James Johnston films with fans at Wingham's Top Pub

The reason for the invasion of fans, reporters and cameras was the impending arrival of one James Johnston, rising country superstar, multi-Golden Guitar winner and Wingham-bred man, along with his entourage and fellow country music musicians, duo Zac and George.

James was in town to record scenes for the video clip of his new single, Some Things Never Change, in collaboration with Zac and George.

"It's been a bit of a crazy day because these boys didn't know they were shooting a music video!" James said.

The three had driven up from Sydney with James only letting the duo know about the video shoot at 9.30 that morning when their plane touched down in Sydney.

Zac and George found out about the shoot later than James' fans, with James putting the call out on socials the night before that he would be doing the video clip at the Top Pub, and inviting fans to come along and be in the clip.

Some Things Never Change is about going back to a small pub you haven't been to in 10 years and reconnecting with old friends.

"I thought if I was going to film the music video, I'm going to come back to my old stomping ground and shoot it right here," James said.

Some Things Never Change is being released as a single on Friday, July 28, 2023.

James kicked off 2023 with having received the most nominations of any artist for the Golden Guitars this year, then coming home from Tamworth with two Golden Guitars. He was crowned New Talent of the Year, and also won Vocal Collaboration of the Year for Same Songs, a duet with Kaylee Bell.

He has signed with CAA, an influential talent booking agency in Los Angeles, and James said starting next January he will be doing a lot of "stuff" in the US.

June 30 this year marked his 100^th consecutive week in the top 20^th region of the The CountryTown Hot 50 airplay chart.

"I've been doing a lot of stuff behind the scenes, but to be honest, the next five months are going to be crazy," James said.

September is a huge month coming up for James, as he opens for Morgan Evans, an Australian country music star living in Tennessee, in Evans' 2023 Australian/NZ Tour (except Sydney).

And in what's sure to be a highlight, also in September, James is listed as one of the headline artists at the Deni Ute Muster, in the company of Adam Harvey and Beccy Cole, Andrew Swift, Casey Barnes, Catherine Britt, Jessica Mauboy, John Williamson, Lee Kernaghan, Missy Higgins, the Whitlams and more.

"We're headlining that on the Saturday night. It's going to be huge. I think there's going to be around 14,000 people out there. It's going to be a massive event," James said.

"I've wanted to play that event for a long time, so it's going to be very exciting.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: