Local country singer and songwriter Kevin Sullivan and his kids KJ and Cha-Cha will be performing with some of Australia’s most talented families on Channel 7’s new show, The Voice Generations.

In a twist on the usual format of the cult TV series, The Voice Generations teams family groups, groups of friends and even teacher and student to show how music connects generations.

The coaches are regulars Keith Urban, Rita Ora, Guy Sebastian and Jessica Mauboy.

Kevin says he heard about auditions for the show last year while his family was on the ‘Sulli-Van’ tour around Australia.

“My wife Belinda and I heard about it while we were in Darwin. We were eight months into our tour. Initially I questioned whether we would be able to do it because we were fulltime musicians on the road with 38,000km and 110 shows.

I didn’t know whether it would work on our timeline.”

KJ, Kevin and Cha Cha on The Voice Generations

But the production team worked with the Sullivans and Kevin says they were great to deal with.

“You often hear horror stories about TV shows. But they were really mindful that we were committed to our tour playing music and they worked around us.

“The fact that our kids had already sung with me on 110 shows really put us in good stead to go on the program.

“We had been doing shows to hundreds or thousands of people – we played at a casino in Cairns, in Kakadu, at roadhouses and at festivals.

“The kids sang at every show. They do a couple of covers each – Cha Cha does Dolly and KJ does Elvis and Keith Urban. Then they harmonize with me on my originals.”

Kevin says that at a festival in Western Australia with a crowd of 2,000, he and his family received a standing ovation which the festival promotor said was unheard of.

“We had done a lot of work and I think the kids were in the groove.

“But performing in the studio was really amazing. It was pretty daunting to be in front of the cameras, the judges, the people.

“The screaming crowd in the studio was almost deafening when you are trying to hear the band, trying to hit your mark.

“But I was very, very proud of the kids. It was a huge thing and it was a wonderful experience.”

Kevin and Belinda’s youngest son, Jet who is six, didn’t compete on the show, but regularly plays harmonica on the 1965 classis, The Eve of Destruction.

Kevin’s other two daughters, Alexandra 29 and Emily 30, will be glued to the TV when the show comes on.

When they were growing up, their dad was a forensic crime scene policeman.

“The older girls are really happy that I’m chasing my musical dream. It’s never too late to chase your dream.”

Last year, while Kevin and his family toured they were mindful of others in lockdown and dealing with COVID.

“We would post things wherever we went and people would message us all around Australia to say keep posting because we are living through you guys.

“We really had a great adventure and The Voice just topped it off and was an amazing opportunity.”

Monday January 31 is the first night of the Blind Auditions, which launch the week long competition.

How many chairs will the Sullivans turn?