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This website dedicated to bringing you the latest Australian country music news |
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NEWS ARCHIVES MAY 2006 DATELINE : WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2006 JW, Mark Atkins and Fiddlers Feast to appear at Festival Inter-Celtique John Williamson, Mark Atkins and Fiddlers Feast are among artists to appear at Festival Inter-Celtique, the world's largest Celtic festival, staged in Lorient, Brittany, France.
The FIL attracted more than 700,000 people last year and, because of its Australian focus, is expecting even larger attendance for the "Year of Australia". Australia's participation, under the artistic direction of folklorist Warren Fahey AM, will present a thematic gala concert "telling the Australian story" at a VIP event including Australian Ambassador to France Penny Wensley AO, senior French political and business leaders, invited guests and members of the international music media. There will also be a major Australian pavilion, styled on an Australian country "pub" with restaurant, bars and exhibitions, which will operate for the 10 days of the festival with performances throughout the day. John, one of Australia's most recognisable voices and award-winning songwriters, will perform at both the gala concert and the pavilion and head an Australian Cabaret Night. He will also perform at the launch of the Rugby Tri-Nations Cup which will be broadcast live to the Pavilion.
Fiddler's Feast (previously known as Fiddler's Festival) is Marcus Holden, Mark Oats, Clare O'Meara, Rodney Ford, John Coker and Gary Steel and are described as "a powerhouse of Australian Celtic music that flies down bush tracks, over blue mountains and zips down through the Australian city highways". Other Australian artists performing at this year's FIL include folklore collector and interpreter of old bush songs and dance music Dave de Hugard, internationally recognised duo Mara! (Llew and Mara Keik), one of Australia's most successful and respected indigenous ensembles for dance, song and lore, Descendance, Victoria's high-energy, Scottish-Australian band Claymore, led by William Hutton, world-renowned Celtic music group Brother, a pioneer of Australia's folk music revival Martyn Wyndham, highly talented harpist Christina Sonnemann, the group Tantallon (John, Caroline and Malcolm Bushby, Sirocha Bruckland and Annie Parnsell), good-time Celtic ceilidh band Murphy's Pigs and three of Australia's most celebrated pipe and drum bands the City of Adelaide Pipe Band, the Ipswich Thistle Pipe Band and the Queensland Irish Pipe and Drum Band. As well as hosting performances, the Australian pavilion will feature an exhibition responding to the enormous public interest in Australia among young French people, with major presentations on Australia's tourism, education and lifestyle. Australia's participation at the 36th FIL has been supported by grants from the Australia Council for the Arts (the Federal Government's arts funding organisation), the Australia-France Foundation and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The support of the Australian Rugby Union, Qantas Airways, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines is also acknowledged. JW sang for Beaconsfield... On Monday, meanwhile, John Williamson, responding to an invitation from Prime Minister John Howard, attended and sang at the Parliamentary Reception for Beaconsfield. The reception was staged to honour the two rescued miners Todd Russell and Brant Webb, their rescuers and the Beanconsfield township. It was held in the Great Hall at Parliament House, Canberra, with around 900 selected guests attending. John sang True Blue and Waltzing Matilda. Troy "took two"And on Sunday night, Troy Cassar-Daley took part in the first episode of the new television series "It Takes Two" on the 7 Network.
Other singers offering their mentoring services include Dave Gleeson, David Hobson, Jade McRae, Wendy Matthews, Paulini, Guy Sebastian and Glenn Shorrock. The celebrities involved are Michael Beven, Richard Champion, Kate Fischer, Mark Furze, Erika Heynatz, Judy Nunn, Simon Reeve, Kate Ritchie, Sarah Ryan and Richard Zachariah. Each week the viewing audience can vote for their favourite celebrity who, along with their singing partner, will perform a song from across musical genres. Fans of Troy can vote now to keep him and his singing partner celebrity Kate Ritchie (from "Home & Away") in the series after this week by calling 1902 555 015 or by sending an SMS to 194 777 with the message "Ritchie" (NOT "Kate")... call charges apply. Viewers can vote as many times as they wish with all proceeds going to Kate’s nominated charity, Motor Neurone Disease research. "It Takes Two" continues this Sunday (June 4) at 6.30pm. Lee on Better Homes...
The TV appearance, this Friday night, precedes the launch of Lee's "Outback To The Beaches" tour which kicks off in Orange, NSW, on June 7 to promote his latest album release, The New Bush which continues to dominate country charts in Australia. It has also been announced that the title track of the new album is being made available on the Apple online music store iTunes, the first of Lee's music that has been released to the music downloading service. The entire album will soon be available on iTunes. Soon after its inclusion on the site, The New Bush became the number one downloaded country song. Aussie artists "walk the line" In a special, limited season performance in Sydney, Australian artists are to pay tribute to Johnny Cash, the man, his music and his life story.
Tickets go on sale from Ticketmaster from 9am Monday June 12. Hot rising star Catherine Britt returns directly from Nashville to take part in “Aussies Walk the Line”. "I didn’t want to miss this at all," she said. "One of the great things about Johnny Cash was that he collaborated brilliantly with other artists, he was open to new kinds of music and approaches and then he could take those influences and turn them into something unmistakably his own. He has been a huge inspiration." Brian Cadd’s hit presence on Australian radio has spanned four decades and his tribute will be that of a true contemporary. "Johnny Cash was a great storyteller," he said, "He could draw you right into the song and bring the characters to life like no one else. I think that was one of the things that made him so popular here in Australia. Aussies have always loved a good story." "Aussies Walk The Line" is being staged by Rob Potts Entertainment Edge and CMC (Country Music Channel). Further info, and tickets www.ticketmaster.com.au. Beccy to perform on the APRA Awards Beccy Cole, meanwhile, has been booked to perform on this year's APRA (Australasian Performing Right Association) Music Awards on Monday night (June 5).
Special guest presenters will include former Song of the Year recipient John Butler, Joe Camilleri, Chit Chat Von Loopin' Stab, Bernard Fanning, Tim Freedman and Maya Jupiter, with others yet to be announced. To be hosted by Jonathan Biggins, the APRA Music Awards is an annual celebration of Australian songwriters, honouring both composers and their publishers. Those with access to subscription television will be able to watch a special presentation on the MAX channel called "They Write The Songs". This special will premiere on Sunday June 18 at 8.30pm and will feature special interviews and artist profiles along with presentation and performance highlights from the Awards. Keith talks about his new album Keith Urban told reporters backstage at last week's American Academy of Country Music Awards that he was about halfway through making his next record. CMT.com reported he is shooting for a new single in August. Because he'll be in the studio most of the American summer, his tour dates are limited but not completely wiped off his calendar.
"But we've got scattered shows throughout the summer because I go a little nutty without playing. I'm a little nutty anyway, but we're going to do enough shows to keep my sanity intact." Keith's dry sense of humor also brought some laughter to the press room when asked if Bette Midler would be indeed performing "his favourite song" Wind Beneath My Wings at his wedding to actress Nicole Kidman, as was reported by an Australian tabloid. "Really? Fantastic!" he deadpanned. "I'm looking forward to that. It's my absolute favourite song now, that's for sure. That would be a killer." Meanwhile, the latest single from Keith's current album Be Here has just entered the Country Tracks Top 30 singles chart in Australia (see update below). First artists announced for Cavalcade of Stars 2006 The Australian Country Music Foundation (ACMF) has announced the first round of artists appearing on the inaugural Cavalcade of Stars concert to be held in Tamworth during this year’s Hats Off To Country Festival in Tamworth.
Performing with Rex, in the first group of artists to be announced, will be Clelia Adams, Katie Brianna (pictured), Jason-Lee, Brooke Leal and Alex Watt. More acts are yet to be confirmed and will be announced shortly. Rex Dallas is one of Australia’s best known country stars with four Golden Guitars to his credit. He has been touring and performing for more than 40 years and was elevated to the Country Music Roll of Renown in 2000. Clelia Adams has been taking great strides in her career over the last year or two in particular and has just been announced as a finalist in the European Country Music Awards for material off her latest and widely acclaimed album Heartbeat Highway, the title track of which also won her a TIARA (Tamworth Independent Artists Recognition Awards) trophy this January.
Over the last few months, Jason-Lee has been following up his success at the January country music festival in Tamworth where he made the grand final of Toyota Star Maker 2006. Brooke Leal’s successes have been many over the last few years, including making the finals of Star Maker, winning the National Year of the Outback Songwriting Award, the 2002 Newcastle Music Award (Country) and the Australian Independent Country Music Awards Rising Star award in the same year. Alex Watt has been gaining a lot of ground in his career since the release of his debut album Window Down last year. Prior to that, Alex won a string of awards and accolades over a number of years, including becoming a finalist in the 2006 Tamworth Songwriters’ Association National Songwriting Contest, making the finals in the 2006 Australasian Performing Right Association Professional Development Awards, making the finals of Toyota Star Maker 2005 and winning Senior Male Vocal at the Victorian Champion of Champions in 2004. The Cavalcade of Stars is a new annual event to be staged as part of Country Music Capital’s mid-year festival to raise funds for the proposed new Australian Country Music Hall of Fame to be built in Tamworth. Organisers have kept the admission price to the concert just $15, including booking fee as low as possible in an effort to make the event more attractive to a wider audience. Tickets can be purchased from Tourism Tamworth on 02 6767 5300 or online at www.tamworth.nsw.gov.au/ticketsales. Further information about the concert can be obtained from the ACMF on 02 6766 9696 or by visiting www.acmf.org.au. Entries open for Newcastle Music Awards Entries have opened for the 2006 ABC Newcastle Music Awards.
Entries close on Friday June 16. Entry forms can be obtained from all ABC Shops and Centres or downloaded from www.abc.net.au/newcastle/musicawards. This year will be the fifth consecutive year for the wards. The project runs across seven months with the major aim to provide support and airplay to local artists. Artists and bands may also receive valuable airplay time and program support across 1233 ABC Newcastle programs as well as other ABC networks such as Triple J, Classic FM and DIG. A range of genre categories is available to enter... Rock/Heavy Rock, Pop, Blues and Roots, Classical, Folk, R'n'B/Dance/Hip Hop, Alternative, Adult Contemporary, Country, Jazz and Combined World, Theatre and Gospel. Apart from category winners, other awards to be presented will include the ABC Music Publishing and APRA Songwriters and Composers Recognition Award, the Hunter Broadcasters' Choice award, Central Coast Broadcasters' Choice, Listeners' Choice, Best Female and Male Vocal, Best Young Talent and the prestigious ABC Music Best Artist Award. Country winners of the 1233 ABC Newcastle Music Awards to date have been Bob Pigott with Back Verandah (2005), Julie Woodward with Come With Me (2004) and Brooke Leal with Run With Me (2003). This year's 1233 ABC Newcastle Music Awards will be presented at the Civic Theatre Newcastle, on Friday October 20. And the WA Country Music Awards Entries have also opened for the 2007 Western Australian Country Music Awards. Award winners will be announced in February during the Boyup Brook Country Music Festival. More than $10,000 worth of prizes, including recording sessions and cash components, will be taken home by winners who will also win a guest performance spot at the Festival. Categories include Junior, Senior, Open Band and Gospel. Entries close on October 1. Entry forms can be obtained by telephoning 08 9765 1657 or by downloading from www.countrymusicwa.com.au. Tiffney heads to "the nationals" Competing at the Western Plains Country Music Championships in Dubbo, NSW, recently was a successful venture for just-turned-16 South Australian Tiffney Stroh.
A bigger highlight was being awarded the Overall Junior Award which means that Tiffney now has an invitation to the NSW/ACT National Championships held each year in November at the Campbelltown Catholic Club. May has been a busy month for Tiffney. The Dubbo awards come on the back of returning from the Northern Country Music Festival in Port Pirie where she achieved first in Female Vocal, Country Rock and Traditional in the Senior/Open section as well as second in Gospel and Instrumental and third in Duet. The reigning South Australian and Victorian Junior Champion of Champions, Tiffney is also preparing to attend Camerata 2006 in Tamworth in July. More info www.tiffney.com.au. New publisher for Trad 'N' Now
Under the new publishers, the magazine will become a bi-monthly rather than quarterly and the cover price will be reduced by $4 to $3.90 per copy. The next edition is out June 6 with a triplefold run at newsagencies, says publisher Cec Bucello.Further information www.tradandnow.com. Reg receives his OAM Reg Poole finally received his Order of Australia Medal at a ceremony held at Government House, Melbourne, on May 11.
Reg said his brush with Daryl didn’t inspire him to put on his dancing shoes, "I like the show but I think I’ll stick to what I know singing suits me just fine." Reg received his OAM for his commitment and dedication to the Australian country music industry over more than 30 years. "It was such an honour to be amongst other recipients who had also achieved high standards or shown dedication in their fields," Reg said. His latest album, For The Love Of My Country, is being distributed through One Stop Entertainment and last month was one of their top sellers. The first single from the album A Tribute To Slim is getting good reaction from radio with stations such as WYN-FM Melbourne, 4OUR-FM Caboolture, 2SER Sydney, Town & Country Radio New Zealand, 2ARM-FM Armidale, CMR (Country Music Radio), Radio Upper Murray, 2AIR-FM Coffs Harbour, ABC Saturday Night Country, 98.5-FM Shepparton, KIX-FM Kangaroo Island, SMA Satellite Music Australia and Community Broadcasting Association of Australia services supporting. Further information www.regpoole.netfirms.com. Roxanne moves to Compass Bros Compass Bros Records has announced the appointment of Roxanne Brown as General Manager/Sales Manager effective June 1.
"I'm thrilled to have Rox back on the team and confident that her passion for our artists and her experience in wholesale and retail will give us the edge needed to move forward with our plans to expand the label," said Compass Bros Managing Director Graham Thompson. "Rox has been close to our artists and staff since the beginning so we’re all very excited to have her back in the fold." Roxanne's replacement at One Stop is Katania Young. Briana wins Trans-Tasman Briana Lee has been named Norfolk Island's 12th Trans-Tasman Entertainer of the Year.
"But the Aussies shone through and took out the three major prizes." Briana (pictured, photo by Jo Snell) took out the main award, the 2006 Kimball Johnson Trans-Tasman Entertainer of the Year titled including the PVG Productions $5,000 recording prize and ABC country music award. ABC Music has come on board by sponsoring the media release of the winner's first single, contracting journalists to write a biography, press releases, contract a freelance publicist, arrange contact with video directors to assist in shooting a video for the track and ensure that Country Music Channel (CMC) are serviced. The prize also includes tracking of the winner's single through the Country Tracks Top 30 singles chart, The Music Network Country Singles chart and CMC video singles chart. The runner up in competition fort the Trans-Tasman Entertainer of the Year title, and $2,000 cash, went to Kimberley Bowden. The Norfolk Island Country Music Association Encouragement Prize of $1,000 went to Victoria Edwards. The Dead Ringer Band Encouragement Prize went to Neil McKenzie from New Zealand. Dates for the 2007 event are May 27 to June 4. Keith Melbourne features in Austory competition final
Kathleen's video profile of country music radio host Keith Melbourne was one of six national finalists in the Great Australian Story Challenge, part of 10th anniversary celebrations for ABC TV’s "Australian Story". The five-minute documentary titled "For Love Of Country" can be viewed on the "Australian Story" website at www.abc.net.au/austory/gas. The major prize of a three-month internship with "Australian Story" was won by David Ford for his story "A Little Bit Of Magic" about the career change of one of the senior figures involved in the formation of gun control policy after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. Following thousands of online votes, Lisa Maksimovic was chosen as the clear Viewers' Choice winner for her story "Nick’s Gift" about the fatal shark attack on 18-year old South Australian Nick Peterson. Australian artists feature in European Country Music Awards finals Clelia Adams, Nick Cesta and Keith Urban have featured among the finalists for 2006 European Country Music Awards.
Clelia featured in the top 20 for Female Vocalist of the Year, Nick and Keith for Male Vocalist of the Year, Keith for Song of the Year (with Making Memories Of Us) while all three were in the top 20 for Artist of the Year. Among the other top 20 finalists for the Female Vocal award were Rustie Blue, Lucie Diamond, Melissa Gayle, Erin Hay, Faith Hill, Jo Dee Messina, Dolly Parton, Karen Tobin, Rachael Warmick, Gretchen Wilson and Chely Wright. Among the other top 20 finalists for Male Vocalist of the Year were Mark Chesnutt, Mike Clifford, Roy Cook Jr, Andrew Dean, John Byron Haynie, Arly Karlsen, Toby Keith, Brad Kepler, Mike Lee, Jerry Reed, Roy Rivers, Lonnie Spiker and Billy Yates. Award winners will be announced in Palafrugell, Costa Brava, Spain, on July 8. More info www.europeancma.com. Music Video Fest The BelowGround Music Video Fest is again preparing to reward Australia and New Zealand’s best music clip makers.
Prize for Best Funded Clip will be $5,000 worth of equipment hire from this region’s premier camera and grip supplier Panavision Australia enough for a Super 16mm or HD kit with all the trimmings? The prize for Best Independent Clip is designed for a rising star in the filmmaking firmament who’ll be striking deals for more substantial projects in the very near future. It’s $2,500 legal advice from film industry experts TressCox Lawyers! The prize for Best Use of Visual Effects is something that will get a lot of editors and compositors excited. It’s $2,500 software from Avid Australia! And finally, there’s $1,000 worth of motion picture film from Kodak who are sponsoring the Best New Filmmaker Award. It costs $50 to enter the festival and entrants can submit more than one clip for that one fee. Entries close June 30 and have to be productions made no more than 12 months before the closing date. Full details and entry form can be obtained from www.belowground.com.au. New single from Sara Sara Storer is releasing a new single from her hit Firefly album to co-incide with the launch of the latest leg of her national tour.
During the Queen’s Commonwealth Games visit Down Under, Sara was chosen as "the quintessential musical voice of Australia" to perform for Queen Elizabeth, and was then introduced to the monarch. Now Sara is releasing The Ballad of Tommy Foster, a true story inspired by a man still serving time in the NSW prison system. "At the time I wrote the song," Sara said, "Tommy had been incarcerated for 38 years and still had eight years to serve. "The song is his story it talks about his life in prison, his regrets, about falling in love, and about the frustration he feels watching inmates who’ve been released return to prison, wasting their chance of a better life something he longs for. "I’m very proud of this song I think it’s probably my favourite on the album. The music really captures the feelings in the song’s lyrics, and the song takes you to a place most people wouldn’t normally go," Sara said. Further info (including performance dates) www.sarastorer.com.au. Carol wins songwriting award
Selected by Garry Hardman from Australian Screen Music as the winning song, Carol is the first country performer to be invited to perform at the annual Eisteddfod. It's been a big year to date for Carol as she has also been announced as a finalist in the upcoming 2006 Coopers Golden Saddle Awards (to be announced at the Galston Country Music Festival in September). And she has just released a new single OK to radio, the third single taken from her self-titled EP, following in the footsteps of her previous hit What A Day and the recent Be Still. As an album track, OK has already made an impact on radio, making ABC Saturday Night Country’s Top 100 Hits for 2005. Photo: Carol receives her award from Christine Leaves representing the Christian Rock Eisteddfod. Kimber to release a new single
Titled Taking The You Out Of Us, the single is to be released on the June NfS compilation of country tracks. The video clip to Kimber's debut single, meanwhile, the title track to her EP, is currently airing on Country Music Channel. Kimber reports her website is now up and running with "some great photos on there as well as tons of information about what I've been up to, media info, etc." Further info www.kimbersparks.net. Eurovision features Germanic-Australian country act Although a band of "monster rockers" from Finland won this year's Eurovision contest, one of the most talked about acts had an Australian country connection.
The 51st annual Eurovision was broadcast live across Europe with an estimated 100 million viewers tuning in. Texas Lightning bill themselves as country, "with everything it takes to be hip and old fashioned at the same time. Apart from anything else, they're well-dressed, they're true musicians and they're friends." The band is Jane Comerford (vocals and ukulele), Olli Dittrich (drums & vocals), Jon Flemming Olsen (vocals and guitar), Uwe Frenzel (doublebass and vocals) and Markus Schmidt (electric guitar and banjo). Last year, "the furious five" released their first album and presented themselves on an extensive tour of Germany. Only half a year later, the Texans won their way into Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with their selfpenned hit No No Never. This is understood to make Texas Lightning the first country band in the history of Europe's most important song contest. Further info www.texaslightning.net. Steve Forde releases single dedicated to Bessie This week, Vital Entertainment Solutions will be issuing a new single Everybody Else from Steve Forde’s latest album, Rowdy.
On hearing about Bessie's plight, and that she was a huge fan of his, Steve immediately visited her in the children’s hospital in Sydney and arranged for a single to be rush released with profits going to the Bessie Appeal which has been set up with the Reliance Credit Union in Bathurst. Bessie's family of four are pinning their last hopes on getting Bessie to a Mexico clinic which has a 95 percent success rate in treating cancer, where cyclist Lance Armstrong successfully battled to overcome his cancer. The family launched a mass fundraising appeal in Bathurst a fortnight ago with a Fun Day being arranged for last weekend where Steve performed. The inspiration for the single came when Steve heard the story of a young boy with a rare bone disease who was always first to put on his gym shoes when sports afternoons came around but who was unable to participate and when he and his friends were asked by their teacher to write down what their dreams were, the others wanted to be fighter pilots or racing car drivers, but he "just wanted to be like everybody else". Steve is committed to working with the local community in Bathurst to raise money for the establishment of a Ronald McDonald House in Orange to provide help for seriously ill children and their families in the Central West district of NSW as part of the Bessie Appeal. "We urge you to get behind this single which will help raise money to send Bessie overseas for urgent treatment," said a spokesman for Vital. The single is being release via Rajon Entertainment through SonyBMG. Further info www.steveforde.com. Chart update Travis still at number one Travis Sinclair holds on to the number one spot on the Country Tracks Top 30 singles chart this week with his latest single Midnight Run, as do Troy Cassar-Daley and Catherine Britt at two and three, respectively, with Going Back Home and Too Far Gone.
Beccy Cole's So Good For So Long fell to number six while Peter Denahy's Peppercorn Tree dropped to number seven. Karen Lynne's The Circle Is Small jumped to places to number eight, The Wolverines' (pictured) Angel Eyes bounded into the top 10 at number nine while Natalie Howard's Is It Just Me dropped two places to number 10. Bullet performers this week included Greg Champion's Been There Done That (14 to 11), Tania Kernaghan's Harley McTaggart (17 to 13), John Williamson's Bells In A Bushman's Ear (18 to 14), Kenny Chesney's Living In Fast Forward (20 to 15), Lee Kernaghan's The New Bush (23 to 17), Slim Dusty's The Saddle Is His Home (21 to 18) and Tracy Coster's I Don't Want To Talk About Rain (22 to 19), New entries to the chart this week were Keith Urban with his latest single Tonight I Wanna Cry (at 27) and Jeanette Wormald with Boundary Rider's Daughter (at 30). The full chart can be viewed at www.nfspublicity.com.au.
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