The Lanes share stories of family, Country and resilience on new EP

Townsville First Nations sibling duo The Lanes have released their five-track EP, The Lanes Stories, bringing together deeply personal songs exploring family, identity, hope and the experiences that shape our lives.

Every family has stories that deserve to be told, and for Townsville siblings Sarah and Joshua Lane, music has become a way of preserving those memories while sharing them with a wider audience.

Their new EP, The Lanes Stories, released on 3 October, draws on their upbringing, family history and personal experiences, weaving five original songs into a collection grounded in contemporary folk-country storytelling.

For the First Nations duo, the project is as much about where they come from as it is about the music itself.

‘We called it The Lanes Stories because that’s really what these songs are — our stories, our family stories and stories from the people and experiences that have shaped us’, the duo explain. ‘We wanted to make an EP that people could connect with, but that also tells a bit of where we come from.’

Across the five tracks, Sarah and Joshua explore different sides of their lives, moving between the warmth of childhood memories and more confronting stories of separation, resilience and family history.

‘Mama’ celebrates the comfort found in a mother's cooking, capturing the way food can bring back memories of home and the people who make it special.

‘Hope’, written during Christmas, reflects on finding something to hold onto through difficult times, while ‘Send My Love’ draws from Joshua's experience of youth detention and his work with young people.

Inspired by messages sent from detention centres to loved ones, the song explores the importance of maintaining connection with family and those waiting on the outside. Joshua's work in youth detention also informs ‘Let Him Run’, a song centred on resilience and the difficult process of letting go.

Perhaps the EP's most historically significant story comes through ‘Don't Send Me Away’, which recounts the experience of Sarah's great-grandmother as part of the Stolen Generations. By bringing that family history into their songwriting, The Lanes connect an intimate personal story with a painful chapter of Australia's past, ensuring that the experiences of earlier generations continue to be heard.

It's this balance between individual memories and broader shared experiences that gives The Lanes Stories its purpose.

The duo's folk-country sound provides a natural setting for their storytelling, allowing the songs to move between moments of tenderness, reflection and difficult truths without losing their personal connection.

Recorded at Mountain Kauri Studio in Atherton, Queensland, the EP was produced, recorded and mixed by Mark Myers, with mastering by George Georgiadis. The project also received support from the Australian Government through Creative Australia.

For Sarah and Joshua, the release represents an opportunity to share more of themselves as artists while honouring the people, places and experiences that have shaped their lives. From the familiar comforts of home to stories of injustice and resilience, The Lanes Stories is a reminder that some of the most meaningful songs begin with the experiences closest to us.

And in sharing those stories, The Lanes are creating something that reaches beyond their own family, inviting listeners to reflect on the connections, memories and histories that shape us all.

The Lanes Stories is available now on major streaming platforms and through https://thelanesau.bandcamp.com/album/the-lanes-stories