What a year this month has been...
Reckless, Redeemed and on the Road: A Season I’ll Never Forget
When I finally stopped long enough to look back at the past few weeks, I realised just how much has happened.
I released a new single. I launched my EP with my band and hometown community. I drove more than 5,000 kilometres across Australia by myself. I attended my first Gympie Music Muster, took part in a songwriting program, performed at Country Music & Cocktails, released my EP trailer and finally sent Reckless & Redeemed out into the world.
I shared one of my most personal songs during Suicide Prevention Month, became a finalist in the Listen Up Music Songwriting Prize and received my first-ever nomination at the South Australian Music Awards.
It has been wild, emotional, exhausting and incredibly rewarding.
So, before racing into whatever comes next, I wanted to pause and capture this chapter properly.
14 August: “Here Lays She That Hated Everyone” Was Released
This season began with the release of one of my favourite—and certainly one of my most unapologetic—songs I’ve ever made.
“Here Lays She That Hated Everyone” is loud, angry, messy and defiant.
Where “She’s a Bird” explored rising above life’s adversities, “Here Lays She That Hated Everyone” asks what happens when you don’t.
Not every story ends with someone becoming softer, gentler and more forgiving. Sometimes the person who kept trying to do the right thing gets misunderstood, ignored and pushed too far.
Sometimes the sweet little dove doesn’t rise above the flames.
Sometimes she becomes the fire.
This song is for anyone who has ever felt unseen, unheard or villainised for finally reacting to what broke them. It is the darker side of survival—the shadow beneath the redemption.
The song reached number seven on Play MPE’s Australian independent-label daily chart and received national airplay through ABC Country’s Edge of Country. A huge thank you to Australian community radio stations who spun my track, and curators who put it in their playlists ♥
Watching this strange, gritty little creation find its people was a beautiful way to begin the final chapter of the Reckless & Redeemed release journey.
14 August: The Reckless & Redeemed EP Launch
That same night, my full band and I launched Reckless & Redeemed at Jump Ship Brewing in Port Lincoln.
After spending so long writing, recording and preparing this music, it was incredibly special to celebrate it at home with the community that has supported me throughout my career.
We laughed. We cried. We danced. We partied.
It was all of those beautiful, messy things that make up the human experience blended into one night—which is really what Reckless & Redeemed is all about.
Everyone who attended received a code to download the EP and hear it before its official release. Having the people in that room become some of the first to experience the complete record made the night feel even more meaningful.
To my band—Akko, Trenny, Ed and Stevie—thank you for bringing these songs to life and continuing to jump aboard my wild and often impulsive ideas.
To Jayde and Johnny for opening the night, Jump Ship Brewing for giving us a beautiful place to celebrate, Kim Power for capturing the memories, Bonkers for filming the night and every person who bought a ticket, listened, danced, purchased merch, shared a post or told a friend: thank you.
That night belonged to all of us.
23–30 August: My First Gympie Music Muster
Not long after the launch, I packed the car and began one of the biggest journeys I have ever undertaken.
I drove more than 5,000 kilometres across 3 Australian states by myself—from Port Lincoln through the Barossa, Cobar and on to Amamoor State Forest in Queensland, before making the enormous journey home.
It was exhausting, challenging and completely worth it.
This was my first time attending the Gympie Music Muster, and I tried to absorb as much of the experience as possible: the atmosphere, the artists, the live music, the friendships, the fried chicken, the margaritas and the feeling of being surrounded by people who love country music as much as I do.
I attended the CMAA Academy Campfire Sessions, where I spent the week developing my songwriting, collaborating with other artists and co-writing with the incredible Jen Mize.
I also had the opportunity to perform an intimate acoustic set and take part in a live interview at the ARIAT VIP Country Music & Cocktails experience.
Gympie reminded me why I do this.
It made me feel more connected to the Australian country music community and more certain than ever about the direction I am heading.
The Muster may have been my first, but it certainly won’t be my last.
Introducing the World of Reckless & Redeemed
After returning home, I released the official trailer for Reckless & Redeemed.
I wanted the trailer to be more than a traditional music advertisement. I wanted it to introduce the emotional world behind the record and invite people to consider the parts of themselves they have been taught to hide.
What if every piece of us is worthy of love?
The pieces we celebrate.
The pieces we hide.
Even the ones we hate.
Reckless & Redeemed is about holding space for our contradictions. It recognises that we can be healing while we are still hurting, strong while we are struggling and hopeful while carrying grief.
Sometimes we are reckless.
Sometimes we are redeemed.
Most of the time, we are both.
4 September: Reckless & Redeemed Was Released
On 4 September, the complete eight-track record was finally released across all major digital platforms.
Produced by acclaimed Australian producer Matt Fell, Reckless & Redeemed moves between dark cinematic country-rock, neo-traditional storytelling, blues, soul and R&B.
Its songs explore grief, faith, rage, tenderness, defiance, hope, survival and the complicated reality that healing is rarely straightforward.
The record includes:
“Fire in His Eyes”
“Here Lays She That Hated Everyone”
“When We Knew Nothing”
“Wander Boy”
“She’s a Bird”
“Keep On Keepin’ On”
“Keep On Keepin’ On”—Live
“Keep On Keepin’ On”—Original Demo
Each song holds a different part of my story, but together they create something bigger: a record about embracing the full, complicated experience of being human.
The journey leading to its release has already carried these songs further than I could have imagined.
“Fire in His Eyes” was named a semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition.
“When We Knew Nothing” received national airplay through ABC Country’s Grass Roots and reached number 20 on the Regional Radio Airplay Chart.
“She’s a Bird” reached number one on the Tasmanian Tiger FM and Oz CMR charts, number six on the AMRAP Regional Chart and number eight on the national Community Radio Most Played Chart.
“Here Lays She That Hated Everyone” reached number seven on Play MPE’s Australian independent-label daily chart and received airplay through ABC Country’s Edge of Country.
Seeing the music connect with listeners, radio presenters and people across the industry has been one of the most rewarding parts of releasing this record.
“Keep On Keepin’ On” and Suicide Prevention Month
The release of Reckless & Redeemed coincided with Suicide Prevention Month, World Suicide Prevention Day and R U OK? Day.
It felt important to use that moment to share “Keep On Keepin’ On.”
Co-written with Felicity Kircher, this is my survival song. My testimony song. My personal mantra for the days when life feels unbearable and “this too shall pass” is one of the only things I know I can rely on.
Continuing isn’t always glamorous.
Sometimes it is really fucking hard.
But so many people are being incredibly brave simply by sticking it out for another day. Sometimes hope looks less like feeling fearless and more like choosing to remain passionately curious about what might come next.
The EP features three versions of “Keep On Keepin’ On”: the original demo recorded with my dear friend Al Fox, who we lost suddenly last year; a live version recorded with Crafty in Adelaide; and the final studio version produced by Matt Fell.
Including all three allowed me to honour where the song began and share its complete evolution.
Every day should be R U OK? Day, but these recognised dates give us an opportunity to keep educating ourselves about suicide, mental health and how to hold space for someone who is struggling.
A little bit of humanity can go a very long way.
My First SA Music Awards Nomination
Then came news I had quietly only dreamed about...
I received my first-ever nomination at the South Australian Music Awards in the People’s Choice Country category.
For years, I have watched incredible South Australian artists be recognised through the SAM Awards and thought, “I hope one day my name gets to make it onto that list.”
And now it has.
Being nominated while representing regional South Australia and country music means more than I can put into words.
Building a career from Port Lincoln comes with unique challenges. Every kilometre, every opportunity and every person who chooses to listen matters.
This nomination doesn’t just feel like recognition for me. It feels like an opportunity to represent regional artists, independent music and the community that has continued to back this wild little dream.
Public voting is now open. You can find JO PAGE under the People’s Choice Country category at:
What’s Coming Next
I am now heading to Adelaide for the 2026 Songwriting Prize final, presented by Listen Up Music, after “She’s a Bird” was selected as a finalist.
The final will be held in Adelaide on Saturday, 19 September, giving me another opportunity to share one of the most personal songs I have ever written and the story behind it with a live audience.
I am also counting down the days until The Bend Classic at The Bend Motorsport Park in Tailem Bend.
I’ll perform at the Classic Unplugged Sessions at 6pm on Friday, 2 October, as part of a huge weekend featuring some of Australian country music’s leading names, including Lee Kernaghan, James Johnston, James Blundell, Andrew Swift and Robbie Mortimer.
Taking It All In
It is easy to become so focused on the next deadline, release, performance or opportunity that we forget to recognise how far we have already come.
These past few weeks have asked a lot of me.
But they have also given me moments I once only hoped I might experience.
I released the record I wanted to make. I celebrated it at home. I drove across the country by myself. I wrote songs, performed at Gympie, shared my truth, connected with people and received recognition for music that came from the most honest parts of me.
I am tired.
I am grateful.
I am proud.
And I’m only getting started.
Reckless & Redeemed is available now across all major digital platforms:
https://gyro.to/RecklessRedeemed
Or if you are a die hard music lover and want to own a digital copy of Reckless & Redeemed, you can purchase it through band camp here: https://jopage.bandcamp.com/
where you will also receive:
• Full digital copy of Reckless & Redeemed
• Digital lyric booklet
• Signed She's a Bird artwork download
• Personal thank-you video
Sometimes we are reckless. Sometimes we are redeemed. Most of the time, we are both.
Jo xx
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