On his way back to the Northern Territory, he saw the devastating aftermath of the 2019 flood where death and destruction lay in the now lush Queensland pastures.

"We were travelling through Central Queensland on the Speak Up Tour and everything was in drought," he said.

"It was terrible. Weeks later coming back through, it was heart breaking to see how the floods had decimated the land, the animals and affected the communities."

Katherine's multi-awarded singer songwriter, Tom Curtain, celebrates the strength of rural communities in his latest song, We're Still Here.

Co-written and produced by Garth Porter, and due to be released later this year, Curtain hopes the song will become an anthem to those doing it tough and staying strong through adversity.

The collaboration has resulted in a salute to rural Australia and the uncanny ability of communities to pull together, rebuild and move forward despite ongoing challenges, natural disasters and isolation.

"I was very passionate about it and felt I had to get the message out there - these farmers and communities are facing all these hardships including droughts, floods and fires, and it is so soul destroying, but they are supporting each other and bouncing back, one foot in front of the other."

This isn't the first time the singer, songwriter has bolstered a cause close to his heart through music.

Curtain began playing guitar and writing songs in 2001 while working on a cattle station in the Northern Territory.

Long days in the saddle, wide-open spaces, nights sleeping under the stars and the unique characters of the Top End provided endless sources of inspiration for his songs.

But, it was the death of 14-year-old Amy 'Dolly' Everett which sparked inspiration for one of his biggest songs.

Speak Up has raised over $20,000 from sales and royalty proceeds, which have been donated to Dolly's Dream Foundation - established by Kate and Tick Everett in the wake of their daughter's death to raise awareness of the dangers of cyber bullying.

Words from Dolly "speak even if your voice shakes", inspired the song.

"The incident inspired me to write the song and then try and raise more awareness about bullying in any form," Curtain said at the time the song was No. 1 on the iTunes Country Songs Chart.

"Being a father of two kids living out in the bush, it really hit home for me.

"Living out here, you think you are quite removed from anything like this, so to have a beautiful young girl that you've seen grow up, take her life and then a family ripped apart, is just devastating."

The new single We're Still Here, will be released on Tuesday, August 20, 2019, but is available for pre-order on iTunes now.

Tom Curtain will be performing alongside multi-awarded singer, songwriter Sara Storer at Katherine Outback Experience on August 24.

For more information about tour dates head to the website here.

While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox each Friday at 6am from the Katherine Times. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, sign up here.