The River’s Edge, a nostalgic look back by Brendan McMahon
By Alan Shipston for Country Music News International Magazine
With five number one singles from the 2025 album, Turn Up The Radio, Brendan McMahon is heading into a successful new year with, The River’s Edge, one of the tracks from that release. This soft, medium tempo tune has a country pop feel sprinkled with an anthem style chorus taking a page out of the Springsteen songbook. The River’s Edge captures a moment in time, hearts filled with hope, as kids play in the summer without a care. McMahon never veers off the subject focusing his smooth, slightly gritty vocal on the story many of us have lived,
We were kids, down by the river’s edge
On a ten-dollar bike, an old gravel road
Wind at our backs, we’d sing as we rode
McMahon delivers the sunny story with a songwriter’s conviction letting the arrangement unfold from an unpretentious vocal introduction to a smoldering full band ending. The song begins with guitars played by Simon Hosford and Danny Spencer with single pedal steel notes added by Shane Riley. Soon enough Peter ‘Maz’ Maslen enters with sidestick and simple kick drum, toms filling the holes anchored with Jason Vorherr on bass and Jack Earle simmering on keyboards. Luke Moller adds fiddle and mandolin while Gretta Ziller and Jason are on backing vocals. The River’s Edge was engineered and produced by Steve Vertigan. Brendan explains “I met these fabulous musicians through the studio I record, Soggy Dog Recording Studio in Upwey, Victoria. They opened up my eyes to new concepts and helped me understand the importance of leaving space in the music.”
A multi-National and International award-winning artist, Brendan McMahon’s music style is a unique blend of genres that has been praised by critics, some describing his music as “edgy and emotionally charged” and “a sublime absorbing listen.” His previous albums have brought accolades from his native Australia including, As The Road Unfolds, winning the Australian Country Music People’s Choice Award for best album at the 2023 Tamworth music festival. McMahon’s 7th studio album, Somewhere West Of Nowhere, featured 6 No.1 singles from the AMRAP metro chart including, I Hear Your Voice, which won an award at the Tamworth Australian People’s Choice Awards in January 2024 for best video along with the gold award for best video at the International Singer Songwriters Awards in Atlanta Georgia. “It’s extremely exciting to be recognized internationally for my songwriting,” says McMahon. “2025 has been amazing. It kicked off in January winning the award for Best Male Vocal at the Australian People’s Choice awards held in the legendary Tamworth town hall. I’ve also been nominated for multiple Josie Music Awards which are to be held at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville later this year”.
With eight solo albums to his credit, Brendan McMahon has been hugely successful and is receiving multiple rave reviews. Beat Media had this to say, “I am amazed by this music. It’s so beautifully written and full of stories, expression and peace.”