PHIL WALLEYSTACK WINS – AND DEDICATES IT TO HOME

BY KALMIA SAMBO

When Phil WalleyStack heard his name called for Outstanding Contemporary Country Song of the Year, his first thought wasn’t fame.

It was time.

After more than 20 years in the industry, countless nominations and near-misses, this was his first major win.

“I just thought about time,” he said. “I felt like I got this monkey off my back that’s been hanging around for years.”

The award-winning track, On the Rock, runs deeper than a trophy. The song draws from a traditional dance taught to him as a young boy by Richard Walley through the Middar Dance Group. Jining and Boodja — standing on a rock and looking out over Country — inspired the heart of the song.

Walleystack describes standing at Kings Park, looking across the city skyline, imagining what it looked like before colonisation. Before the roads. Before the buildings. Before the noise.

It’s a song about connection. About memory. About Country.

But when it came time to accept the award, he made it clear, it doesn’t belong to him alone.

You can tour the country. You can stand under bright lights. You can get caught up in the hype.

“But when you get home,” he said, “you’re a rock star anyway as a parent.”

For Phil, what matters most isn’t applause, it’s what his wife Melanie and his children, Isaiah Jarra and Kara, think of him at the kitchen table. He says their grounding presence keeps his ego in check and his priorities straight.

“No matter what I do on stage or on TV, it’s what my wife and kids think about me.”

He also credits mentors like Ernie Dingo, Mary G creator Mark Bin Bakar, and Uncle Richard Walley for shaping him not just as an artist, but as a man. They’re still on the other end of the phone when he needs advice.

And for young mob watching his win?

“Stay true to yourself,” he said. “Awards don’t dictate who you are. Keep telling your story. That’s where the power comes from.”

After two decades of chipping away, Phil Walley-Stack’s moment finally arrived.

And he carried his family with him when it did.

Listen in to hear the full conversation.