The pair road-tested their partnership in late May, playing shows at Dubbo and Toronto with a full band, and doing an acoustic set at the Beer Shed Brewing Company in Campbelltown in Sydney's West.

"It's a relief to know we've still got it," Drew McAlister says. "A lot of water has passed under the bridge. We're having a good time on stage. We did the Beer Shed. That was just Troy and I on acoustic guitar and we haven't done that for years. And man, it was the two of us on stompbox and we had a good time."

Things have changed: Kemp, who was previously living in the suburbs of Newcastle, now calls Nashville, Tennessee, home. He plays solo and continues to write and perform there.

McAlister, from the Blue Mountains, has recorded two solo albums and was part of Adam Brand and The Outlaws successful record project.

Now under the management of Dan Biddle, they are set to hit the road with their We Roll Tour, starting in August. While they are playing a headline show at Mt Isa Rodeo on August 12, the tour officially starts August 19 at Moonshiners Bar in Tamworth. The tour includes a main stage gig at Gympie Muster and slots at Savannah in the Round festival in Mareeba, Queensland; and the Country Rock Festival in Bungendore, NSW.

The biggest acknowledgement they are back on the Australian scene: McAlister Kemp will be releasing 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," McAlister says.

The first single, After the Breakdown, has already been released. The chorus rings out:

Cause broke don't mean that it can't be fixed, And it ain't gonna last forever.

It's just finding all of those broken bits and putting you back together, Just get on back behind that wheel.

"When we wrote that song, that was our first song back that we'd written together in five years," McAlister says.

"We sort of sat down. I don't think we planned to write that day, it sort of happened. We were talking about a couple of people we know who were going through a pretty hard time, and it just got us to thinking, what everyone had been through with COVID, I guess, you know, you gotta get up and keep going."

McAlister Kemp had success from the beginning. Their first album, All Kinds of Tough, was launched in 2010, followed by Country Proud in 2012 and Harder to Tame in 2014. They make straightforward country rock, anchored by their dual vocal harmonies, Kemp's electric guitar and McAlister's acoustic guitar. Their riffs are catchy, and their lyrics connect with a loyal country following.

They picked up a Golden Guitar for Best New Talent in 2011.

They made a splash in Nashville in 2013, playing a private party at country star John Rich's home (Mount Richmore) 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.

"It sort of imploded," McAlister says of the break-up. "It has been good for us, I think."

Now, they appreciate what they have more than ever.

"It's still amazing," McAlister says of returning to the live stage, "when they start singing All Kinds of Tough back to you ... it never gets old."