Now he is part of one of Australia's biggest country music acts, joining Troy Kemp to make the popular country rock duo, McAlister Kemp.

"My teacher stood behind the curtain on stage saying the words to me so I didn't forget them," Drew said.

He's had plenty more practice since then though, with the first MK album launched in 2010 and a Golden Guitar for Best New Talent in 2011, and they have even made a splash in Nashville.

But when it appeared they were at the height of the powers, they split up, playing their last shows together early in 2015.

Thankfully, the pair have reunited for a new tour and album.

They are set to hit the road with their We Roll Tour, this month.

While they are playing a headline show at Mount Isa Rodeo this weekend, the tour officially starts August 19 in Tamworth. The tour includes a main stage gig at Gympie Muster and slots at Savannah in the Round festival in Mareeba and the Country Rock Festival in Bungendore.

But locals are looking forward to when Drew brings the band 'home' on August 20 to play at the Moree and District Services Club.

"Playing the big festivals is always fun, but there is something about a small town country crowd that I really, really enjoy," Drew said. "You get to connect with the audience and that's a lot harder when the crowd is so far away on a festival," he said.

"It's always nice to come home to the place you grew up, the place that shaped you."

Drew was born in Narrabri and moved to Moree when he was one. He attended St Philomena's, the same school as his Dad, and then went to Moree High, before he moved to Casino when he was 13.

"My mum grew up on a farm called 'Wattombri', near Garah and my dad grew up on a farm called 'Ardblair' near Mungindi," Drew said.

His mother was a nurse at Moree hospital and his father ran his own charter business called McAlister Airways.

"Both my grandmothers on each side of the families had beautiful singing voices but that's about as far as the musical talent runs in my family," Drew laughed.

"As a kid I played football for the local team and went to pony camp out at Garah near the farm that my mum grew up on. I have very fond memories of a wonderful childhood living in a cul-de-sac in Kirkby Avenue. The end of our street was basically bush and that was our playground," he said.

Drew started singing at the age of eight, at school and church, and was mentored by Maureen Carrigan from an early age.

He played in his very first band at the Moree High School hall and had his first "real" performance at the Moree Town Hall aged nine.

There is a song on Drew's very first EP that he wrote called 'Home' and that was written about Moree.

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These days, Drew lives at the Blue Mountains and his Dad, who was the last of the family to live in Moree, joined him there a few years ago.

Most recently, Drew has recorded two solo albums and was part of the Adam Brand and The Outlaws' successful record project.

But now he, and McAlister Kemp are back, and will release a new album on August 19.

"If you look at the stuff we used to write, we haven't strayed too far from that for this new album," Drew said.

"We purposely did not show up to do a bro-country album. We wrote a country album, and that's exactly what we stuck to," he said.

"I think it would be cheating the fans if we did. You know. I think we're kind of giving them what we know we do, just in a different time.

"Obviously the production is slightly different, a bit bigger. We've got some wonderful topics we've written about, wonderful songs, some party songs.

"I think it's what people would expect from McAlister Kemp," he said.