American indie rock band Santa Ana Rodeo last month entertained audiences in pubs across Sydney while warming up for a national tour in May.
Formed in 2023 while studying at the University of Colorado Boulder, Santa Ana Rodeo consists of longtime friends who built a strong following, frequently selling out a local venue, the Fox Theatre in Boulder.
They have shared stages with artists including surf band Sun Room and alternative indie-pop five-piece Sarah and the Sundays.
Starting as a cover band, they took original songs into the studio in 2025 and recorded their debut EP Crooked Company.
In preparation for the launch of their debut full-length album Farewell for Now, three members of the band, singer and guitarist Lander McNamee, guitarist Jude Shaw and drummer Oskar Pedersen, relocated to Australia without bassist Malcolm Holman.
Jude Shaw, who fell in love with Australia when studying here two years ago, said 30 per cent of their Colorado audience was from Australia so, following graduation, it seemed a good idea to take the band Down Under.
Shaw said growing up in the States, they listened to a lot of indie rock from Australian artists.
Now in Sydney, he said, “It is so cool getting to see some of those bands around here, where they are from; people like Dope Lemon [Angus Stone] and Melbourne garage rock band The Grogans.
“They are artists we grew up with and now that we’re getting to be a part of the scene is really cool.”
Bass player Holman couldn’t join them in Australia because he had a job in the States.
“We would love for him to be here but sadly I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
Filling in for the first half of their Australian expedition is Rob Courtney-Morris from Newcastle’s indie rock darlings Nana Klumpp.
Courtney-Morris was born in Port Macquarie but McNamee and Pedersen knew him in Aspen, Colorado.
“It’s a crazy full circle thing that we come halfway round the world and we know someone.”
Courtney-Morris will be touring with the band from Adelaide to Sydney, then another friend from the States will join for the leg up to North Queensland.
Band members have been enjoying their experience of the Sydney music scene.
Shaw said playing at the Butchers Brew Bar in Dulwich Hill last month was incredible. “It was a neighbourhood we hadn’t got to see much of. We got 100 people into the bar and it was a pretty wild night.”
McNamee said, “Sydney is phenomenal. It’s like a dream.
“It’s my first time living out of the States and I’ve had a blast surfing a bunch. On the music side, it’s been fun. I think we have been surprised at how well-received we’ve been.
“We are not blowing up yet but we’ve had a ton of fun playing shows. It’s a cool way to explore the city and show people some music. It’s an awesome experience.”
Shaw said seeing Dope Lemon at Taronga Zoo was one of his favourite shows. “It was totally insane, that venue overlooking Sydney Harbour.
“Some of the bands that we’ve played with have been very, very cool. Nana Klumpp are absolutely incredible. Defair was super cool from our Freshwater Brewing show.
“The amount of talent in Sydney is really impressive.”
McNamee said seeing River Langford’s set at an open mic at The Trocadero Room in Newtown was the best live drumming he’d ever seen.
Shaw said, “We walked into The Trocadero Room on a Friday night and there wasn’t any band playing. We thought we’d just sit down and have a beer and hang out.
“But it was a live hip hop open mic. They were just absolutely incredible musicians and Oskar got up on stage and played a couple songs with them.
“That was one of my favourite nights I’ve had here.”
Band members said the music scene in Sydney was more dense than back home, possibly because there was more economic support.
“There are local, state and federal programs that support the music scene out here. And Triple J Radio does a really good job of showing underground artists. All those resources. The amount of support there is for the local music scene is absolutely incredible.”
Farewell for Now was recorded in 2200 Studios in Sausalito, California, where artists such as Fleetwood Mac, Grateful Dead, Metallica, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have recorded.
“The amount of history there was absolutely insane. Having four days to work on ten or eleven songs was spectacular.”
The band’s EP was written in the first year and a half they were together.
McNamee said, “We started doing covers as most bands do. I was super new to playing live music. Then we decided to make serious original music. I took a summer and just wrote as many things as I could, 80 per cent of which I hated. Then a couple squeezed through that I liked.
“We re-recorded some for the new album. We are calling them extended versions.”
While the band lists influences such as The Backseat Lovers and Gary Clark Jr., and describes their sound as fusing indie rock swagger with bluesy undertones, the Amazon Music algorithm associates the EP’s sound with Arctic Monkeys and Fleet Foxes.
Shaw said Farewell for Now sounded more Americana/western-influenced, with an indie-surfie groove.
“It’s way more ‘music’ based. Our first EP was great songs and interesting song structures but I’m absolutely blown away with some of the new stuff Lander came up with and our bass player Malcolm wrote one of the songs on it and it’s seriously one of my favourite songs.”
He said, “Our earlier songs did a good job of getting the energy we wanted across but now we have a lot more intricate song structures, chord progressions and melodies. The actual songwriting has taken a step up.”
McNamee said, “We’re really excited to be in Australia. This is such a special thing. Everyone has been so welcoming and amazing, and we genuinely just want to show people our music and hope they’ll like it.”
Shaw said they were overwhelmingly thankful for the number of people that had been willing to host them in Sydney.
“The fact that we’ve been able to play a show a week since we’ve got here and had a good reception. All the people we’ve worked with in different bands and bookings have been incredibly helpful.
“It’s cool to be able to come here as foreigners and still be welcomed into the music scene. Thanks for that.”
Santa Ana Rodeo’s Australian Regional Tour begins 7 May in Adelaide and concludes 1 July in Mission Beach, QLD.
See them in the Sydney CBD on Friday 29 May with Telopia at Chuck Trailers and again at the Butchers Brew Bar in Dulwich Hill on Saturday 30 May.
how awesome is that so proud of this band and my nephew Jude. Can’t wait to see him and all of you soon.!