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This website brings you the latest Australian country music news. News releases can be sent to news@countrymusicbulletin.com.au |
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TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2021 Hats Off cancelled This year's Hats Off to Country Festival in Tamworth has been cancelled due to the lockdowns and tighter Covid19 restrictions currently in force in NSW.
This year's cancellation came within days of the tighter restrictions being announced. "The current public health orders in place make it impossible or too difficult for venues to go ahead with the shows they had planned," said a spokesman for the festival organisers. "A culmination of travel restrictions for artists and limitations on crowds meant that venues had to cancel their planned shows. "In the interest of the community’s safety and complying with the current health orders this was an unfortunate but necessary decision." It is understood the Academy of Country Music junior course graduates will perform an online graduation concert. The course was underway when the tighter restrictions were announced and has continued under close adherence to pandemic restriction requirements and guidelines. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 2021 Junior Academy students announced The Country Music Association of Australia has announced the 2021 Junior Academy of Country Music intake of students. Fifteen students and their parents, music artists and industry personnel will be in Country Music Capital this month for the face-to-face course which was cancelled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Following the toughest 18 months the music industry has seen, The Academy junior course in 2021, to be held as usual at Calrossy School, will have a reduced participation to allow for physical distancing and other COVID-safe regulations.
Students attending will range in age from 12 to 18 and hail from Queensland, NSW and South Australia. Group leaders this year will be Ashleigh Dallas, Jayne Denham and Mickey Pye with guests and industry leaders including Catherine Britt and Aleyce Simmonds who will also visit The Academy for songwriting and music business-related topics. Artists will also co-write with the students. Director Lyn Bowtell said she couldn’t wait to see the growth of these students, with everyone grateful they can be together in a face-to-face capacity once more. The Academy junior course runs from Saturday June 26 to Friday July 2 ahead of the Hats Off to Country Festival with a graduation concert set for held Friday July 2 at The Family Hotel. Students attending this year are Sari Abbott (of Sunrise Beach, Qld), Dennis Comino (Grange, Qld), Maddie Daly (Ormeau, Qld), Jeremy Fletcher (Mareeba, Qld), Lilly Goller (Roma, Qld), Kaelin Haimes (Steaky Bay, SA), Imogen Hall (Muswellbrook, NSW), Gia Henry (Mayfield, NSW), Annmarie Maguire (Laura Byrnes Music Scholarship, Tamworth, NSW), Ella McClean (RNA Ekka Troy Cassar Daley Scholarship, Mount Barker, SA), Sienna McClean (Graham Allington Scholarship – Burra SA, Mount Barker, SA), Amy Ryan (Chambers Flat, Qld), Jamie Stefanovic (Prestons, NSW), Gemma Tiller (Balaklava, SA) and Tiffany Vella (Walkerston, Qld). Weblink – academycountrymusic.com.au. MONDAY, JUNE 14, 2021 An OAM for Judy Country Music Capital's Judy Loffell has been awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.
Jiudy has been a long time board member of the Australian Country Music Foundation (ACMF) and volunteer at the Australian Country Music Hall of Fame. She joined the ACMF in the 1990s when the organisation was working to establish itself as Australia's national country music archive. For many year's Judy was responsible for the ACMF's exhibits which became central to establishment of the Australian Country Music Hall of Fame. An OAM has also been awarded to music and entertainment journalist Angela Bishop who has, of course, reported many times on news of country music in Australia. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 2021 Star Maker returns for 2022 Australia's most notable country music talent search – Toyota Star Maker – will return for 2022. Organisers have announced that the competition will return to culminate with the 50th Tamworth Country Music Festival in January.
Star Maker Co-ordinator Cheryl Brown expressed her excitement at the prospect of the competition returning and crowning a new Star Maker winner for 2022. “We’re looking forward to a bright new year with all the good things that come to the winner,” Cheryl said. “We look for a winner who is open to the experience and will work together with our team to create a long and successful career in the music industry.” To give more entrants a chance at this year’s competition, Star Maker will extend submissions to select from 20 semi-finalists before revealing the final 10 in a public announcement leading up to the January festival. The Star Maker prize includes studio recording and promotional packages, the use of a Toyota vehicle and guaranteed paid performances at some of Australia’s biggest festivals on the calendar. Previous winners have included Kirsty Lee Akers, James Blundell, Lyn Bowtell, Darren Coggan, Beccy Cole, Travis Collins, Brad Cox, Gina Jeffreys, Lee Kernaghan, Samantha McClymont, Keith Urban and the most recent (2020) winner Sammy White. Details on how to enter Star Maker can be found here. |
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There will be no event at all this year unlike last year when organisers had time to bring together a fully online and very successful event.
The Academy, led by multi-Golden Guitar winner Lyn Bowtell in the role of Director and fellow award-winner Roger Corbett as General Manager, aims to support the careers of up-and-coming performers aged 18 and under.
The honour was bestowed for service to country music.
The competition, which has operated for 42 years, will return after a year's hiatus following cancellation of the 2021 event due to the coronavirus pandemic.
