McAlister Kemp  McAlister Kemp is the bringing together of two talented artists in their own right - Drew McAlister and Troy Kemp. Both born and bred country boys, Drew was born in Narrabri and raised in Moree and Troy born and raised in Kempsey. After trips to the US and Canada respectively which saw Drew collaborate with many different songwriters in Nashville, and Troy being invited to represent Tourism Australia at an event held in Canada called G'Day Toronto, they both found their way back to Australia where they met when both were cast to perform in 'Aussie's Walk The Line' show, a tribute to Johnny Cash. The pair found that not only did they gel as songwriters, but their voices blended effortlessly as a duo. The duo that is McAlister Kemp was formed. A support spot with Adam Brand in October 2008 caught the eye of Brand, which resulted in them being signed to his Crossroads Touring Co. and multi-award winning Brand producing their first single, 'Blue Collar Night'. In September 2009, the duo signed a record deal with ABC Music and they proceeded to record their debut album with producer Matt Fell (Sara Storer, Butterfly 9, Damien Leith). The album was released in January 2009, and debuted in the ARIA Top 10 on the mainstream album chart. The album's title, All Kinds Of Tough, in many ways sums up what McAlister Kemp are all about. Their songs touch on the core issues faced on a daily basis by everyday Australians, while maintaining that knockabout humour that so uniquely defines this nation and its people. The album's title track touches on the "tough" challenges we all face during the different stages of our lives. "We sat down with the idea that "tough" doesn't mean the same thing as it did when we were teenagers. The older you get the more "tough" evolves into something else - it becomes more about the bigger picture in life. It's about the average man going through life with all its challenges", says McAlister Kemp. All Kinds of Tough reached #1 on CMC's request chart, and has been followed up by another heartfelt track from the album, It Don't Buy You Love, which has also now entered the CMC Top 10, and continues to climb. McAlister Kemp's journey has only just begun, and with songs and voices as good as these, their names are bound to be around for a long time to come.
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