A big congratulations to Zac Roddy (OR2016) & George Goodfellow (OR2016) for recently receiving a Golden Guitar Group Duo of the Year award at the Tamworth Country Music Festival! The pair have been writing and performing together since they left school and their journey towards stardom has been nothing short of remarkable. 

Together, they have earned three top 10 Australian singles, millions of online streams, sold-out headline shows, and an ever-expanding social media presence. 

OIU news spoke to George Goodfellow (OR2016) half of the country music duo Zac & George, with his school buddy Zac Roddy (OR2016) after they recently were announced as Country Duo of the Year at the 2025 Annual Country Music Awards in Tamworth. 

We chatted about their time at School and the influence the music department had on their choice of career. 

George: I was in More House. I finished in 2016. Mr Dev Gopalasamy was a massive supporter. He allowed Zach and I to do our HSC performance as a duo. He really believed in us. 

OIU news: What song did you perform for the HSC ? 

 George: I think it was 'Sounds of Silence'. We got a Band 6. Ms Sandra Proust was my vocal coach.They were just so supportive. 

OIU news: Which garage did you play in? Yours or Zach's? 

George: I had a garage on our farm in Yass. 

OIU news: Can you remember those early years? When did the love of music flourish and what was the driving force behind your country music style ? 

George: I listened to Keith Urban and I was right into country music, the American kind of country music. Obviously, we have a lot of inspiration still from Lee Kernighan. Zach always says the boarding house was where his love of country music came from. Everyone was listening to country music. 

OIU news: When you won the award in January, it must have been a bit overwhelming. 

George: It was. We sat up in the up in the stands at Tamworth in 2017, our first year out of school, and we watched the awards and we said, "One day mate, one day, hopefully, I'd love to be any up there and receiving that award." Zac talked about that a lot. We were over the moon when we actually won this year. 

OIU NEWS: Did your experience with Dev and with the school in general, including the boarding house, form part of who you are ? 

George: Of course, the people are a massive part. The boarding house was a transformational experience for me. 

OIU news: What advice would you give your younger self? 

George: That's a great question. Don't give up and keep believing really is a big part of it. And you know, there will always be ups and downs, but if you're consistent and persistent, you can't lose. You've just got to keep working and keep owning your craft, and keep improving and it will pay off. 

OIU news: Congratulations from the OIU, from all our members across NSW and around the world. We're very proud of your accomplishments.  

Congrats boys! Well done.