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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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Country music state of origin? Is there about to be another state of origin clash between NSW and Queensland? Is the epic annual rugby league stoush about to be overtaken by country music? A campaign is set to launch in Nashville after a deal struck earlier this week between the Queensland government and the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation. This follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the government in 2018 with the American Country Music Association to promote Queensland as “Australia’s home of country music”. Queensland’s claim to the title is based on four major events… the Gympie Muster in August, Groundwater Country Music Festival in July, CMC Rocks in March and a new event, Savannah In The Round, set to run in Cairns this October.
In the 1990s, ABC Radio started nominating the weekly Saturday Night Country program as “Australia’s Home of Country Music” and still does to this day. Will NSW cowtow to Queensland and let the title go? Or will government tourism swords be drawn at 20 paces at a time and place to be fixed to fight it out? Only time will tell! As an interesting factual side to this story, if the title was determined by the biggest event, NSW – with the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January, would be the outright winner. If it was determined simply by the number of events, NSW would be the winner… just. The Country Music Bulletin news website has the only comprehensive and most up to date listing of Australian country music festivals and currently has NSW with 52 festivals and events (an average of one a week) with Queensland showing 50. Victoria is next with 16 followed by South Australia with nine, Western Australia with eight, Tasmania three and the ACT two. For a grand total of 140… an average of almost three events a week on the Australian country music calendar – a significant statistic in its own right. That doesn’t include, of course, quite a few who haven’t told us about their events. And let’s not even think about qualifying states for number of attendees. Both NSW and Queensland could come up with some impressive figures. A qualifier to this story is that Queensland has launched its promotion to attract visitors to “the sunshine state” from the USA. The tie-up with the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation will open the door to the almost a million country music fans on the corporation’s database, some of whom may venture outside of Queensland! Vale – Ross MurphyRoss Murphy – one of the first people to record country music in Tamworth – has died after battling cancer for a number of years. Originally from Tenterfield, Ross built a successful saddlery business in Tamworth before becoming involved in country music in the early 1960s.
Impressed by the club and its activities, he decided Tamworth should have its own branch which he set up in June 1967 with Margaret Carmichael as Secretary, John Minson as Publicity Officer and Betty Frey as Treasurer and Geoff Brown joining the committee later. The MCMA was an active group, staging talent quests and concerts with musicians like Bob Cole, Michael Cooke, Lance McCulloch, John “Doc” Riley, Tom Roach, Des and Barry Whitton and Frank Jones’ Trailblazers which featured young Tommy and Phil Emmanuel. On June 14, 1971, it changed its name to the Capital Country Music Association (CCMA) with Rodney Walker as President and Ross as Vice President. It continued to grow and Ross was there to see it celebrate its 50th anniversary in January 2016 in the Tamworth Town Hall. In 1969, with Geoff Brown, Ross travelled to Dubbo to help set up a branch of the MCMA with local country fan and car dealer Ken Cameron. Ross and Ken got on so well they decided they would establish a record company together and CM Records was formed. Their first recording of “Doc” Riley was on November 15, 1969 in 2TM’s “Tin Shed” (a corrugated iron building in which the radio station workshop and storage areas were then situated). The label continued successfully for several years putting on vinyl artists including The Denning Sisters, Garry Gardiner, Johnny Heap, Helen King, Tex Little, Wally White and many others. The partnership broke up in 1972 when Ross established his own label, Opal Records, based in Tamworth. Over the following 30 years Ross released dozens of singles, EPs, LPs and CDs by artists and instrumentalists like Auriel Andrew, Gary Brown, Lindsay Butler, Michael Cooke, Stan Coster, Joe Daly, Ray Griffiths, Col Hardy, Jimmy Little, Buddy Weston and Brian Young. His most recent releases were in 2016, CDs by Christina George and Johanna Hemara. During this time, Ross utilised a wide variety of studios including Enrec, Hadley and Nashgrill in Tamworth, Du Monde in Sydney, CM in Dubbo and Russ Hammond’s Studio at Coffs Harbour. Opal Records has two Golden Guitars to its credit, the first (and only) Radio Listener Award in 1973 which went to Col Hardy and the 1977 Best Instrumental trophy won by Lindsay Butler for his cover of the Slim Dusty song Closest Thing To Freedom. Ross “Murph” Murphy was deeply involved in the Tamworth country music scene for well over half a century and is rightly regarded as one of the major pioneers who helped turn Tamworth into Country Music Capital. For many years, Ross reviewed country music for numerous media outlets. He also became heavily involved in local radio community station 2YOU FM both as a country music presenter and later as Board Chairman. His service to the industry was recognised when he was awarded a Country Music Capital Award in 1991. He was inducted into the Hands Of Fame in 2005. “He was definitely one of the foundation members of Country Music Capital”, said Max Ellis. “Over more than half a century he made a massive contribution to Tamworth and to Australian country music both as a record producer and as a broadcaster. “He will be greatly missed by his many friends and by the many country music people he has helped and worked with over the decades.” Vale – Michael Harris Michael Harris – a former key member of The Bushwackers – has died after a battle with cancer. He was 66.
“He was there for all the fabulous gigs in the ‘70s and ‘80s,” said key band members Roger Corbett and Dobe Newton., “Port Fairy Folk Festival, The Dan, Birkenhead Point, The Sydney pubs, the big Town Hall dances, little country towns, Centenary Hall in Melbourne and about a million other gigs from one end of the country to the other. “Without diminishing his influence, it’s hard to talk about his contribution except in the context of his relationship with another master musician. It was his ‘job’ to form a relationship with the band’s multi-instrumental virtuosos Louis McManus. On the face of it, these were two very different people from musically and socially unrelated backgrounds. “But Michael bought into the band’s ‘mission’ to re-invigorate a unique Australian folk music and communicate it to a young audience with a fervour and energy not seen before. “We soon dubbed Michael and Louis the ‘leisure twins’ – always hanging out together, always the last to bed, always the last on the bus the morning after the gig.” “The emotional bond that Michael and Louis had formed transferred effortlessly to the stage, where Michael’s more classical style melded perfectly with the raw folk riffs and style that were Louis’s inheritance. “They had that unique ability to anticipate what the other was going to do and to complement it perfectly without ever getting in each other’s way.” Vale – Tabbi Francis Tabbi Francis – wife of “Tangletongue” Geoff Mack – has died. She was 94.
“They married in 1953 and subsequently moved back to Geoff’s native Australia not long after (transported most of the way from England to their new home in Sydney via Perth as a pillion passenger on Geoff’s motorbike).” In Australia, they continued their variety show and created and co-owned (with Lucky Grills) the “Carols Variety Show” – a tent show that travelled all over nation. “Along with being in the ‘Carols Variety’ show, Tabbi was also in demand as a performer in her own right – she was an accomplished comedienne, singer and, of course, a superb dancer, with pantomime being a particular specialty.”
“Without exception, Tabbi is remembered by all who had the privilege to meet her as being impossibly beautiful both physically and in spirit, kind, outrageous, funny, dear, stylish, a wonderful friend, and a devoted and loving partner to Geoff, whom she referred to as ‘the boyfriend’.” Photos: Geoff and Tabbi top, and on Geoff's bike in front of the Tamworth Regional Enteryainment Centre. The bike has been a significant part of Country Music Capital's Walk A Country Mile exhibition for many years.
One of northern NSW's most significiant equine events – the King of the Ranges Stockman's Challenge & Bush Festival is on the last weekend of February. Stockmen and women from around the country compete on the Friday and Saturday in seben preliminary events consisting of Horse & Rider Gear, Whipcrack, Pack Saddle, Stock Handling, Shoeing, Bareback and Cross Country. Novice and Junior finals take place on Saturday night with Ladies and Open Finals on Sunday. A total of $50,000 prizemoney and trophies will be up for grabs.
The festival will also see the announcement of winners in the new written poetry competition with prozes for serious and jumorous poetry and overall champion as part of the popular Poets’ Breakfast with awards also for best walk-up poetry performance. King of the Ranges Stockman's Challenge and Bush Festival runs from Thursday February 27 to and including Sunday March 1. Weblink – www.kingoftheranges.com.au. Willo to celebrate 50 years John Williamson will celebrate 50 years as an entertainer and recording artist this year with the release of a personally curated collection of recordings – JW 50 – Winding Back 1970-2020 – and a year long "Winding Back" tour.
Old Man Emu might have been the very first song John had ever written, but his performance of the tune on Channel Nine’s popular New Faces program resulted in a number one single and a record deal. The inaugural release marked the appearance of a striking new talent: an unofficial custodian of Australian stories. Half a century on, John has made an art of expertly capturing Australia in song. Painting lyrical pictures of our unique fauna and flora, landscapes and people, John has encapsulated the beauty, wonder and, sometimes, heartbreak of life 'Down Under". From boabs to billabongs and snowy mountains to sandy beaches, the Mallee-born songwriter’s 52 albums – including 20 original studio works – have traversed Australia like a dust-covered road train, deftly moving between larrikin humour and touching pathos. JW 50 – Winding Back 1970-2020 will be a limited edition, ornately packaged box set of 25 mini CDs, each disc containing two songs from across the course of his career. John’s images include acrylics depicting outback landscapes, humorous sketches based on song lyrics and Aussie minutiae captured with his trademark eye for detail. As well as inclusions from award-winning albums like 1987’s Mallee Boy, 1989’s Boomerang Cafe and 2012’s The Big Red the set will feature the new single Those Fifty Years. “Putting together this collection gave me a chance to take stock of what I’ve achieved during my career,” John said. “Like I say in the song, ‘There’s been laughter and there’s been tears’ – which I’m sure most people can relate to when reminiscing on their life’s journey.” The "Winding Back" tour will take in more than 40 dates across Australia through to the end of 2020. John sees the extensive run of shows as closing the book on regular touring. “While I’m not looking to retire just yet, once I’ve completed my 2020 'Winding Back' tour, I’ll be scaling down my live appearances,” he said. “I’ve always loved the connection I receive when performing, so you’ll still see me popping up at festivals and special events. ‘Winding back’ mainly means I’m looking forward to spending more time in the garden and less time away from home fiddling about with those hard to open motel soaps.” With his honours including an AM (Member of the Order of Australia) and induction into Australasia's Country Music Roll of Renown and ARIA Hall Of Fame, as well as 27 Golden Guitars and five million album sales and thousands of shows performed, it’s hard to begrudge the 74-year-old a less hectic schedule. First though, there’s a 50th anniversary to celebrate. “It’s hard to believe it’s 50 years since the first time I heard Old Man Emu on the radio while feeding the pigs,” John said. “'Winding Back' is a summary of my career. It’s a pretty remarkable innings and I’m thankful for the support I’ve received since those early days.” Weblink – johnwilliamson.com.au. Catching up on Tamworth – talent quests – CCMA
Jacinta, from Queensland, was named Junior Champion while Tayla, from Victoria, won the Senior Champion title. Jactina won from fellow finalists Felicity Dowd, Bella Mackenzie, Keely Sliwka and Ocean Waitakia while senior finalists included Jessie Allen-Berry and Brendan Write. Golden Senior finalists were Greg Baldock, Neale Campbell, Kevin Goodbun, Brett Rostron and Tony Shepherd. Gospel finalists were Jessie Allen-Berry, Tayla Clavarino, Briana Dinsdale, Sarah Hamze and Ocean Waitakia. Australian Heritage finalists were Greg Baldock, Tayla Clavarino, Sarah Hamze, Brett Rostron and Ocean Waitakia. Photo: Tayla with her trophies from the CCMA Jamboree. Weblink – www.ccma.net.au. Catching up on Tamworth - talent quests – Mount Franklin Winners of the 2020 annual Mount Franklin Junior Talent Quest conducted at West Tamworth League Club during the January country music festival were... Sarah Hamze senior winner, Keely Sliwka senior runner-up. Maddison Daly junior winner, Lucy Beveridge junior runner-up.
Our photo: winners and finalists from this year's talent quest with guest judges Brothers3. West Australian award winners Karin Page, Lincoln Mackinnon and Helen Townsend were multiple winners at this weekend's West Australian Country Music Awards at Boyup Brook.
Lincoln was named Male Artist of the Year and won Video Clip of the Year with I'm Bled. Karin won Female Artist of the Year and shared Songwriter of the Year with Mike Goodwin. Helen won Emerging Artist of the Year and shared Single of the Year with Jasmine Atkins, the winning singles being Get Gone (Jasmine) and Big City (Helen). Scarlet's Way was named Group of the Year and Julie Kember won Album of the Year with Million Lives. EP of the Year went to The Eastern Line with Place Of Living Water. The Junior Vocalist of the Year title was won by Serra McCallum and the "people's choice" winner was Sally Jane. Awards were announced and presented during the Boyup Brook Country Music Festival. Weblink – www.countrymusicwa.com.au. Catching up on Tamworth – Gold Medallions Another set of awards presented in Tamworth each January are the Gold Medallion Media Awards. Shaza Leigh took home two gongs, for National Artist of the Year and Qld Female Vocalist of the Year while Clelia Adams won the NSW Female Vocal award with Lynette Guest receiving the SCW (South/Central/Western) Female Vocal award.
Lloyd Back won National Male Artist of the Year and SCW Male Vocalist of the Year with Justin Standley taking home Qld Male Vocal honours. Allan Caswell won the NSW Male Vocal award. Ashley Cook win Qld Bush Balladeer of the Year, Tom Maxwell NSW and John O’Dea SCW. Lindsay Waddington took home Qld Musician of the Year, Lindsay Butler the NSW gong and Lance Birrell SCW. New Talent of the Year went to Shane Butterworth; Gary Ellis & Tessa Liberi won the Collaboration award and The Long & Short Of It, Band or Duo of the Year. Photo (from left): Shaza Leigh, Clelia Adams, Lynette Guest. Catching up on Tamworth – ICMA The ICMA – Indie Country Music Australia – Awards are presented annually as part of the January country music festival in Tamworth.
Cheryls Anderson won this year’s Female Artist award with Casey Barnes taking out Male Artist and Most Popular Single. Destiny Band Oz were named Most Popular Duo and The Mason Boys Most Popular Country Band. Benny Allen was named Most Popular Balladeer and winner of the Most Popular Album award. Ben Ransom took home Most Popular Video, Anthony Baxter Most Popular Instrumental. Trinity Woodhouse won the Patti McKinnon Encouragement Award. Beth Brown was named Most Popular Community Radio Announcer and Sheree Cotter took home the Al Slade Memorial Award for Photography and Phil Henry was named Most Popular Producer. Lana Doublet won the New Zealand Supporter award, Kazans Johnson the Fan Supporter award and South Tamworth Bowling Club the Venue Support award. Photo: Vickiree Melouney presenting Casey Barnes with his ICMA 2020 trophies. Changes at Support Act Industry non-profit Support Act has announced several changes to its board, with three new directors replacing four outgoing board members.
David is the CEO of Alberts, having been at the family business since 2004; Aletha is the Artistic Director of Digi Youth Arts and First Nations Producer of BIGSOUND; Tom has spent three decades as a musician and was a founding member of Shihad. Board Chair Sally Howland welcomed the new directors in a statement: “I am pleased to be able to report that Support Act is continuing to grow and develop in response to the needs of the community we serve. “Each of our new Directors have different skills, experiences and perspectives, and their input and guidance will be invaluable as we continue to provide crisis relief and mental health support to people in need, and to help create a healthier work environment for all people who are working in the music industry.” The Support Act board also contains Sebastian Chase, Linda Courtney, Leah Flanagan, Karin Lines, John O’Donnell, Lynne Small and John Watson. Catching up on Tamworth – Cavalcade winners
LBS Music Group was judged second while the Reg Lindsay entry was third. In the non commercial category, Northcott Disabiity Services was named winner with Tamworth Pride (LGBT) in second place and Kirinari/Aruma (disabiity services) were third with a commendation for the Tamworth Regional Council "Don't Waste Tamworth" entry. In non-vehicle/equine, the Fire & Rescue NSW Pipe Band was judged the winner, Tamworth Highland Pipe Band came second and the Australian Air League was third. The theme for the 2020 Cavalcade was "A Cavalcade Of Colour". More than 80 individual entities took part in the parade. Our photo: multi People's Choice Award winners Brothers3, Best Female Vocal winner 2020 Della Harris, finalist Pete "Smokie" Dawson and Brendan Smoother and Cush Ryder rode the Capital Country Radio/People's Choice Awards float. Jay collaborates with Dad Rob again Jay – half of the duo O'Shea with husband Mark – has collaborated for the second time with her father Rob Hirst of Midnight Oil fame.
Jay was given up for adoption and wasn't reunited with her father Rob until 2010. Jay’s mother, Rob’s girlfriend of 1974, became pregnant and was sent to Adelaide to have the child. The baby was taken from the couple. The parents weren’t even told the sex of the baby. The first collaboration was in 2016 when Rob featured on Jay's single, The Truth Walks Slowly. “Some of the songs (on the new release) are bluesy," according to Rob, "others are ‘atmos-pop' – plus there’s some rock and country thrown in." The common thread is strong storytelling, as well as the use of piano, cello, violin, harmonica, trumpet, acoustic and electric guitars, bass and drums. “Unsurprisingly, Jay and I have a natural chemistry” Rob said. “We both like songs with melodies that stay in your head, and lyrics that tell little stories. We’re suckers for a strong chorus. And of course, Jay’s voice is a remarkable instrument: It lifts every lyric, magnifies every melody. This album was a joy to make.” "To be able to collaborate has been one of the biggest highlights of my life," said Jay. "I loved that we got to work on a project without any kind of pressure or parameters of what a father and daughter should sound like together. We just got to make some music. I’m not even sure it has a genre, but I guess that’s just fine. To get to know my birth father more through this collaboration has been the most beautiful, epic adventure.”
Laura Downing has taken top honours at this year's Stan Coster Memorial Bush Ballad Awards presented as part of the annual Bungendore Country Muster on Saturday night. Her wins were for Female Vocal (with Home Is Waiting Here), Album (for The Guardian) and in Duo or Group where she shared honours with Trevor Tolton for their recording of the Gordon Parsons classic Back To Those Rolling Plains. Brian Letton won the Male Vocal accolade for When We First Fell In Love while Graham Rodger won the Songwriter category with Knights Of The Saddle. Peter Dawson was named winner of the New Talent award with Stanley And Slim while Lindsay Waddington won in the Instrumental category with Dingo. Sharon Benjamin won the Comedy section with Forget About The Car. Weblink – bcmm.com.au. Catching up on Tamworth – talent battle winners Hundreds of entrants and spectators converged on Country Music Capital’s historic town hall in January for the annual talent quests under the Coca Cola sponsored “Battle of” mantle.
And this year’s winners and placegetters were... Battle of the Young Stars – Junior: Noah Robertson (Midge Point Qld), Intermediate: Emmagen Rain (Murwillumbah NSW), Senior: Elias Barthomeo (Banksmeadow NSW). Battle of the Bluegrass – Junior: Elias Barthomeo (Banksmeadow NSW), Mandolin: Paddy Montgmery (Preston Vic), Fiddle: Jonathan Behne-Smith (Newcastle NSW), Guitar: Daniel Watkins (Macedon Vic), Banjo: Bennett Sullivan (Henderson, Hendersonville USA). Battle of the New Stars – Harriet Kelly (Hillston NSW). Battle of the Golden Oldies – Dan Mullins (Lilyfield NSW) – pictured. Battle of the Bands – Vixens Of Fall (Caboolture Qld). Vale – Bill Robertson Bill Robertson – recognised for decades as a country music expert within EMI – has died. He was 90.
A judge of the Golden Guitar Awards for a number of years, he won the Country Music Capital Award in 1984 and was inducted into the Hands of Fame in 1998. Bill joined EMI in 1947 when EMI decided to look after their own distribution. He was picked out as one of the bright young men to join the company. Bill’s knowledge of the product, and his encyclopaedic memory of all things including catalogue numbers, became legendary. Over the years he moved more into the Artists & Repertoire (A&R) area. The roster of artists he worked with and supported in Australia could fill a Hall of Fame for the music industry but he was a great champion for Australian music artists, particularly in the field of country music. He would also prefer – and promote – Australian product over the imported brand. Other Country artists Bill helped around this time included Johnny Ashcroft, Smoky Dawson, Reg Lindsay, Gladys Moncrieff, Chad Morgan and Tex Morton. Photo: Bill Robertson (at right) presenting a gold record to Slim Dusty and producer Rod Coe. Aussie duo wins Christian Music Grammy Australian duo For King & Country – Joel and Luke Smallbone – have won the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance.
It was written with Josh Kerr, Jordan Reynolds and Tedd Tjornhom, and recorded in 2019 after several other remixes with Timbaland and Echosmith. During their acceptance speech, Joel and Luke began by thanking everyone for their donations and prayers to those in Australia following the devastating bush fires, and asked for support to heal. "When we stepped in to write this song, we were all walking through really hard moments," Joel said. "As many of you writers know, when that happens you tend to put something on paper so you can reach out to people who are going through the same circumstances." "To dear Dolly Parton, who is an incredible human being, it's one of the great moments of our career to collaborate with her and her team," Joel said. "I talked to her manager's sons in Sunday school, they were kind enough to reach out to her and play her the song. But she said something on a call, she said, 'I love this song because it's reaching to the marginalised, to the depressed, to the suicidal, which is all of us at some point'. The Grammys were handed out in Los Angeles on January 26). Weblink – www.forkingandcountry.com. Joy McKean elevated to Australasian country music's highest honour Joy McKean, elevated to the Australasian Country Music Roll of Renown in Tamworth on Saturday night, is undoubtedly the industry’s most highly regarded and respected leader.
Joy’s Roll of Renown award is in recognition of the extraordinary leadership role she has performed over many decades, mentoring and supporting the country music industry and its members in so many ways. But it was her unmatched skills as one our nation’s most prolific and talented songwriters that has given Joy McKean a status and and respect among fans as well as the artists who make and perform the music. Her widely acclaimed works, generally written for and performed by her husband Slim Dusty, included classic songs such as Lights On The Hill, Indian Pacific and The Biggest Disappointment. These and many other of Joy’s renowned bush ballads and her constant support and involvement, helped propel Slim into becoming one of Australia’s most successful recording artists and ensured that Joy herself was widely known and recognised. Her songs have also been covered and tributes written and recorded by many of today’s stars including Lee Kernaghan, Troy Cassar-Daley, Sara Storer and Keith Urban. In keeping with her record as the very first person to receive a Golden Guitar on the inaugural Country Music Awards in 1973, Joy becomes the first person among those honoured on the Roll to feature twice, once as a member of the popular McKean Sisters Duo in 1983 and now again in her own right. She now joins daughter Anne Kirkpatrick, who was elevated to the Roll in 2010, and, of course, her late husband Slim Dusty who received the honour in 1979. Since the Roll was inaugurated in 1976 with the naming of legendary pioneer Tex Morton, there have been only 50 other stars selected for the honour and Joy becomes the 51st recipient. In making the presentation to Joy, Country Music legend Troy Cassar-Daley, a close friend of Joy’s, said she had been an inspiration to him and most of his generation. Co-presenter and Chairman of the Roll of Renown Selection Panel Max Ellis said the genuine affection Joy attracted from the Australasian music industry in general was remarkable and reflected her “wonderful strength and generosity and the huge contribution she has made over the past eight decades”. In the venue, Joy’s sister Heather sat with Joy’s daughter Anne Kirkpatrick and son David Kirkpatrick and other family members including grandson James Arneman. Joy’s plaque on the famous Roll Of Renown granite boulders outside TRECC was unveiled yesterday morning. Queen of Country Music crowned Tamworth’s Queen of Country Music Quest came to a conclusion last night with the announcement of winners. Emily Lysaght was named overall winner and will hold the title Tamworth Queen of Country Music for the next 12 months. The competition runner up – who wins the title Country Music Princess – is Susie Rixon.
In addition to the key winners, the Quest also names a Miss Congenialty and a Miss Social Media. Chrissy Ryan is the Quest’s 2020 Miss Congeniality while Jasmine Whitten is the 2020 Miss Social Media. The Queen of Country Music Quest was inaugurated by Tamworth & District Chamber of Commerce & Industry in 1984 and is currently run by the Zonta Club of Tamworth. Pictured above (from left): Queen Emily, Princess Susie, Chrissy and Jasmin. Tamworth Busking Champion 2020 Naomi Connell from the Queensland Gold Coast has won the 2020 Tamworth Busking Championship.
At the finals event in Tamworth last night, Namoi claimed the prize from runner-up duo Ella & Sienna (Mt Barker, SA) and third place winner Georgia Grae (Grafton, NSW). The duo Nate Scholes (William Scholes and Wink Fleming from rural NSW) won the peoples choice vote. Fellow finalists were Jacinta Byrne (Thargomindah, Qld), Gavin Chatelier (Melbourne, Vic), Simon Gudgeon (Port Macquarie, NSW), Jorja & Kaleb (Jorja Belle from NSW and Kaleb Rowe from the Qld Sunshine Coast), Bella Mackenzie (Mackay, Qld) and Jamie Stefanovic (Sydney, NSW). Photo: Naomi, Ella & Sienna and Georgia. Keith leads country Australia Day honours
The award designation is for "distinguished service to the performing arts as a singer and songwriter and to charitable organisations". Andrew Farriss, an original member of pop group INXS and now turning his hand to country music, was awarded an AM (Member in the Order of Australia) for "significant service to the performing arts as a musician, composer and producer". Broadcaster Carter Edwards was announced as a recipient of an OAM (Order of Australia Medal) for "service to the broadcast media, particularly to radio". Bill Warburton, an accountant by profession in Tamworth, and a director of the Australian country Music Foundation since 2010, was awarded an OAM for "service to the community of Tamworth". Felicity dominates Golden Guitars Felicity Urquhart has dominated this year's presentation of Golden Guitar Awards winning a total of five in her own right plus one as a co-writer. Her awards included the prestigious Female Artist of the Year recognition, won in stiff competition from Ashleigh Dallas, Amber Lawrence, Gina Jeffreys and Sara Storer.
Sing Me A Story – the song she wrote with Luke O'Shea – also scored Felicity a Golden Guitar when it won Heritage Song of the Year for Luke and Lyn Bowtell. The song scored a second Golden Guitar for Luke and Lyn when they were announced as winners of Vocal Collaboration of the Year. The album category wins for Felicity also results in two posthumous Golden Guitars for Glen Hannah as producer of Frozen Rabbit. Expat Aussie Morgan Evans joined Luke and Lyn with two Golden Guitars each with his win of the Male Vocal and Contemporary Album of the Year categories (for Things That We Drink To). Brad Butcher won Alt Country Album of the Year with Travelling Salesman, produced by Matt Fell. Bush Ballad of the Year went to Allan Caswell and Manfred Vijars for their work Country Copper, recorded by Allan. Group of the Year went to Kevin Bennett & The Flood for their recording, Blood Red Ties. Fanny Lumsden won the Golden Guitar for Video of the Year with Real Men Don't Cry (War On Pride), directed by Dan Stanley Freeman & Fanny Lumsden. Instrumental of the Year was won by Rod McCormack with Timeless Traveller. Kristy Cox won Bluegrass Recording of the Year with Yesterday's Heartache. Blake O'Connor (the 2019 winner of Toyota Star Maker) won the New Talent Golden Guitar with Worth A Little More. Lee Kernaghan was presented with his Top Selling Album of the Year Golden Guitar, the accolade, based on 2019 ARIA records of album sales, havng been announced earlier this year. And, perhaps the biggest award of the night was Joy McKean's elevation to the Country Music Roll of Renown. More on Joy o Monday! Weblink – www.country.com.au. People's Choice winners Brothers3 were the biggest winners at tonight's Australian Country Music People's Choice Awards in Tamworth taking home Best Group and Best Song for Another Day.
Ian Burns, a regular finalist in the Awards won another of the night's biggest accolades, Best Album for Two Sides Of Me. Best Bush Ballad went to John O'Dea for his self penned The Drover's Friend. Relative newcomer to country music Benny Allen was voted winner of Best Video for his Never Knew I Was Country. Emma Jene was announced winner of the Awards' Most Promising Future Star (new talent) accolade. The People's Choice industry awards, recognising popularity in country music broadcasting, were dominated by broadcasters with Central Coast country radio todayscountry94one... Dianne Lindsay and Peter Simpson jointly won Most Popular Country DJ for their work on the Australian Bush Ballad Show which airs on a number of radio stations as well as todayscountry and Alan Gilmour snared the Most Popular Country Music Program for the Australian Country Songwriters Show on todayscountry. An almost capacity crowd in "The Chapel" – a dedicated auditorium newly established by Tamworth's Northwest Church – witnessed another classic People's Choice Awards concert and ceremony where most of the Awards finalists perform in a relaxed "acoustic" environment. Photo: Brothers3 with the first of their two awards received tonight. Weblink – www.peopleschoiceawards.com.au. TSA winners A swathe of awards were presented to the cream of Australia's country songwriters tonight at the annual TSA (Tamworth Songwriters' Association) Awards in Tamworth.
Country Song of the Year – Like My Old Man by John O’Dea & Stuart French (pictured) Bush Ballad of the Year – The Euco Cutter by Brian Stitt. Traditional Song of the Year – Red Flowers by Virginia Hermel. New Songwriter of the Year – Aaron Jurd with Changed. Anzac Song of the Year – The Lost Soldier by Peter Campbell & Brendan Walmsley. Gospel/Spiritual Song Award – Across The Jordan Wide by Peter Christie. Bluegrass Song Award – What I Did by Virginia Hermel. Country Blues Song Award – Devil’s Road by Andrew Wrigglesworth, Laura Coates & Lachlan Bryan Comedy/Novelty Song Award – Wouldn’t Be Dead For Quids by Eric Read. Country Rock Song Award – Hard Habit To Kick by Blake Dantier. All Country Song Award – Patient Heart by Chloe Styler, Jenny Mitchell & George Goodfellow. Country Ballad Award – Like My Old Man by John O’Dea & Stuie French. Novice Songwriting – Garry Jones with Kalgoolie Dreaming. Youth Songwriting – You’ll Never Win by Lucy Parle. Lyrics Only – Edward Street by Lloyd Clarke. The Tex Morton Award was presented to Adam Harvey and Ian Quinn was presented with the Association's Songmaker honour. Weblink – www.tsaonline.com.au. Keely and the "golden octopus" There are many wonderful stories in country music… in song and behind the songs. There have also been many over the years that come to light during the Tamworth Country Music Festival. The story of Keely Johnson and the Golden Octopus Foundation, which she founded, is one such story, not a result of Tamworth by any means but significantly associated in 2020.
As the name suggests, the daily showcases are for up and coming artists and are being hosted by Keely. As well as the daily featured “emerging artist” the event also has a special invited mystery guest each day. Speaking about the Foundation, Keely said: “The idea of a Golden Octopus came to me as there needs to be a charity that covers all childhood cancers. There are eight groups of childhood cancers and the octopus has eight arms … plus, gold is the colour of childhood cancer.” As a child, Keely was diagnosed with Germinoma of the brain, a rare type of germ cell tumour that is slowly treatable. She was frequently away from her home to receive treatment. Due to early misdiagnoses, and long stays away from her family, she now focuses on supporting children with cancer, in their own homes. “Families struggle financially and emotionally while a child undergoes treatment,” Keely said. “Children suffer from isolation during prolonged stays away, have school attendance interrupted and lose contact with sporting and other social activities.” A major initiative Keely is undertaking this year in May is a fundraising trek to the Kokoda Track. The aim is to enlist 21 people to walk the Track with her and she is also seeking sponsors to assist with other costs. Each of the 21 will raise $1,500, plus pay their normal tour fees. “Five walkers have already registered and interest is growing rapidly,” Keely said. The aim of the walk is to reach $120,000, which will complete the $380,000 needed to employ the first childhood cancer nurse in a community. Imagine you have survived 30 radiation sessions, sixty rounds of chemotherapy… and six brain surgeries. Keely Johnson has done this, and more, and in May, she, together with her fellow fundraisers, will walk the notoriously challenging 96-kilometre Kokoda Track. “Unlike other Kokoda walks, this one will be slower: no daily goals and walkers go at their own pace,” Keely said, “we will be walking in the steps of heroes, for heroes." Weblink – www.goldenoctopusfoundation.org.au. Harriet wins Aristocrat
The competition, finalised tonight at Wests Diggers in Country Music Capital, Tamworth, featured a performance from Harriet that included a song she wrote with Shane Nicholson at the Dag Sheep Station Songwriters Retreat in July 2019. "The talent again this year was phenomenal," said co-ordinator Gina Timms, "making it extremely tough for the judges. "This is my 28th year judging and, gosh, our future of Australian country music is in good hands for a long time to come with all this amazing talent." Senior placegetters in the competition were runners-up Queensland sister trio Vixens of Fall and, in third place, Asra Ginders from New Zealand. New Zealand’s Ocean Waitokia won the Nathaniel O’Brien Encouragement Award. "Twelve year Sarah Hamze took out the junior section after a dynamic performances in her heat and grand final," Gina said. On his first visit to the Country Music Capital, Dennis Comino was junior runner-up and Keely Swlika took out the third spot. Prizes for the competition included $2000 cash to the senior winner plus 10 hours recording time while the junior winner pocketed $700. Photo: Harriet during one of her performances at Tamworth this year. Photo: Bob McGahan. Weblink – www.wtlc.com.au.
Sammy White has won Toyota Star Maker 2020. Originally from Townsville, Sammy is now based in Newcastle and has already released two successful singles – Drowning My Sorrows and I Can't Outrun You – from an upcoming EP. Sammy won the title from nine fellow contenders, El Cosgrove, Hannah May, Zoey Mills, Leigha Moore, Juliet Oliver, Taylor Pfeiffer, Clancy Pye, Chloe Styler and Jarred Taylor. Weblink – www.starmaker.com.au.
Hands of Fame inductees announced Five new hands will be imprinted in Australia's Country Music Hands of Fame cornerstone next Saturday (January 25). The inductees were announced at a ceremony at the Australian Country Music Hall of Fame. They are (pictured below, from left)... Catherine Britt, Travis Collins, the Gottani sisters Jenny and Pauline) and Eddie Tapp.
The Hall of Fame also announced inductees into the Australian Country Music Broadcasters Hall of Fame... Graham Bell and Ian Crombie (pictured above right). A final accolade announced yesterday was a recipient of the Eric Watson Literary Award... Ted Egan. The award is named in honour of Australia's most prolific historian, the late Eric Watson. Weblink – www.countrymusichalloffame.com.au. Queen entrants This year's Queen of Country Music Quest in Tamworth has drawn nine entrants. They are Siobhan Carroll, Terleea Crowe, Felicity Hubbard, Lauren Hunt, Emily Lysaght, Roya Moddi, Carissa Ryan, Susie Rixon and Jasmine Whitten.
The entrants were presented with their sashes this morning (Friday). The quest aims to find two young women to act as ambassadors for the Tamworth Region and the Tamworth Country Music Festival with their roles involving many official and some informal duties at the Festival. Also, "entrants must have a genuine interest in, and good knowledge of, the Tamworth region and the Tamworth Country Music Festival." National Guitar Museum opens Australia's National Guitar Musem has opend in Tamworth, Australia's Country Music Capital. The Museum is located with the Country Music Gallery of Stars wax museum behind the iconic big Golden Guitar, a very appropriate location according to Tamworth Mayor Col Murray during an opening address this evening. It will open to the public tomorrow (Saturday January 18. The Australian National Guitar Museum currently features more than 45 guitars, including the likes of Smoky Dawson’s original rifle guitar from the 1950s era when he was reigning supreme on radio, records and in comics, Tommy Emmanuel’s first Maton guitar from the start of his career along with one of his much-used Fender guitars, the two final and customised guitars that belonged to Slim Dusty, made by Maton for the exclusive Slim Line, along with a number of signed guitars, including from Keith Urban, One of the which played at his Nissan Stadium Performance in Nashville in 2015 says “Tamworth, where it all began”, referring to the city and the festival as the launch pad for his music career. A number of signed guitars from high profile American country stars Brooks & Dunn, Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers are also featured, together with non country acts like The Eagles, Brian May (Queen) and Paul Stanley (Kiss). Country Music Manager at Tamworth Regional Council Barry Harley said: “the guitars we have been gifted are a tribute to Tamworth’s reputation – something that we... are so proud of." The collection of guitars in the Museum is complemented by a world-class photographic exhibition, famously exhibited and captured over the years by Chuck Bradley. The exhibition, titled “Instrumental” is an illuminating picture collection of guitars and other instruments from country and rock icons such as Troy Cassar-Daley, Guns ‘n’ Roses, INXS, Midnight Oil, Archie Roach and more. The collection will continuously grow as Chuck is still photographing. "To quote Paul Kelly, 'from little things big things grow' – we have great plans for the growth and expansion of the National Guitar Museum over time," Barry said. "This is just the beginning of our collection but all in all we are thrilled to add another fantastic facility to our region that visitors will be able to enjoy not only throughout The Festival, but year-round.”
Country music everywhere in Tamworth One of the unique features of the annual Tamworth Country Music Festival is the number of different venues and venue types that provide entertainment to the crowds during the 10 day event.
All four of Country Music Capital's major shopping centres have entertainment for between four and the entire 10 days. The Atrium Shopping Centre (previously the Tamworth Arcade) will be running a substantial program on every day of the festival. Performers will include Aaron D'Arcy, Benny Allen, Glenn Bidmead, Ian Burns, Blake Dantier, Peter Dawson, Destiny Band Oz, D Henry Fenton, Rick Ferret, Mariah Jane Duo, Sally Jane, Emma Jene, Keely Johnson, Tony Kennelly, Felicity Kircher, Dianne Lindsay, Tom Maxwell, Renee McAlpin, Becci Nethery, Kora Naughton, John O'Dea, Gayle O'Neil, Rory Phillips, Ben Ransom, Piper Rodrigues, Cush Ryder, Brendan Smoother, the String Loaded Celtic Fiddle Band, Georgie Taylor and Trinity Woodhouse. Tamworth Shoppingworld has a nine day program (Friday to Saturday) featuring… Bo’Ness Duo, The Bushwackers, Brad Butcher, Piper Butcher, Paul Costa, Ella & Sienna, Melanie Gray, Haystack Mounain Hermits, Johanna Hemara, Hillbilly Goats, Homegrown, Hurricane Fall, Katie Jayne, Felicity Kircher, Amber Lawrence, Cassi Marie, Montgomery Church, Chad Morgan, Taylor Moss, The Pigs, Redneck Gentlemen, Bryce Sainty, SaltbushSix, Colt Seavers, Aleyce Simmonds, Sky Valley, Sweet Jelly Rolls, Jarred Taylor and Vixens Of Fall. Tamworth Square has a six day program (Monday to Saturday) with... 8 Second Ride, Elias Bartholomeo, Fred Bear, Chelsea Berman, Sophia Chesworth, Jessica Emily-Odgers, Jess Ferris, Asra Ginders, Della Harris, Missy Lancaster, Joel Bear Mckay, Leigha Moore, Gayle O’Neil, Juliet Oliver, Taylor Pfeiffer, Eddie Rawk & The Racketeers, Karen Thomson and Dani Young. Centrepoint Shipping Centre has a four day schedule (Tuesday to Friday) with James Blundell, Catherine Britt, Brothers3, Lachlan Bryan & The Wildes, Kristy Cox, Adam Eckersley Band, Andrew Farriss, D Henry Fenton, Haystack Mountain Hermits, Hurricane Fall, Bec Lavelle, Montgomery Church, Melanie Dyer, Fanny Lumsden, Tammy Moxon, Kora Naughton, Andy Nelson, Becci Nethery, Ben Ransom, Sara Storer, Aleyce Simmonds, Smith & Jones, Vixens of Fall, Weeping willows and The Wolfe Brothers. Many of the artists at Centrepoint and Shoppingworld tie there performances in with retail promotion with, respectively, JB HiFi and Sanity. Country Under The Vines Country Under The Vines has become one of the Tamworth Country Music Festival's most iconic events.
New England-North West Ronald McDonald House Community Engagement Co-ordinatior Rebecca Barry said the event was a vital part of supporting regional families. "We're 100 per cent community owned and operated and we rely on the community to help keep families close to their sick children," she said. "Our volunteers are amazing people who offer their help at no cost, but still we have bills to pay to ensure we can keep families together. "This year, we are aiming to provide 220 nights of accommodation to local families from the funds we raise at this event. "We're really looking to make this year's event a special event and hope that a big crowd comes along. Country Under The Vines begins at the Longyard Hotel from 11.30am on Sunday January 19 with tickets available at the door or at tickets via oztix.com.au As well as a day of music, the event will host raffles, auctions and collection buckets. Balladeers Homestead at Tamworth One of the most unique venues at any country music festival can be found at the annual Tamworth Country Music Festival in January... the Balladeers Homestead. Successfully operating for some time now, the venue on the Sydney Road which, for most of the year is actually the Salvation Army complex, becomes a permanent home for Australian bush balladeers during the festival run by the Australian Bush Balladeers Association (ABBA). The Homestead operates from the first official day of the Festival – Friday January 17 – through to and including Friday January 24 with numerous concerts, shows and walkups. Artists appearing in 2020 will include Kylie Adams-Collier, Alexis & Suzie Duo, Marcia Armstrong, Lloyd Back, Greg Bain,, Denise Barnett, Alice Benfer, Owen Blundell, Jeff Brown, Pat Brown, Jeanette Parsons Cains, Kylie Castle, Peter Coad & The Coad Sisters, Virginia, & Lynette Coad, Ashley Cook, Malcolm Doyle, Greg Dillon, Laura Downing,, Malcolm Doyle, David Elson, Ray Essery, Bruce Forbes, Angus Gill, Lilly Goller, Terry Gordon, Johnny Greenwood, The Gunbarrell Highwaymen, Sarah Hamze, Jim Hermel, Wayne Horsburgh, Tom & Talia Kennedy, Anne Kirkpatrick, Lachie & Georgia, Brian Larkin, Cheryl Lethlean, Brian Letton, Dianne Lindsay & Peter Simpson, Ken (Chainsaw) Lindsay, Dusty Mann, Tom & Phil Manning, Tom Maxwell, Peter Monaghan & Denise Parker, Robyn Norton, John O'Dea, Jim O’Neill, Rhonda Owen, Rod Owen, Brian Pattison, Lorraine Pfitzner, Noel Pohlmann, Reg Poole, Bill Rowland, Tracey Rowland, Sandy Rasmussen, Rebel, Anita Ree, Runaway Dixie, Amy Ryan, Ron Sadler, John & Christine Smith, Ken Smith, Pete Smith, Col Thomson, Trevor Tolton, Mike Tyne, Ian Wilkinson and Geoff Williams.
Two special shows at the Homestead will be the Brian Young Tribute Concert raising funds raising funds for Country Music Capital's Bronze Bust Association and the Country Music Hall of Fame Fundraiser. Stars of the Hall of Fame Fundraiser will include Kylie Adams-Collier, Tom Chesterfield, Lynette Coad, Graham Doubleday, Jim Hermel, Virginia Hermel, Phil Manning, Chad Morgan, Patti Morgan, Dave Prior and Col Thomson with host Lorraine Pfitzner. For the duration of the Balladeers Homestead, the Salvation Army will operate a canteen. Full details of artists, shows, days and times can be found at the ABBA website here. The Association will hold its annual general meeting at the Homestead at 2pm Saturday January 25. A spokesman also said: "Due to ongoing drought and bushfires some artists previously advertised in the Balladeers Bulletin and also the Official Tamworth Gig Guide will be unable to attend. We have done our best to update our program of these changes as advised. Photo: a pic from one of the many shows at the Homestead last year. Lee equals Slim's Golden Guitar record
And come January 25, there is a very good chance Lee will overtake Slim as he is a finalist in eight of the judged categories to be announced on Awards night. Lee's tally hit 37 in 2018. Troy Cassar-Daley joined Lee on the magic number when he took home the Heritage Golden Guitar last January. Fellow finalists for the the top selling award, given for the highest selling album in 2019, of new material first released in 2019, were Amber Lawrence's Spark, Dan Mullins' Duende, Sara Storer's Raindance and Felicity Urquhart's Frozen Rabbitt. Backroad Nation was released in May 2019 and produced by award-winning Australian songwriter/producer Lindsay Rimes. It debuted at number one on the ARIA Country Albums Chart and has at numerous times since. Weblink – www.country.com.au. Top Aussie albums 2019 ARIA – the Australian Recording Industry Association – has released its annual charts for 2019. Eleven Australian albums feature in the country top 50, more than 20 percent which is a better than average result given the dominance of foreign release in the Australian music industry.
Lee Kernaghan – Australia’s leading locally based country recording artist – has taken the number one spot with his latest studio album Backroad Nation. Morgan Evans – Australia’s most successful new act on the international scene – is at number two with Things That We Drink To. Keith Urban – our most successful country music export ever – takes third place with his latest studio album Graffiti U (and holds four of the 11 places with his studio album Ripcord and the two “best of” collections, The Story So Far and Greatest Hits: 18 Kids). And Slim Dusty – the nation’s most prolific country recording artist – is in fourth place with his best of collection The Very Best Of Slim Dusty which hit a massive 1078 weeks in the chart at the end of 2019 (more than 20 years in total). The full listing is…
Weblink – www.ariacharts.com.au. People's Choice announce second round of artists and bushfire fundraiser Organisers of the Australian Country Music People's Choice Awards have announced the second, and final, round of performers at this year's Awards and a bushfire victims fundraiser.
They join previously announced Benny Allen, Brothers3, Ian Burns, Peter Dawson, Destiny Band Oz, Laura Downing, Mason Hope, Emma Jene, Shaza Leigh, Dianne Lindsay & Peter Simpson, The Long & Short Of It, John O'Dea and Graham Rodger. In announcing the final round of artists, spokesman for the organisers Bob Kirchner said the decision had been made to dedicate 25 percent of total net ticket sales to go to assist victims of the bushfires currently ravaging parts of Australia. "Funding arrangements for the People's Choice Awards are basically to cover costs," Bob said, "but we thought it was only right that we put our bit in to help where we could. "Thousands of the voters who help decide our award winners come from areas which have been devastated by the fires." The People's Choice Awards will be staged in the newly built North West Church Auditorium (to be known as "The Chapel") on Thursday evening January 23 at 7:30pm. The new auitorium is the former 10 pin bowling alley in Anne Street, Tamworth, located next to the original church. The new space has been purpose-converted into a modern, air-conditioned performance venue. As well as the performances in the gala concert, 10 awards will be presented for Best Female and Best Male Vocal, Best Group, Best Album, Best Song, Best Bush Ballad, Best Video and Most Promising Future Star, together with two broadcast awards... Most Popular Country Music DJ and Most Popular Country Music Program or Radio Station. Tickets can be purchased via the Awards website peopleschoiceawards.com.au. TSA finalists Finalists for the 2020 Tamworth Songwriters’ Association Songwriter Salute Awards have been announced.
For Alt Country… Blake Dantier with I’d Do It Again, Lucy Parle with You’ll Never Win, Derani Sanders with This Is Me, Brian Stitt with It’s Not Quite A Ghost Town and Chloe Styler, Jenny Mitchell & George Goodfellow with Patient Heart. For Anzac Song of the Year… Peter Campbell, Brendon Walmsley with The Lost Soldier, Lloyd Clarke with Anzac’s (Biscuits From Home), Diana Davis with The Horses That Died, Ben Mawdsley & Kate Appleyard with My Soldier and John O’Dea with Another Sunrise. For Bluegrass Song of the Year… Ian Burns with The River, Allan Caswell & Damian Cafarella with Bad Politics, Peter Christie & Roger Corbett with Born Again, Virginia Hermel with What I Did and John Littrich & Neil McCann with Point Of No Return. For Bush Ballad Song of The Year… Terry Bennetts, Ray Rose & Tom Maxwell with Dust Of Australia, Allan Caswell & Manfred Vijars with Country Copper, John O’Dea with Back In Birdsville, Anita Ree with Sweet Sugar Cane and Brian Stitt with The Euco Cutter. For Comedy Novelty Song… Eric Read, Merle Shelly Jones & Lester Treuer with Wouldn’t Be Dead For Quids, David Reeve & Bruce Spiers with It’s Good To Be Alive Today, Matt Scullion with Slanguage and Paul Whittaker with A Poor Man’s Violin. For Country Ballad Song of the Year… Allan Caswell & Michael Waugh with Train To Godforsaken, Virginia Hermel with Won’t Be Here Again, Tony Kennelly with Leave The Gate Open, John O’Dea & Stuart French with Like my Old Man and Matt Scullion & Paul Grierson with Aussie As. For Country Blues Song of the Year… Geoffrey Bates & Kym Watling with In The Dead Of Night, Dave Diprose with Old School Blues, Aly Cook, Kay Bidstrup & Buzz Bidstrup with We Hold up Half the Sky, Virginia Hermel with Country In My Veins and Andrew Wrigglesworth, Laura Coates & Lachlan Bryan with Devil’s Road. For Country Rock Song of the Year… Aly Cook, Buzz Bidstrup & Kay Bidstrup with Red Dirt Road Trip, Blake Dantier with Hard Habit To Kick, Damien Hosken with Dancing With You, Renee Jonas with Hook Line And Sinker and Aaron Jurd with Hard To Breathe. For Gospel Spiritual Song… Peter Christie with Across The Jordan Wide, Patricia Cruzado & Paul Bonner-Jones with Talking To The Lord, Jason Greenwood with Horizon, Damien Hosken with Promised Land and Susan Muranty & Renee Jonas with Glorious Failures. For Lyrics Only… Lloyd Clarke with Edward Street, Dave Diprose with In My Fathers Time, Michelle Morgan with Winter’s Almost Here, Kevin Pye with The Moon Is Sending Kisses and John Walsh with The Poets Curse. For the New Songwriter of the Year Award… Aaron Jurd with Changed, Patrick Kenny with Watch It All Come Down, Tessa Libreri & Thomas Libreri with My Family And Me, Andy Penkow with This Old House and Kim Wright with Home. For Novice Songwriting… Felicity Dowd with Wouldn’t Change A Thing, Kelsey Giarola with Bonnie Road, Garry Jones with Kalgoolie Dreaming, Annalise McHugh with River Run Dry and Derani Sanders with Drive South. For Traditional Country Song of the Year… Lloyd Back with Everyone Has A Story, Laura Downing with The Guardian, Virginia Hermel with Red Flowers, Justin Landers with A Campfire Waltz and Anita Ree with Webb Brothers. For Youth Songwriting… Felicity Dowd with Wouldn’t Change A Thing, Mackenzie Lee Hall with These Old Boots, Grace Mae with Doesn’t Matter Anyway, Lucy Parle with You’ll Never Win and Trinity Woodhouse with The Real You. Weblink – www.tsaonline.com.au. Big line-up for The Atrium Country Music Capital's The Atrium Shopping Centre is gearing up for another big January festival announcing the current line-up today.
The major feature act this year – with six performances – is the very popular String Loaded Celtic Fiddle Band (pictured). A number of special showcases with finalists in this year's Australian Country Music People's Choice Awards will run daily at 1pm. Finalists booked in so far are Ian Burns, Della Harris, Emma Jene and Dianne Lindsay. The Pub Group offering for Tamworth Festival Another major venue group in Country Music Capital is The Pub Group and again, for 2020, the four hotels have a substantial line-up of artists and special shows.
Next up is The Pub (the first venue established by the Group on the Gunnedah Road) with artists including Kevin Bennett & The Flood, James Ellis & The Swinging Guys, The Family Circle, Charlie Fittler Band, Stuie French, Hillbilly Goats, John Krsulja, Brendan Nawrocki, Shane Nicholson and Lucky Oceans. Special events at The Pub will include the Slim Dusty tribute show Travellin' Still and activitis like the Bill Chambers Sessions like The Pub Songs & Stories and a fundraiser for farmers. Prior to the Festival's official start, The Pub will host a special concert for participants at the 2020 Australian Academy of Country Music currently underway. The concert is on tomorrow night (January 10) at 8pm.
Special events at The Family include Remembering Reg Lindsay on the Monday afternoon. And finally, there is the Southgate Inn with an artist roster including Blues Bombers, Cruisin' Deuces, Eight Second Ride, Eric Grothe & The Gurus, Katie Jayne, Tyson Lucas, Chris Matthews Band, Redneck Gentlemen, Eddie Rawk & The Racketeers, Colt Seavers Band, Sky Valley, The Sweet Jelly Rolls Zac & George, Jarred Taylor and The Water Runners. Southgate also wiill have a number of special sessions including a Junior Academy Showcase, Country Young Guns and Songs & Stories. Weblink – www.thepub.com.au. Early arrivals for Tamworth Festival As is the case every year, a small number of visitors to the annual Tamworth Country Music Festival have already taken up residence in the northern NSW city. Both regulars and first-timers are among those who have settled in for the duration with many more expected to roll in in the next couple of weeks.
These will ultimately be joined by the many thousands who stay in local hotel, motel and Air BNB accommodation and the tens of thousands of day visitors from the broader regions. And, of the course, the many who call on the hospitality of friends and family. Many will have visited before – indeed, records of 10, 20, 30 and even 40 years are claimed. And just as many will have taken the opportunity to experience arguably the world's biggest country music festival – Nashville is substantial but not as varied or as concentrated over a longer period of time. Visitors come for the music, the friendship, the partying but mostly, the experience which cannot be obtained anywhere else in the world. And when it comes to the music, visitors experience some of the best in the world... bar none. From old-style and traditional ballads and "hillbilly" to the more modern, more contemporary country through to the still more rocky style. This year is the 48th Tamworth Country Music Festival which began in 1978 as a three day activity over the then January long weekend. Today, an aggregate of more than 300,000 people visit the city across the 10 days which features more than 700 artists and 2800 shows at dozens of venues throughout the city and nearby towns. Photo: from a previous year, just one of the many caravan/camping areas in Tamworth during the annual country music festival. Weblink – www.tcmf.com.au. Ownership of iconic Big Golden Guitar passes to Tamworth Council Tamworth Regional Council – co-ordinators of the annual January festival in Country Music Capital – are now owners of the iconic tourism icon the Big Golden Guitar.
The New England Highway landmark adds to the council's growing portfolio of country music assets. Council took over the associated visitor centre, cafe and wax museum earlier this year which is expected to reopen shortly after an extended period of renovation which will include a national guitar museum. The centre incorporates the city's visitor information centre. "The (Big Golden Guitar) is seen as an Australian icon and is one of the most visited and photographed sites in Australia," said Bridget Guthrie, Council's Regional Gallery & Museums Director. "Many tourists and country music fans who pass through Tamworth stop to have their photo taken in front of the Big Golden Guitar. The monument was build by former Tamworth Mayor Warwick Bennett and Festival founder Max Ellis. It was unveiled in 1988, Australia's Bicentennial Year, by Slim Dusty. The fibreglass structure stands 12 metres tall and weighs half a ton. First artists announced for People's Choice Awards Organisers of the Australian Country Music People's Choice Awards have announced the first line-up of artists who will appear at the 2020 presentation in January. In alphabetical order, they are Benny Allen, Brothers3, Ian Burns, Peter Dawson, Destiny Band Oz, Laura Downing, Mason Hope, Emma Jene, Shaza Leigh, Dianne Lindsay & Peter Simpson, The Long & Short Of It, John O'Dea and Graham Rodger.
The 2020 Awards – compered by Steve Passfield – will be staged at the North West Church Auditorium in Anne Street at 7:30pm Thursday January 23. Awards will be presented in 10 categories... Best Female and Best Male Vocal, Best Group, Best Album, Best Song, Best Bush Ballad, Best Video and Most Promising Future Star, together with the two broadcast awards, Most Popular Country Music DJ and Most Popular Country Music Program or Radio Station. Tickets for the Awards can be purchased here, or by clicking the link at the website www.peopleschoiceawards.com.au. Pictured – top (from left): Benny Allen, Brothers3, Ian Burns; middle – Peter Dawson, Destiny Band Oz, Laura Downing, Mason Hope, Emma Jene; bottom – Shaza Leigh, Dianne Lindsay & Peter Simpson, The Long & Short Of It, John O'Dea, Graham Rodger. Wests line-up for Tamworth 2020 In the first of a series looking at major Tamworth Country Music Festival venues, we cover one of the biggest, the Wests Entertainment Group. Wests comprises three venues – the original West Tamworth League Club in Phillip Street, Wests Diggers (formerly Tamworth RSL Club) in Kable Avenue and The Courts @ East (formerly the Tamworth Tennis Club), The original Wests venue in Phillip Street has the biggest line-up, closely followed by Wests Diggers. As a much smaller venue, The Courts doesn't usually have entertainment during the Festival.
Major events at Wests for January 2020 include the annual Academy of Country Music Graduation Concert, the Country Turns Pink fundraiser concert, the annual Maton Showcase, Music For Mates 2020 in Support of R U OK and the Tomkins Guitar Showcase. A special event at Wests this January will be Friends Of Goonga's Girls, a concert for Tia and Ellie Hannah and tribute to their Dad Glen Hannah. At Diggers, headline acts include Cornell & Carr, Laura Downing, Buddy Goode, The Gunbarrel Highwaymen (Owen Blundell, Terry Gordon & Reg Poole), The Sherrahs and Rodney Vincent. A major event at Diggers is the annual Aristocrat Entertainer of the Year Quest while Wests will host the annual Mount Franklin Junior Talent Quest. Both Wests and Diggers will have daily breakfast shows... Peter Denahy at Wests and Darren Carr at Diggers. Across both venues, dozens of rising stars and established acts will appear in free and paid shows, including Luke Austen, Catherine Britt, Pete Cullen & The Hurt, Will Day, Jayne Denham, Luke Dickens, Royden Donohue, Libby O'Donovan, Stuie French, The Gottani Sisters, Errol Gray, Johanna Hemara, The Hillbilly Goats, Marie Hodson, Homegrown, Dale Hooper, Travis List, Michelle Little, Finn MacCool, Montgomery Church, Dan Murphy, Gayle O'Neil, Linc Phelps, Wendy Phypers, Dave Prior, Ben Ransom, Sally-Anne & The Rumour Mill, Jerry Salley, Saltbushsix, Lucky Starr, John Stephan, Anthony Taylor, Jonny Taylor, Kaitlyn Thomas, Gina Timms, The Toe Sucking Cowgirls and Tornado Alley Cats. Off country, Wests Scully Park ground will play host to Cold Chisel as part of the band's Blood Moon Tour with special guests Troy Cassar-Daley, Kasey Chambers, Charlie Collins and Paul Kelly. Jimmy Barnes has a strong country connection sharing the Vocal Collabroration Golden Guitar win in 2006 with Troy for Bird On A Wire and band member Don Walker is renowned in Australian country music for his songwriting, especially for the late Slim Dusty, most notably Charleville and Looking Forward Looking Back. Full details of Wests program, event timing and ticket sales can be obtained from the website wtlc.com.au. Pictured (from left): Kasey Chambers, Beccy Cole and Adam Harvey. Tamworth 2020 – definitely happening Tamworth Regional Council – co-ordinators of the annual Toyota Country Music Festival – have answered media queries as to whether the 2020 festival will go ahead with a resounding "yes".
Following a number of inquiries to Council, a spokesman said it was a fair concern that had come about due to the current drought conditions and especially water restrictions around the country including in Tamworth. Like many other areas, Tamworth is experiencing drought but Council has taken steps to ensure that not only is the Tamworth water supply safe for the medium term, extra consumption at festival time would not increase beyond a manageable level. Indeed, Council was at pains to point out that, like many other communities now relying on tourism, not having the festival would create great risk to the local economy. In regard to the water situation, "everyone will be reminded to use water wisely while enjoying activities and events at the festival". Meanwhile, Council has also announced an earlier availability of the 2020 Festival Guide, one week earlier than the previous two years. Posted yesterday to people who pre-ordered, The Guide will be in newsagents and other outlets (hotels, motels, music stores, tourism centres) who have expressed interest in selling the pubication early this week. The official Festival app is now also available for download from the App Store and Googleplay. Tamworth 2020 runs officially from Friday, January 17 to Sunday, January 26 although Country Music Capital has plenty of other activity in January, especially in the week leading up to the main festival event. Weblink – www.tcmf.com.au. People’s Choice finalists After a slight delay due to increased voter numbers, finalists have been announced for the 2020 Australian Country Music People’s Choice Awards.
Several new or relatively new acts – Ian Burns, Destiny Band Oz, Della Harris and Gayle O’Neil – also feature with three finalist placings each. This year’s Best Female Vocal winner Dianne Lindsay features in three finalist placings, one in her own right for Best Female Vocal and two with husband Peter Simpson, for Best Bush Ballad and Most Popular Country Music DJs. Shaza Leigh has scored two finalist placings, for Best Female Vocal and Best Album. See full listing below. The 2020 People’s Choice Awards will be staged in its regular timeslot during the annual Tamworth Country Music Festival, Thursday evening of the main festival week (January 23 in 2020) from 7pm. This year, the Awards will be held in a “newish” venue… the Northwest Church Auditorium in Anne Street, South Tamworth. “Although we have been at this venue several times before,” said Bob Kirchner, a spokesman for the organisers, “the church has built a new auditorium on the block next to the original building. “It’s bigger and much nicer so we’re really looking forward to the 2020 presentations.” The Awards Show regularly has performances by many of the year’s awards finalists and is often touted as one of the best events of the entire 10 days. Here’s the full listing of finalists… For Best Female Vocal… Laura Downing, Della Harris, Shaza Leigh, Dianne Lindsay and Gayle O’Neil. For Best Male Vocal… Benny Allen, Ian Burns, Peter Dawson, Aaron Jurd and Graham Rodger. For Best Group or Duo… Brothers3, Destiny Band Oz, The Long & Short Of It, The Silverline and Souly Us. For Best Album… Brand New Day by Brothers3, Changes by Destiny Band Oz, Ringers In The Sky by Graham Rodger, Two Sides Of Me by Ian Burns and Where Our Heart Lives. For Best Song… Another Day by Brothers3 (written by Makirum Fahey-Leigh & Shardyn Fahey-Leigh), Love Don’t Live Here by Ian Burns (written by Ian Burns), Open Arms by Gayle O’Neil (written by Gayle O’Neil & M Cashin), Roll Of A Dice by Della Harris (written by Della Harris & C Oung) and Sunrise On The Katherine by Graham Rodger (written by Graham Rodger & B Jacobs). For Best Bush Ballad… The Drover’s Friend by John O’Dea (written by John O’Dea) Out There by Dianne Lindsay & Peter Simpson (written by Peter Simpson), Stanley & Slim by Peter Dawson (written by Peter Dawson), Sweet Sugar Cane by Anita Ree (written by Anita Ree) and Where The Three Rivers Flow by Graham Rodger (written by Graham Rodger). For Best Video… Alive by Souly Us, Never Knew I Was Country by Benny Allen, Open Arms by Gayle O’Neil, Peace Of Mind by Destiny Band Oz and Southern by Mark Fitzsummoms. For Most Promising Future Star… Charlie Fittler, Della Harris, Mason Hope, Emma Jene and Aaron Jurd. For Most Popular Country Music DJ… Rhonda Francis (2SSR Sydney, NSW), Alan Gilmour (Today’s Country 94 One, Central Coast, NSW), Dianne Lindsay & Peter Simpson (Australian Bush Ballad Show), Sandy Sweeney (2ARM FM Armidale, NSW) and Pam Taylor (KLFM Bendigo, Vic). For Most Popular Country Music Radio Station or Program… Australian Country Songwriters Show (Today’s Country 94 One), Good Morning Country (CBAA), KIX FM, My Kinda Country (2SSR Sydney) and Today’s Country 94 One. Country stars at Carols
Last night, Adam Harvey headlined an event in Lismore (NSW) while, on Saturday night, Brothers3 (pictured) were special guests at Carols on the Gold Coast. Saturday night also saw Amber Lawrence and Shannon Noll appear at Adelaide Carols by Candlelight. Thursday, December 19, Shannon will join Travis Collins, Andy and Deb Saunders and the NSW State of Origin Team in Taree for Carols in the Park to support bushfire victims. Two of the biggest events coming up are Sydney's Carols in the Domain, set for Saturday December 21, and Melbourne's Carols by Candlelight which always run on Christmas Eve. Adam Brand and Shannon Noll will be among guest artists in Sydney while Travis Collins and Amber Lawrence are on the line-up in Melbourne. Weblinks – www.carolsinthedomain.com • carols.visionaustralia.org. TSA Semi Finalists 2020 Semi finalists have been announced for the Tamworth Songwriter Association 2020 awards and competitions.
Categories are Novice Songwriting (now named after the late Garry Koehler), Youth Songwriting (the John P Toomey Commemorative Award), Lyrics Only, Gospel Spiritual, Bluegrass, Country Blues, Comedy/Novelty (the Geoff Mack Commemorative Award), Country Rock, Alt Country, Country Ballad, Traditional Country (the Bev Daniel Commemorative Award), Bush Ballad, New Songwriter and Anzac Song of the Year. Weblink (for full listing) – www.tsaonline.com.au. Live Music Award winners
For the first time in the Awards histry, the Country honour was tied with Kasey Chambers and The Waifs annunced as joiny winners. Deborah Conway was inducted as into the Awards “Live Legend” hall of fame. Leanne de Souza, an artist manager for more than 25 years and head of the Association of Artist Managers for three years, was presented with the night's biggest industry award. Awards Board Member Damian Cunningham said: “Yet again through the nominees and winners tonight we have seen the overwhelming talent that Australia has to offer!" Weblink – www.nlmas.com.au. Tamworth Festival Cavalcade alert Tamworth Regional Council – co-ordinators of the annual January country music festival – have issued an alert to visiting artists, in particular, relating to entries in the 2020 Cavalcade.
"The online application portal has been 'live' for several months now but very few applications have been received," according to a Council spokesman. "It isn't unusual to have a flood of late applications but it will not be possible now to accept any after January 2." Weblink – tcmf.com.au/cavalcade. Special video for Emma's The Drovers Emma Dykes has unveiled the video for her latest single The Drovers, a song inspired by a 4,500km fundraising adventure named The Drovers Run which Emma was asked to take part in as both a musician and Rural Emergency Nurse. The off-road 4WD journey raised money for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter. Emma, along with co-writer Matt O’Leary, asked participants to write down what the chopper meant to them and The Drovers was born.
“I’m very grateful,” Emma said, “because I wanted the clip to show a day in the life of the rescue staff. To show the important tasks they complete and just how emotionally invested they are. In a broader sense, both the song and the video are about the emergency services in general. They’re from all walks of life and do an incredible job. I also noticed they included a quick shot of me!” The Drovers marks the intersection of Emma's two professional passions: music and nursing. Golden Guitar winner Luke O’Shea commented that Emma's empathy and strength (essential to being a registered nurse) “transcends through her voice and into her beautiful songs”, while The Reviewers Inkpot noted that “her beautiful debut album Pay It Forward is nothing short of passionate, emotional, inspiring and honest”. The single Pay It Forward also placed fifth in the Country category of the Australian Songwriters Competition. It won Song of the Year at the Oz Country Downunder Blue Diamond Awards too, at which Emma earned a nod for Female Vocalist of the Year. With more than 4,500 kilometres behind her, Emma is set to continue her musical and nursing journey by land and air, "resuscitating people with her songwriting talent and unforgettable voice". Emma is currently on tour with a series of dates culminating during the upcoming Tamworth Country Music Festival. Weblink – www.emmadykes.com. Morgan wins 2019 Country ARIA
He snatched the honour from fellow finalists Lee Kernaghan (with Backroad Nation), Felicity Urquhart (Frozen Rabbit), Sara Storer (Raindance) and Charlie Collins (Snowpine). Things That We Drink to currently sits at number one on the all Austraian Country Albums Chart and number five on the ARIA Country Albums Chart after 58 weeks in. Paul Kelly won Best Adult Contemporary Album with Nature. The Awards were held in Sydney. Weblink – ariaawards.com.au. Gidgee winners Jeff Brown has taken top honours at this year's Gidgee Coal Bush Ballad Awards held at Pittsworth, Qld, winning or sharing in three award categories.
Laura Downing was announced as winner of the female vocal award for Home Is Waiting Here. Dianne Lindsay & Peter Simpson won in group or duo/collaboration for their song Out There. The instrumental award went to Lindsay Hammond with Big Gulf Rivers and Comedy/Novelty was won by Ashley Cook with Two Day Course. Gidgee Coal Awards "legend: status was conferred on Kev Groves and Bud Thomson & Lynne Bennett. Visit the Awards facebook page for more information.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2019 Country Spirit for bushfire victims Two major fund-raising concerts to benefit those on the frontline of the devastating bushfires sweeping NSW and Queensland will be staged in Gosford and Tamworth in coming weeks. Driven by Tamworth's Chris Watson and presented by Toyota Country Music Festival Tamworth, the concerts will run under Country 4 Our Country banner. Tickets are on sale now for both shows, with the first to be held at the West Tamworth League Club on Friday November 29, the second at the Central Coast Leagues Club on Sunday December 1.
Dozens of artists and organisations have come on board to support the concerts which will raise funds for The Salvation Army Disaster Appeal. Motivated by the plight of Australians facing unprecedented drought conditions prior to the outbreak of bushfires across the country, Chris Watson was determined to make a difference to affected communities.
“Losing lives, homes and our beautiful wildlife certainly makes you realise we have a lot of healing ahead. We are so thankful to those working on the frontline including firefighters and it’s times like these that the Aussie country spirit is needed more than ever.” The first artist to put his hand up in support and join the line up was multi-award winning star Travis Collins (pictured). “What I love most about being Australian is that we all chip in and help our mates, neighbours, or even strangers when they're having a rough time… it’s who we are,” he said. “These latest bushfires have cost many Aussies their homes, their livelihoods and sadly for some, their loved ones. So whilst our brave emergency services and volunteers continue to work to bring these fires under control, we’ll be rolling up our sleeves and doing what we know, helping through music. I hope that everyone can get behind us, as we all get behind those who need us right now.” Travis will be joined in Tamworth by Catherine Britt (pictured), Ashleigh Dallas (pictured), Rex Dallas, Brooke Lambert, Dan Murphy, Aleyce Simmonds and special guests. At Gosford, he’ll be joined by stars including Catherine Britt, Mike Carr, Darren Coggan, Ashleigh Dallas, Buddy Goode, the Viper Creek Band and special guests. Country 4 Our Country is supported by Chris Watson Travel, Australian Community Media, Thrifty, West Tamworth League Club, Central Coast Leagues Club, Today’s Country 94.1 and 2TM/92.9FM. Tickets can be purchased via the venue websites in Tamworth, www.wtlc.com.au and Gosford, www.cclc.com.au. Star Maker 2020 finalists Finalists have been announced for the 2020 Toyota Star Maker Quest. They are (from left below)... El Cosgrove (from Dalby, Qld), Hannah May (Mount Cotton, Qld), Zoey Mills (Mackay, Qld), Leigha Moore (Sunshine Coast, Qld), Juliet Oliver (McLaren Vale, SA); and (from left at bottom)... Taylor Pfeiffer (Adelaide, SA), Clancy Pye (Orange, NSW), Chloe Styler (Gold Coast, Qld), Jarred Taylor (Tamworth, NSW) and Sammy White (Townsville, Qld).
The 10 will come together to vie for Australia's most significant country music talent search in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival. Next year will be the 41st staging of the event which has been responsible for launching the careers of numerous Australian country stars including Kirsty Lee Akers, Lyn Bowtell, James Blundell, Darren Coggan, Beccy Cole, Travis Collins, Gina Jeffreys, Lee Kernaghan and Keith Urban. The competition grand final will be held at Country Music Capital's Bicentennial Park on Sunday January 18. Weblink – www.starmaker.com.au. Andrew named Ambassador for the Dog on the Tuckerbox Country star Andrew Swift has been named the official Ambassador for the iconic Dog on the Tuckerbox at Gundagai (NSW).
“I’m truly honoured and absolutely stoked with the (Cootamundra Gundagai Regional) Council’s decision to make me ambassador for Gundagai’s beloved dog,” Andrew said. “It is definitely a title I will wear with pride… it means a lot to me and I hope that I can make the locals proud with my representation for their Dog on the Tuckerbox in all my travels both nationally and abroad. “I once made a sweeping statement that I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to not stop and get a photo with the Dog on the Tuckerbox.” The Dog on the Tuckerbox concept came from the poem ‘Bullocky Bill’ published anonymously in the mid 1800s under the nom de plume "Bowyang Yorke"... The poem became the inspiration for the 1937 song Where The Dog Sits On The Tuckerbox by Jack O’Hagan. O’Hagan also wrote On The Road To Gundagai in 1922. Among popular covers of the song was a version by the Howie brothers band 1901 which won them the Vocal Group of the Year Golden Guitar in 1980. Weblink – www.andrewswift.com.au. Golden Guitar finalists 2020 Finalists in the 2020 Toyota Golden Guitars were announced in Sydney today. Lee Kernaghan, Sara Storer and Felicity Urquhart lead the finalist nomination count, Lee and Felicity with eight each, Sara with seven.
For Album of the Year... Morgan Evans with Things That We Drink To (producer Chris De Stefano), Lee Kernaghan with Backroad Nation (Lindsay Rimes), Amber Lawrence with Spark (Stuart Stuart), Sara Storer with Raindance (Matt Fell) and Felicity Urquhart with Frozen Rabbit (Glen Hannah). For Alt-Country Album of the Year... Kevin Bennett & The Flood with Blood Red Ties (producer Glen Hannah), Brad Butcher with Travelling Salesman (Matt Fell), Hayley Marsten with Spetacular Heartbreak (Matt Fell), Jenny Mitchell with Wildfires (Matt Fell) and Michael Waugh with The Weir (Shane Nicholson). For Contemporary Album of the Year... Busby Marou with The Great Divide (producer Oscar Dawson), Cornell and Carr with We Go Way Back (Matt Fell), Morgan Evans with Things That We Drink To (Chris De Stefano), Amber Lawrence with Spark (Stuart Stuart) and Lee Kernaghan with Backroad Nation (Lindsay Rimes). For Traditional Album of the Year... Ashleigh Dallas with Reflection (producer Brett Dallas), Angus Gill with Welcome To My Heart (Angus Gill), Gina Jeffreys with Beautiful Tangle (Rod McCormack), Sara Storer with Raindance (Matt Fell) and Felicity Urquhart with Frozen Rabbit (Glen Hannah). For Male Artist of the Year... Brad Butcher, Morgan Evans, Lee Kernaghan, Blake O'Connor and and Michael Waugh. For Female Artist of the Year... Ashleigh Dallas, Gina Jeffreys, Amber Lawrence, Sara Storer and Felicity Urquhart. For Group or Duo of the Year... Kevin Bennett & The Flood, Busby Marou, Cornell & Carr, Jetty Road and The Viper Creek Band, For Song of the Year... Backroad Nation by Lee Kernaghan (writers Lee Kernaghan, Colin Buchanan, Garth Porter, Lindsay Rimes, Phil Barton), Chain Of Joy by Felicity Urquhart (Felicity Urquhart & Kim Richey), Raindance by Sara Storer (Sara Storer, Greg Storer), Rusty Strings by Brad Cox (Brad Cox/Jackson Besley) and Sing Me A Story by Luke O'Shea & Lyn Bowtell (Luke O'Shea, Felicity Urquhart). For Vocal Collaboration of the Year... Next Year People by Sara Storer and Colin Hay, Second Hand by Andrew Swift and Gretta Ziller, Sing Me A Story by Luke O'Shea and Lyn Bowtell, Slow It Down by Felicity Urquhart featuring Karl Broadie and Till It Ends by Lee Kernaghan with The Wolfe Brother. For Bush Ballad of the Year... Country Copper by Allan Caswell (written by Allan Caswell & Manfred Vijars), The Drovers Friend by John O’Dea (John O'Dea), His Last Cattle Drive by Dean Perrett (Carmelo Cacciola), Knights Of The Saddle by Graham Rodger (Graham Rodger) and More Times Than I Remember by Jeff Brown (Jeff Brown & Kelly & Marian Dixon). For Heritage Song of the Year... Freshwater Lady by Brad Butcher (written by Brad Butcher & Vaughan Jones), Hayrunner by Sara Storer (Sara Storer), Sing Me A Story by Luke O'Shea & Lyn Bowtell (Luke O'Shea, Felicity Urquhart), The Trucks Came Through by Lee Kernaghan (Lee Kernaghan, Colin Buchanan, Garth Porter) and Where The Fruit Hangs Low by Felicity Urquhart with Shanley Del (Felicity Urquhart, Mick Thomas). For Instrumental of the Year... The Balcony Bunch by Michael Fix, Bridle Track by Mickey Pye, Death Mountain Run by Mustered Courage, Gallaghers Lane by Phil Emmanuel with Jacob Funnell and Timeless Traveller by Rod McCormack. For Bluegrass Recording of the Year... Bad Politics by Allan Caswell, Bled Me Dry by The Hillbilly Goats, Home Of Lost Lovers (The Ballad Of Glen Turner) by Mustered Courage, Shimmers by Rod McCormack and Yesterday's Heartache by Kristy Cox. For New Talent of the Year... Casey Barnes, The Buckleys, Sinead Burgess, Blake O'Connor and Seaforth. For Video Clip of the Year... Backroad Nation by Lee Kernaghan (director Jay Seeney), Chain Of Joy by Felicity Urquhart (Glen Hannah), Hey Brother by The Wolfe Brothers (Jay Seeney), Raindance by Sara Storer (Duncan Toombs) and Real Men Don’t Cry (War on Pride) by Fanny Lumsden (Dan Stanley Freeman & Fanny Lumsden). For Single of the Year... Backroad Nation by Lee Kernaghan, Chain Of Joy by Felicity Urquhart, Hey Brother by The Wolfe Brothers, Rusty Strings by Brad Cox and Young Again by Morgan Evans. Golden Guitar winners will be determined, in most categories, by a vote of Country Music Association of Australia Professional Members and will be announced in Tamworth on Saturday, January 25. In addition to the judged and voted categories, an award is also presented to the top selling Australian country music album for 2019. Weblink – country.com.au. New from Genni Multi award-winning singer/songwriter Genni Kane – ex Flying Emus, The Kanes and The Trio – has released a new album titled Songs From The Kitchen Table. Released in September, the album has "12 tracks of family, friends, Genni’s beloved village of Millthorpe, and acquaintances she’s met along the way," according to a spokesman. “The album is a trip through all the stuff you do at your kitchen table – at a surface level, it’s friends and family and the music we play around our table, but it’s also those conversations, the meal you have with someone where you find out what’s important to them or share funny stories,” Genni said.
Even after decades of writing and recording songs as a solo artist and an integral member of bands, Genni said it was a thrill when a listener felt her songs were also their stories. “They are not just my stories, but other people’s stories, too,” she said. “It’s really lovely when someone comes up and says they feel a song is about them.” Produced by her brother John Kane and mastered by Jeff McCormack, the album features the musicianship of Genni, John, Genni’s husband Jon Wilby, Christian Prusiak, Syd Green, and harmonies and a duet with Smith & Jones. “As a body of work, I’m quite proud of these songs because I feel a real connection to all the stories,” Genni said. Genni's previous album Selfies was dedicated to her friend Naomi whom she lost prior to the release of the album. Songs From The Kitchen Table is dedicated to her late father-in-law, James, who is immortalised in the final song on the album, The Captain Of The Ship. “Jim was a big part of our lives and the loss of him is still very raw,” Genni said. “His was a different experience of war than what we normally hear about in Australia where we are very much focused on the Anzac story, as we should be. But there are other stories from other cultures we should know, too. By writing the song, I was just trying to express my love for him, but also give a vehicle for his story to be told.” As an artist, Genni said her greatest goal was to be happy with the music she was producing, and this album ticked the boxes for her. “It’s the songwriting part of it that I love the most. When you get to that point and the song is done. You can hold it, and know that it’s ready and you can gently put it down and let it out into the world,” she said. Weblink – gennikane.com.au. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2019 Golden Guitar finalist announcement Finalists for the 2020 Golden Guitar Awards will be announced in Sydney on Tuesday (November 19).
The event will be live-streamed via the Festival facebook page here. Details for Tamworth 2020 are being released progressively. One of the latest items is the artist roster for the Festival Official Opening Concert on Friday evening, January 17. Stars of the show will include Lyn Bowtell, Adam Brand, Ashleigh Dallas, Buddy Knox, The Long & Short Of It, Blake O'Connor and Andrew Swift. Reigning Tamworth Busking Champion Rhys Crimmin will also appear, together with students and tutors from the 2020 Academy of Country Music. Weblink – www.tcmf.com.au. New from Tom Golden Guitar winner Tom Curtain will release his latest album –We’re Still Here – on Friday (November 15). The album follows the release of the title track in September which “sings up” the lifestyle of country people.
“We were travelling through Central Queensland on the Speak Up Tour and everything was in drought,” Tom said. “It was terrible. And then, weeks later coming back through, it was heartbreaking to see how the floods had decimated the land, the animals and affected the communities. “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.” Tom mixed deeper tracks and story songs on the new work “with rocking numbers that will have fans taking to the dance floor” according to a spokesman. But “the theme of celebrating Australia and our unique way of life flows throughout.” “Overall, I wanted to bring a smile to people listening to certain songs and inspire people out there battling to hold on and speak up in times of hardship,” Tom said. “I love storytelling and there’s a few good yarns in there as well.” The singer-songwriter said he wanted to inspire and uplift his listeners through the songs about his life, his journey and the “great people who make up this amazing country out here”. “We’re Still Here is definitely one of my favourites as it depicts the struggles the people and communities face living in rural Australia,” Tom said. Moving through the tracks, Tom’s songs take listeners from the Kimberley to his home state of the Northern Territory through to Central Queensland and back again with something for his fans of all ages. “Raised Up Right and his 2018 hit Speak Up contain positive messages we can all learn from, while Hitchhiker tells the story of how Tom met his wife, Annabel, when he was at his lowest point, and Mannuem Falls reflects on childhood memories of adventures had with his brothers growing up near Kumbia, Queensland.” One of the highlights of the album is She Gave Us The Song, a tribute to Joy McKean which sees Tom joined by Lee Kernaghan and Sara Storer on the recording. The song was written by Garth Porter and Kelly Dixon. After the release of his 2017 hit album Territory Time, Tom, Annabel, their horses, dogs (“and a few ducks”) and their team toured from the Territory through Western Australia and followed this with an extensive tour from the Territory through Western and Central Queensland, NSW and Victoria in 2018/2019. The team will be joined by Tom and Annabel’s first born Harry Hugo on his 2019/2020 tour which will take in some of the most remote parts of Australia to the coast. Tom’s shows comprise an hour of horse and working dog demonstrations followed by an hour of live music with special guests. “It’s an enormous buzz to see the people coming together and I love seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces when they see the dogs,” Tom said. “People love the interaction with the animals and feel like they get extra value from the training tips we share. It’s a very hands-on experience for the kids but also an important opportunity to bring the community together and check-in on one another.” Weblink – www.tomcurtain.com.au. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2019 The Sheik now officially iconic Chad Morgan's I'm The Sheik Of Scrubby Creek is among 10 works announced today as additions to the National Film & Sound Archive's register of culturally and historically important sound recordings that have helped shape the nation's culture.
The new titles added today include The Man From Snowy River by Leonard Teale (1956), You're The One That I Want by Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta, written by Australian musician John Farrar (1978), Up There, Cazaly by The Two-Man Band (1979) and You're The Voice by John Farnham (1986). Chad was discovered on Australia’s Amateur Hour, a radio talent contest, where he sang The Sheik (his original song) and was named a finalist. He subsequently released the song through Regal Zonophone Records (a subsidiary of EMI) in 1952. It was a hit and became his signature song. Chad toured Australia in the 1950s with the Slim Dusty Show and the All Star Western He has since released more than 20 albums and, at the age of 86, is still performing and touring around Australia. He was inducted into the Tamworth Hands of Fame in 1979, the Roll of Renown in 1987 and received the Kempsey Living Legend Award in 2002, the Order of Australia Medal in 2004 and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Golden Guitar Awards Sounds of Australia additions are taken from nominations by members of the public. Weblink – www.nfsa.gov.au/about/our-mission/sounds-australia. Matt promotes mental health awareness Rising Australian country star Matt Ward is raising awareness of rural mental wellbeing with his new single Better Man. For the South Australian artist, songwriting is all about connecting with and moving people, and nowhere is this more evident than Better Man.
“He tried to make things work on his farm… however as things got harder and harder his wife and kids ended up leaving and moving to Melbourne. He dug his heels and unfortunately eventually lost the farm, his family, everything” Matt said. “He was clearly very upset and was saying he had, had suicidal thoughts, so I wrote the song from that story.” Better Man is released on Matt’s number one album Heartland. “It’s an appropriate time to release the song and I hope to use the release to raise awareness for mental wellbeing, particularly in regional areas,” he said. “The video expresses that sentiment, too, and all album sales through October and November and all streams will be donated to the Black Dog Institute.” The Black Dog Institute has endorsed the song and Matt wants to help destigmatise mental health issues by talking about the story of Better Man and mental health awareness in itself. “Talking about it may just encourage people to think about checking in on each other.” The song already evokes plenty of emotions at live shows, with plenty of listeners being able to relate to it," Matt said. “The story behind it is connecting with people and that’s exactly what I want out of my music. Weblink – www.mattwardmusic.com.
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Tamworth – Australia’s Country Music Capital – first coined the phrase and by so doing laid claim to the title back in the 1970s more as an extension of the Country Music Capital title than a title in itself (see image, a promotional sticker distributed widely in the 1970s).
As a member of the Queensland based Modern Country Music Association (MCMA), Ross had attended many concerts and talent quests around NSW and Southern Queensland run by the group.
Michael played fiddle for the Bushwackers through the late 1970s and early 80s, on the albums Beneath The Southern Cross, Bushfire, The Bushwackers Dance Album, Down There For Dancing, Faces In The Street and Warrigal Morning.
A tribute by the Country Music Association of Australia said: “Tabbi was a very attractive, flamboyant English dancer when she met and fell in love with Geoff in the early 1950s in England.
Tabbi was also a very active member of the showbusiness charity ALVA (Australian Ladies Variety Association) for many years.
King of the Ranges this weekend
Hunter Valley country duo Chloe & James (pictured) will entertain on the Saturday while the extensive festival program also includes The K Factor (King of the Ranges karaoke), Aussie "Whip Crack'n Kids" Tyler & Jada and Beef 'n' Bush Ballads with Carol Heuchan and celebrity bush cook Ranger Nick.
Since wandering into the Richmond (Vic) studios of GTV9 in 1970 with a guitar under his arm, little did the Mallee farmer realise he’d make a 50-year career out of singing and performing.
Jacinta Byrne and Tayla Clavarino have snared the annual Capital Country Music Association (CCMA) overall champion honours.
Lincoln won two awards in his own right, Karin and Helen each won one in their own right and shared one each.
ICMA is an informal group of industry people who organise and present the fan voted awards.
The Music Network reported David Albert, Alethea Beetson and Tom Larkin (pictured, from left) would join as music industry directors replacing Mark Callaghan, Cath Haridy, Keith Potger and Fifa Riccobono, who have retired following the completion of their terms.
Tamworth City Dance Academy were successful again as winners of the commercial category in the Country Music Cavalcade street parade on the last weekend of this year's January country music festival.
The collaboration is an album titled The Lost And The Found – reference to the relatonship between the two – set for release on Friday, February 28. 
Laura wins big at Bungendore
After combining elements of the historic Capital Country Music Association talent quest and the previously instigated Rural Press Events Battle of the Young Stars, Battle of the Bands and Battle of the Bluegrass, a substantial program of talent searches is now staged each January.
Even after he retired, Bill continued as a consultant and over the years was responsible for many compilations and re-issues of historic country music material.
The duo won for the remixed collaborative version of their God Only Knows song featuring Dolly Parton.
The announcement and presentation was a fitting climax to a week-long celebration of Joy’s 90th birthday which she reached last week and celebrated at a sell-out tribute concert in Country Music Capital’s biggest venue on Wednesday with dozens of artists performing in honour of Joy and the occasion.
Keith Urban has been presented with the second highest honour in today's Australia Day honours list, an AO (Officer in the Order of Australia).
Frozen Rabbit – the album produced by Felicity's late hisband Glen Hannah – was named Album and Traditional Album of the Year while the song Chain Of Joy – written by Felicity with US songwriter Kim Richey – won Song of the Year and Single of the Year.
Graham Rodger won the prestigious Best Male Vocal gong while newcomer Della Harris was voted Best Female Vocal, her first People's Choice Award.
The full winner's list is...
During this year’s Tamworth Country Music Festival, Keely, one of Australian country music’s fastest rising young stars, is running a daily “Emerging Artist Showcase” from 10am at the Fanzone stage promoting awareness of the Foundation which has as its key objective to improve oncology facilities in all regional areas, including the implementation of childhood cancer nurses in children’s local communities.
Hillston, NSW, local and Australian Academy of Country Music graduate Harriet Kelly has won the prestigious Wests Aristcrat Entertainer of the Year quest.
Sammy wins Star Maker
A significant case in point being local shopping centres.
Raising funds for Ronald McDonald House, the eighth annual star-studded line up of music acts this year features Roo Arcus, Jasmine Atkins, Chelsea Berman, Catherine Britt, Lachlan Bryan & The Wildes, Darren Coggan, Jayne Denham, Luke Dickens, Hayley Jensen, Jetty Road, Heath Milner, Amy Nelson, Taylor Moss and Matt Ward with a number of surprise guests.
Lee Kernaghan has equalled the late Slim Dusty's record tally of 38 Golden Guitars with the announcement that his album Backroad Nation will be acknowledged at the upcoming Country Music Awards of Australia as the top selling album of the year for 2019.
The new arists announced to appear on the People's Choice 2020 stage are Della HArris, Gayle O'Neil, Anita Ree, The Silverline and Souly Us – all finalists this year – together with special guest Brendan Smoother and compere Steve Passfield.
They are…
The Atrium Festival Stage will feature a number of established and rising stars, including Glenn Bidmead, Aaron D'Arcy, Blake Dantier, Peter Dawson, D Genry Fenton, Rick Ferrett, Sally Jane, Mariah Jayne Band, Tony Kennelly, Tom Maxwell, 
A number of special events will also be held at The Longyard including a daily bush poet's breakfast, songwriter sessions and the gala TSA (Tamworth Songwriters' Association) Awards on the Wednesday night.
The third venue in the group is The Family Hotel in Bridge Street which will highlight acts like James Blundell, Liam Brew, Piper Butcher, Melanie Dyer, Jayne Denham, Eight Second Ride, Ella & Sienna, Fredbear, Homegrown, Katie Jayne, Hayley Jensen, Jake & Jackson, Kaylens Rain, Felicity Kircher, Mr Cowboy, Norm Price, Caitlyn Shadbolt, Trappa John and Michael Waugh.
Eventually, when the special caravan/camping areas open, parts of the city will resemble a huge gathing of temporary and mobile homes.
At its last meeting of the year, the Council voted unanimously to accept the city's big golden guitar as a donation through the cultural gift program.
Headline acts at Wests this coming January will include Bennett, Bowtell & Urquhart, Brothers3, Brad Butcher, Darren Carr, Kasey Chambers (pictured), Beccy Cole (pictured), Ashleigh Dallas, Pete Denahy, Adam Harvey (pictured), Wayne Horsburgh, Gina Jeffreys, Amber Lawrence, John O'Dea, Jasmine Rae, Aleyce Simmonds and Felicity Urquhart.
As is usual in times of natural disasters like drought, floods and bushfires, pundits often query whether events will take place.
Perennial favourites Brothers3 and Graham Rodger maintain their dominance of finalist numbers with three and four placings each, respectively.
As Christmas draws closer, numerous carols by candelight (and similar) events are held around the nation, and many regularly feature well known and some lesser known country acts.
Judging is currently underway to narrow the large number of competitors to a smaller number of finalists.
Last night, at eight simultaneous events around Australia, the winners of the 2019 National Live Music Awards were announced.
Due to a new security timeframe instituted by NSW Police for earlier submission of Cavalcade drivers licences, applications now have to close on Thursday, January 2.
Morgan Evans has won the 2019 ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) Award for Best Country Album with his hit release Things That We Drink To.
He won the album award for More Times Than I Remember, the title track also winning him the male vocal title and he shared songwriter accolades with Kelly & Marion Dixon for After January Rains.
“I’m very proud to be a part of this appeal. The drought has already tested the resilience of many, and now to see communities face the threat of these intense bushfires is gut wrenching,” he said.
The Dog was recently restored after being vandalised earlier this year.
The full list is...
“Each of the songs are physically talking about that situation and, in a sense, they’re all linked by the fact they were written here (at the table) and talked about and discovered here as well.”
The announcement will combine with the official launch of the 48th Toyota Tamworth Country Music Festival.
Tom’s 2018/2019 tours inspired more songs that appear on We’re Still Here, a spokesman said, including the title track, a co-write with his award-winning producer Garth Porter.
Known as Sounds of Australia, the register now numbers almost 150 and includes songs, in chronological order, like Wrap Me Up In My Stockwhip & Blanket by Tex Morton, The Adventure Of The Singing Bullet by Smoky Dawson, A Pub With No Beer by Slim Dusty, I Remember You by Frank Ifield, 
The single tells the true story of a farmer Matt heard interviewed on the radio in 2012, telling his story of hardship during the Millennium drought.
