NZ bluegrass explorers, You, Me, Everybody unveil Busy Without Me — a bright, upbeat nod to those of us who spend our lives running the itinerary, only to realise we sometimes need to step off the schedule. Released to announce the band’s forthcoming album Midnight, due out 30 January 2026. Busy Without Me adds a playful, free wheeling spirit to the new record. Pre-saves for Midnight are now available on all platforms, along with pre-sales on Bandcamp.
Written by vocalist and songwriter Kim Bonnington, the track was sparked during a day off in Melbourne, wandering through Fitzroy between tour dates. After months of organising the band’s Australian tour, Bonnington found herself craving a moment without clocks or commitments. Built around the line “I’m slowing you down; but we’ve got such a small time in this town,” the song captures that gently cheeky moment of opting out while everyone else keeps hustling. Musically, “Busy Without Me” weaves playful rhythmic shifts and nimble acoustic interplay that let the melody skip, wander, and shake off the to-do list.
The single is accompanied by a video created by Charlie Higgison of Runner Films, filmed around Hamilton. Leaning into the song’s playful energy, the video features the boys in the band riding kids’ trikes, scooters, and skateboards while Kim stays still — a fun visual twist reflecting the theme of letting everyone else keep moving while you choose your own pace.
The track travelled a long creative road; produced by Rachel Baiman, shaped with engineer Troy Kelly at Armoury Studios in Wellington, mixed by Grammy-winning bluegrass specialist Sean Sullivan in Nashville, and finished with mastering by Bobbi Giel at Welcome to 1979. The single’s cover art comes from artist Andy Knopp while still images of the band come from Ebony Lamb.
Here is a link to the band’s work on Spotify.
About You Me Everybody:
You Me Everybody
Referred to as New Zealand’s first Bluegrass Supergroup, the excitement around their inception saw them play their first live gig as openers for The Felice Brothers as part of the Americana fest at Auckland’s Tuning Fork. They recorded their EP a week later and in February 2020, You, Me, Everybodyreleased their self-titled debut EP, which reached number 13 in the New Zealand album charts. This debut also saw them named as finalists for Best NZ Folk Artist, 2021 in the Aotearoa Music Awards.
Their first full length album, Southern Sky, was released in January 2021, which again debuted in the top 20 of the NZ album charts. Now in 2023 they have gained a new worldwide audience after featuring in Netflix’s Sweet Tooth. The appearance of the band playing Stranger has seen new fans show up to their recent New Zealand tour singing along to every song.
