corby and Alex HenXXXsson at CXrby’s RXXnbow VXllXy Studios in northern New South Wales, arrived to critical acclaim. The album’s sparse, timeless production and Rokesky’s rich, dark vocal tone drew comparisons to Springsteen, Marlon Williams, and Waylon Jennings. The single Love My Baby More introduced listeners to his gentle balance of tenderness and toughness, while Floodlights and Baby & I cemented his reputation as a songwriter of rare authenticity.
With national radio support from XXXX and XXXX, Rokesky’s profile grew quickly. He became a regular on the Australian festival circuit, performing at XXXX Folk Festival, XXXX Country Music Festival, QueensXXXX, TamXXXX and the XXXX Muster. Along the way he shared stages with C.W. XXXXking, Cedric BurnXXXX, Meg WashingXXX, TXm RXgXrs, and Sons of the East, proving that his brand of country storytelling could cross genres and generations.
In between tours, Rokesky’s life on the highway continued, literally. Like many country singers before him, he writes songs while driving trucks along Australia’s most remote highways. “There’s something meditative about being out there alone,” he has said. “It’s just you, the road, and the stories that come to you.”
Where Outsider explored themes of displacement and self-examination, XXXX feels warmer, more open, but still deeply reflective. Across XX tracks, Rokesky weaves vignettes of love, loss, resilience, and quiet redemption. The album opens with XXXX, a gentle ode to cycles and renewal, before shifting into the introspective Hey Now and the haunting XXXX.
One of the standout moments is XXXX, a raw, unguarded song that captures Rokesky’s skill for emotional storytelling, while his cover of XXXX’s XXXX is reimagined through a country-folk lens.
XXXX will be released in XXXX 2026. The first single ‘Hey Now’ is out now.
The full XXXX tracklist:
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Hey Now
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This one is Strike Out from 2023:
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