If you love Australian country music with an earthy, road-tested soul, Travis Collins deserves a permanent spot on your playlist. Across a decade-plus career, this Cessnock-born singer-songwriter has built one of the most consistent catalogs in the genre, and picking through it feels less like homework and more like a genuine treasure hunt. I’ve spent hours with these tracks — in the car, on headphones, blasting through festival speakers — and what follows is my honest, song-by-song breakdown of the Travis Collins tracks that actually matter.
Travis Collins isn’t a manufactured country star. He busked on Peel Street in Tamworth at eleven years old, won the Star Maker Quest in 2004, and has spent every year since proving that win wasn’t a fluke. Nine Golden Guitar trophies, three ARIA Award nominations, and tours alongside Tim McGraw and Luke Combs later, he’s earned his reputation as one of Australia’s finest country voices. So let’s get into it — the ballads, the barnstormers, and everything in between.
Don’t Get Me Started
This one kicks off The Band Album (2025), Collins’ tenth full-length release, and it sets the tone immediately with a swaggering guitar riff and a vocal that sounds like he’s grinning the whole way through. What makes it click is the chemistry — Collins recorded this album with his actual touring band for the first time in his career, and you can hear that live-room looseness baked right into the mix. On headphones, the drums hit with a punchy, unpolished warmth that studio-perfect sessions rarely capture.
Good Thing Comin’
Released as a standalone single in January 2025 ahead of The Band Album, “Good Thing Comin'” carries an optimistic, mid-tempo groove that feels custom-built for a sunny highway drive. Lyrically, it leans into that classic country promise — better days are on the horizon — without ever tipping into cliché, thanks to Collins’ grounded, unforced delivery. The production keeps the arrangement lean, letting acoustic guitar and pedal steel do most of the emotional heavy lifting.
Different Dreams
“Different Dreams” dropped in October 2024 as another preview single for The Band Album, and it’s one of the more reflective cuts in this stretch of his catalog. The song’s bridge is where it really opens up, with Collins stretching his voice into a higher register that adds genuine vulnerability to the arrangement. It’s a track that rewards close listening — put it on in a quiet room and the lyrical detail lands harder than it does as background noise.
Dirty Money
Tucked into The Band Album, “Dirty Money” trades in some grit and swagger, with a rhythm section that pushes forward rather than sitting back. Collins has always had a knack for country-rock energy, and this track leans into that side of his sound rather than the tender balladry he’s equally known for. It’s the kind of song that translates beautifully to a live setting, where the low end can really rattle the room.
Finding Jesus
This is one of the more soul-searching moments on The Band Album, and Collins uses the space to slow things down and dig into something more spiritual and personal. The arrangement stays sparse in the verses before building toward a fuller chorus, a classic dynamic shift that gives the song real emotional payoff. If you’re a fan of country tracks that aren’t afraid to sit with big questions, this one belongs on your list.
Song About You
A tender, direct love song from The Band Album, “Song About You” strips things back to melody and sentiment without much studio gloss getting in the way. Collins’ phrasing here feels conversational, almost like he’s singing straight to one person in the room rather than performing for an audience. It’s a good reminder that his ballads hit just as hard as his uptempo tracks — sometimes harder.
Raise Me
“Raise Me” is one of the newer additions to the Travis Collins catalog, and it captures the energized, band-driven feel that defines his most recent era. The vocal melody sits comfortably in his wheelhouse — warm, grounded, and built for singalongs — while the instrumentation gives the track enough drive to work as a set-opener live. Meanwhile, it’s a great entry point if you’re just discovering his newer material and want something upbeat first.
Any Less Anymore
The title track from his 2023 album, which became the highest-charting Australian country record of that year, “Any Less Anymore” is a showcase for Collins’ songwriting maturity. There’s real emotional weight in the chorus, delivered with a vocal performance that never oversells the sentiment — restraint that a lot of country singers could learn from. This album spawned five singles, and this one anchors the whole collection with its emotional center of gravity.
Chill
Billed as the “latest single” from the Any Less Anymore era on his official artist profile, “Chill” is exactly what the title promises — a laid-back, low-stakes groove built for lazy afternoons. In contrast to the more dramatic ballads elsewhere in his catalog, this track leans into simplicity, letting a relaxed guitar pattern and easy vocal phrasing do the work. It’s proof Collins can write a chorus that sticks without needing a big emotional swing to get there.
Runnin’ the Country
Here’s the crown jewel of his recent run: “Runnin’ the Country,” a collaboration with The Wolfe Brothers that became the longest-running Australian number-one single of 2023, holding the top spot on the CountryTown Hot 50 airplay chart for six weeks. Only Morgan Wallen’s global smash “Last Night” outran it that year, which tells you everything about the song’s staying power on Australian radio. It went on to win Vocal Collaboration of the Year at the 2024 Golden Guitar Awards, and honestly, the harmonies between Collins and the Wolfe Brothers make it obvious why — this is a genuine duet, not just two names on a credit line.
One of Them Nights
Another standout from Any Less Anymore, “One of Them Nights” captures that universal feeling of a night that just refuses to end in the best way. The production has a widescreen, festival-ready quality, with layered background vocals that give the chorus extra lift. On the road or at a live show, this is the kind of song that turns a crowd into a choir almost instantly.
Rainy Day
Pulled from 2020’s Wreck Me, an album that debuted in the ARIA Albums Chart top ten and hit number one on the Country Albums Chart, “Rainy Day” is a moodier, more atmospheric single than a lot of his radio hits. Producer Luke Wooten — known for his work with Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley — brings a polished but organic sonic palette here, letting Collins’ voice breathe over understated instrumentation. It’s a great late-night or headphone listen, when the subtle textures in the mix actually get the attention they deserve.
Better Than You Found ‘Em
Written by Katrina Burgoyne, Joe Doyle, and Goran Kralj, “Better Than You Found ‘Em” is one of the emotional high points of the Wreck Me record. The lyrical message — leave people better than you found them — is delivered with genuine sincerity rather than saccharine sentimentality, and the melody has a gentle, hymn-like quality that suits the theme. It’s the sort of song that quietly becomes a fan favorite at live shows, even without ever being a chart-topping single.
Make Up
One of three official singles from Wreck Me, “Make Up” leans into relationship push-and-pull with a chorus melody that’s built to stick in your head after just one listen. Collins’ vocal tone here carries a lived-in warmth, the kind that comes from genuinely inhabiting a lyric rather than just performing it. The mix keeps things radio-friendly without sacrificing the album’s overall organic, Nashville-informed production style.
Road Warriors
“Road Warriors” is a tip of the hat to life on tour, and given how much time Collins has spent on highways between Tamworth, CMC Rocks, and stages across Australia, it plays as one of his most autobiographical cuts. The arrangement has that driving, engine-revving energy that fits the subject matter perfectly, with a chorus built for windows-down singing. In the car is genuinely the best place to experience this one — it was clearly written with that exact scenario in mind.
Happy
A stadium-sized rocker from 2018, “Happy” shows off the good-time side of Collins’ catalog, all forward momentum and shout-along energy. It’s a reminder that alongside his more introspective ballads, Collins has always known how to write a pure, uncomplicated feel-good anthem. Live, this is one of those songs where the crowd energy and the recorded energy feel like a perfect match.
High Horse
“High Horse” brings a bit of attitude to the table, with lyrics that call out someone’s misplaced arrogance over a punchy, guitar-forward arrangement. Collins’ vocal delivery has real bite here, a nice contrast to the softer, more vulnerable songs scattered throughout his discography. It’s a good example of how versatile his songwriting palette actually is — not every track needs to be a heart-on-sleeve ballad to land.
Over Me
A quieter, more intimate cut, “Over Me” digs into heartbreak with the kind of specific, image-driven lyricism that separates good country songwriting from generic filler. The instrumentation stays restrained, giving Collins’ vocal performance room to carry the emotional weight without competition from a busy mix. If you want to hear him at his most vulnerable, this track is a solid place to start.
Call Me Crazy
Arguably the emotional centerpiece of his entire catalog, “Call Me Crazy” comes from 2016’s Hard Light and was written in the wake of Collins’ father-in-law’s suicide, co-written with Damien Leith. It won Song of the Year at the 2017 Golden Guitar Awards and became one of three number-one hits from that album, a testament to how universally its themes of grief and resilience resonated with listeners. The production gives the song plenty of dynamic range, building from a hushed verse into a soaring, cathartic chorus that still hits hard nearly a decade later.
Hometown Calling
Closing out this list, “Hometown Calling” taps into the nostalgia and pull of home that runs through so much of Collins’ songwriting, fitting neatly alongside his other tour-and-roots-inspired material. The melody has a warm, familiar quality, like slipping back into a place you know by heart. It’s a fitting way to end a set — or a Greatest Hits list — because it circles back to exactly what makes Collins’ music connect: authenticity, place, and genuine feeling.
Listening back through all twenty of these, what stands out most is the consistency. Whether Collins is writing about grief, good times, or the open road, his voice never loses that earthy, grounded quality that makes Australian country music so distinct from its Nashville counterpart. If you want to dig deeper into artists like him, our songs category is a great place to keep exploring new favorites. And if you’re building out a proper listening setup for road trips or studio sessions, it’s worth checking our breakdowns of the best earbuds and the best headphones — the difference in how these mixes translate is honestly night and day depending on what you’re wearing.
Where does Travis Collins go from here? Given the creative jolt The Band Album clearly gave him — recording, for the first time, with the touring band he’s shared stages with for years — it’s hard not to expect more surprises. For now, though, these twenty tracks are as good a starting point as any for understanding why he’s one of Australian country’s most consistently rewarding artists.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Travis Collins?
Travis Collins is an Australian country music singer-songwriter and guitarist born on 4 May 1985 in Cessnock, New South Wales. He’s a nine-time Golden Guitar Award winner known for blending heartfelt ballads with energetic country-rock, and he’s toured internationally alongside artists like Tim McGraw and Luke Combs.
What is Travis Collins’ most popular song?
“Runnin’ the Country,” his 2023 collaboration with The Wolfe Brothers, is among his biggest hits — it was the longest-running Australian number-one single of that year on the CountryTown Hot 50 airplay chart and won a Golden Guitar for Vocal Collaboration of the Year. “Call Me Crazy” from 2016’s Hard Light is also widely considered a career-defining track.
What is Travis Collins’ newest album?
His most recent full-length release is The Band Album, which came out on 28 March 2025. It’s notable for being the first time Collins recorded with his own touring band, giving it a looser, more collaborative live energy compared to his earlier studio work.
Has Travis Collins won any major awards?
Yes. Collins has won nine Golden Guitar trophies at the Country Music Awards of Australia, plus multiple CMC Australian awards, and he’s received nominations at the ARIA Awards for Best Country Album. His song “Call Me Crazy” won Song of the Year in 2017.
What genre does Travis Collins play?
Collins works primarily in contemporary Australian country music, though his catalog moves fluidly between country-rock anthems, acoustic ballads, and radio-friendly pop-country, giving his albums a fair amount of stylistic range from track to track.