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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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FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 2017 "King" Judah on The Voice
Judah has been somewhat of a sensation in the talent quest entering initially from a background as a backing musician in the Australian country music scene but making a huge impact in the series with his impressive singing talent and ability. Soon after gaining the attention of all four coaches, Judah hit the right note with millions of Australians and notched up a few significant achievements, including the "most downloaded" of all competitors and the "most viewed" blind audition clip. Judah (Team Delta) will be up against fellow voices Fasika Ayallew (Team Kelly), Hoseah Partsch (Team George) and Lucy Sugerman (Team Seal). The winner will walk away with a Universal Music Australia recording contract and $100,000 in cash. Weblink – www.facebook.com/TheVoiceAu. THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 2017
Coral Dasey, a songwriter and poet of note, has died. She was 77. Late of Redfern, a suburb of Sydney, Coral was originally from Inverell and is probably most well-known in country music for her award-winning song The Warrumbungle Mare which won her and Reg Poole Golden Guitars for the Heritage Award in 1981. Among her published works of poetry are A Tale of The Never Never published in 1976 in Australian Bush Verse : Selected from The Bronze Swagman Book of Bush Verse, The Clearing Sale, published in the Bronze Swagman Book of Bush Verse in 1981, and The First Encounter published in The Bronze Swagman Award Celebrating 40 Years of Bush Verse in 2011. Coral also released an album – Listen To A Country Song – recorded at CM Studio, Dubbo, which included five of her own songs – Buddy Williams At The Opera House, Country Jamboree, Echoes In The wind, One Man Girl and Vietnam Lullaby – as well as tracks by Johnny Ashcroft, Henry Kendall, Eric Watson and her father George Dasey. Industry-wise, Coral was on the first committee of the Tamworth Songwriters Association alongside Joy McKean, Diane Hawking, Nev Nicholls, Eric Watson, Ian Betteridge and Rocky Page. Her funeral service will be held at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Inverell, at 2pm Monday (July 3). MONDAY, JUNE 26, 2017 Countdown on for Hats Off The countdown is on to this year's mid-year festival in the Country Music Capital, Hats Off to Country in July. Running from July 6 to 9, Hats Off will feature more than 100 individual acts and dozens of events and activities over the four days and before. Headline acts include the likes of Catherine Britt, Brothers3, Ashleigh Dallas, Amber Lawrence, Shannon Noll, Luke O'Shea, Melinda Schneider, Simply Bushed and Felicity Urquhart.
Now in its 18th year, Toyota Hats Off To Country is Tamworth's chance to welcome back artists from the January Festival and will see country music on show at a host of locations across the city including West Leagues and Wests’ Diggers, Tamworth Services Club and its North Tamworth Bowling Club and Manilla RSL, South Tamworth Bowling Club, Tamworth City Bowling Club, The Longyard Hotel, Family Hotel, Southgate Inn and The Pub, The Albert Hotel, Oasis, Post Office Hotel plus one of the city's newer entertainment venues the Cattleman Steakhouse. The Dag Sheep Station at Nundle will see up and coming country artists gaining tuition from writers Kevin Bennett, Jeremy Edwards, Shane Nicholson, Luke O'Shea, Aleyce Simmonds and Felicity Urquhart. During Hats Off The Dag will also showcase the students and their mentors with a number of performances scheduled. A new event this year will be the "Cowboy Crawl" – tagged as "a fun-filled tour of the city’s nightspots which will see participants get dressed up as cowboys and cowgirls for the crawl through town". For up and coming artists, the Country Music Association of Australia Junior Academy of Country Music will be in full swing. David Carter, Doug Gallacher, Amber Lawrence, Simon Johnson and recent senior graduate and Toyota Star Maker finalist Liam Kennedy-Clark will instruct and inspire the contingent in a week-long workshop. "It’s extraordinary that Hats Off can boast more artists than any other festival in Australia even though in terms of scale it is much more moderate when compared to January," said Tamworth Regional Council Country Music Unit Manager Barry Harley. "We are looking forward to Hats Off becoming bigger and better because it continues to attract big name artists and is another fantastic reason to draw people to Tamworth – the home of country music in Australia." A full program and further information can be obtained at www.hatsofftocountry.com. FRIDAY, JUNE 16, 2017 Yellowbelly Festival The annual Yellowbelly Country Music Festival kicks off for seven days on Monday June 26 in St George, Qld. In its fifth year this year, the festival features a number of well known country stars including Jeff Brown (pictuired, left), Rex Dallas (second from left) and Keith Jamieson, Brian Letton (right) supported by well known artists such as Ernie Constance, Amanda Faulkner (pictured), Kev Groves, Caitlyn Jamieson, Anita Ree, Alisha Smith, John & Christine Smith, Pete Smith and Daly Stephenson.
The event also features bush poetry with the likes of Ray Essery and Gary Fogarty. St George Showgrounds is the venie with camping available and, according to organisers, "you can wet a line if you wish" (in line with the festival's name... fishing in the Balonne River... not quite "catchin' yellowbelly in the old Barcoo", but...) Further information can be obtained by ringing 0427 731 088 or 0439 130 617. Weblink – facebook.com/yellowbellycountrymusicfestival. TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 2017 Slim's Odds & Sods In celebration of Slim Dusty Day today, the day that would have been Slim's 90th birthday, EMI Music Australia has announced the release of Odds & Sods, a new collection of "hard to get, vintage Slim Dusty recordings.
Containing 130 tracks in a special hardback book, the packaging includes photos from across Slim’s career and is being made available for a limited time. The front inside panel features liner notes from Slim's wife, manager and co-songwriter Joy McKean, who shares the story behind the album title. Working in a record store in the late 1940s, Joy noticed a colleague replacing her "Miscellaneous" titled section with the sign "Odds & Sods". "This girl persisted with her re-labelling my beloved 'Miscellaneous' selection," Joy said, "and I was just as persistent in altering it back each and every time I returned to work. It took a minor explosion between my co-worker and myself to finally remedy the issue. Happy to say I won the battle." But Joy has now come to love the term, enough to name the new collection of songs after it. Odds & Sods is a much varied collection of recordings, all harvested from Slim’s early 78s, seven inch singles, EPs and unavailable compilation albums. Many of the tracks have been out of print for a while but the continued requests for these songs from fans have spurred on the release. For the Slim Dusty fan, Odds & Sods is described as "an exciting re-discovery" and for new fans, "a first discovery of some of Slim’s early and lesser known songs". Also being announced today is a new range of Slim Dusty merchandise. Designed by EMI Music and Slim Dusty Enterprises, the new "Signature Range" features a selection of polo shirts, a cap, a visor and a t-shirt, a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle and an Old Purple car keyring. The new merchandise range is available from www.slimdusty.com.au and for visitors to the Slim Dusty Centre in Kempsey. MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017 Honours for Denis, Lorraine, Peter and Desree Four music industry identities – Denis Handlin, Lorraine Pfitzner, Peter Coad and Desree-Ilona Crawford (picturd below from left) – have been recognised in this year's Queen's Birthday Honours.
Denis, Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Australia and President, Asia, received an AO – Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia – for distinguished service to the Australian recording industry, through leadership and mentoring roles, as a supporter of young artists, and to charitable organisations as a director, patron and contributor. He commenced his career with the company in 1970 and has been leading it since 1984. Outside of work, he plays a strong role in the community and is the founding member of the Sony Foundation of Australia which has raised closed to $27 million since 1998 for youth bases charitable causes. Denis has a deep involvement in the music industry, served on the committees of several industry associations and has held various positions including Chairman of the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA). Lorraine – a tireless worker in Australian country music – has been honoured with an OAM (Order of Australia Medal) for service to country music. For many years Country Music Capital based Lorraine, originally from South Australia, has been heavily involved in major country music activities. Most notable of her achievements has been the establishment of seven of the nine busts of country music pioneers located in Tamworth's Bicentennial Park, the most recent, of Chad Morgan, unveiled just yesterday. Well known also as a country music broadcaster, writer and reviewer, Lorraine has been involved with hundreds of artists, songwriters, musicians and other industry people for decades. More recently, she has been a mainstay of two of the nation's most successful industry organisations, the Australian Bush Balladeers Association (ABBA) and Tamworth Songwriters' Association (TSA). She is also heavily involved in the Australian Country Music Foundation and its public operation, the Australian Country Music Hall of Fame, and was a founder of one of that organisation's predecessors, the Australian Country Music Heritage Hall. Lorraine was inducted into the Country Music Hands of Fame in 2005. Peter received an OAM for service to the performing arts, particularly to country music. Originally part of the popular Coad Brothers), Peter performs with his sisters Lynette and Virginia as Peter Coad & The Coad Sisters, now full time professional entertainers with more than 30 years experience working in the music industry. Currently President of the Australian Bush Balladeers Association, he was inducted into the Country Music Hands of Fame in January 2007. Desree is a long-time clountry music recording and touring artist and industry participant. She was presented with an OAM for service to country music as an entertainer. Her first exposure to performing was in 1947 when she joined other family members as The Melody Kids on Radio 4BU Bundaberg in Queensland. As well as her own performing, which took her from Brisbane and Ipswich to Melbourne and many other places, Desree would train youngsters to dance on television. She recorded her first single in 1970 for the Dayman’s Sunshine Label (Festival) backing that up with an eight-piece country music show group called Desree Crawford & The High Chapparalls. Desree’s first album – Rodeo Queen – came in 1978. It was recorded in Dubbo by Ken Cameron's CM Records’ and produced by Ken Cameron and Lindsay Butler. Currently working on a new album to commemorate 43 years of entertaining, Desree was inducted into the Country Music Hands of Fame in 1983.
Chad unveiled The bronze bust of Australian country music pioneer Chad Morgan was unveiled in Tamworth yesterday. A good crowd of supporters and industry folk attended the event. Thanks to Eric Scott for the photo which shows Chad responding to the bust unveiling. FRIDAY, JUNE 9, 2017 Kasey wins state scholarship Fourteen-year-old Kasey O'Donoghue has been named as one of five students in Queensland to win a music mentorship through the Queensland Music Festival On Song 2017 Competition.
"I sent in an original song, with a copy of the lyrics and a recording of me singing it," she told the North Queensand Register. "We also had to write a few words on what we wanted to achieve if we got it. "The song was called Freefalling. It was written about a relationship that seemed perfect but you then realise something bad happened but you still can’t help falling in love with the person." Kasey's mentorship is with Australian musician Jack Carty, including two Skype workshops and a two-day songwriting intensive in July. At the end of each two-day workshop, a concert will be presented to premiere the new material written by Kaycee, alongside other school musicians and choirs. Already in an established country music band, called Homegrown with suster Katelyn and brother Liam, Kasey is no stranger to the music industry. After winning a national competition, the band released a successful EP. Kasey says if she had not started busking with her family from the age of seven, she would not know what she might be doing today. "I have been performing for a long time, locally but also travelling to Tamworth Country Music Festival and gigs in Sydney," she said. "While I am still at school, I plan to continue my music by studying music as an OP subject. "After school, I would like to continue my music career in conjunction with my new (clothing, accessories and home decor fashion) business Wild Moonfire.” Weblink – www.facebook.com/homegrownmusic1. THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 2017 Blue Water Festival underway The Blue Water Country Music Festival kicked off yesterday at Port Stephens just north of Newcastle and continues through to, and including, Monday of the June long weekend.
Steve has played the Blue Water Country Music Festival nearly every year since it commenced and has been the lynchpin for the main free festival stage for many years.
"It’s great to catch up with locals and country music fans who we don’t see at some of the far flung festivals throughout the year. But then again, why would you leave the area, you’re almost in heaven and add some good music and, well, Eureka!" This year, Steve has a key role hosting the Port Stephens Toyota Marquee in Apex Park on Saturday and Sunday of the long weekend. Festival regulars Brothers3, who appeared on the X Factor in 2014, performed at the Blue Water Country Music Festival first in 2010 while still school aged. Headliners will be supported by well-known names including Allan Caswell, Bob Easter, Johanna Hemara, Sandra Humphries, Kathryn Jones, Troy Kemp, Amber Lawrence, Dianne Lindsay, Aleyce Simmonds, Gina Timms and The Viper Creek Band will stump up through the weekend. This artist roster will be supported by the likes of Greg Bain, James Bennett, Chelsea Berman, Bowen & Clare, Sophia Chesworth, The Footloose Band, Jade & Willow, Finnian Johnson, Justess Jones, Mick Jones, Kim McKenzie, Karen O'Shea, Thor Phillips, The Rough Diamonds, Luke Schweizer, String Loaded, Cassidy-Rae Wilson and Bryen & The Bayou Boogie Boys, Coastal Bootscooters and Whistle Dizie. Songwriter sessions will also run organised by the TSA (Tamworth Songwriters' Association) and bush poets Murray Hartin, Graeme Johnson, Bill Kearns, Peter Mace, Claire Reynolds and Kerry Sprigg will also appear. Weblink – www.bluewatercountrymusic.com. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7, 2017 Chad bust unveiling Unveiling of the Chad Morgan bronze bust will take place in Tamworth, Australia's Country Music Capital, this Saturday.
In the past, only Australian country music pioneers who were no longer with us were honoured with the special sculptures. The historic event takes place in Bicentennial Park in Kable Avenue at 10.30 on Chad will join eight of his country music mates (in order of unveiling) – Tex Morton, Buddy Williams, Stan Coster, Gordon Parsons, Barry Thornton, Shirley Thoms, Reg Lindsay and Jimmy Little. The busts have been augmented in recent years with statues of the late Smoky Dawson and, more recently, Joy McKean and the late Slim Dusty which are all located in Tamworth's Peel Street, also known during January as "the boulevarde of dreams". Saturday's ceremony includes the formal handover of the bust, produced from funds raised within the country music community, to Tamworth Regional Council. It was sculpted by Kate French. Fundraising has already commenced for the next pioneer to be cast in bronze, Frank Ifield. MONDAY, JUNE 5, 2017 Celebrating Slim Dusty Day Next Tuesday – June 13 – is Slim Dusty Day with a number of special activities set to commemorate the birthday of Australia's King of Country Music. It's 13 years since Slim died and this year, the question was asked "What Does Slim Dusty Mean To You?" A montage of messages was collected from friends, family and fans and compiled into a video created by media company Cadence Media. Click on the following image to watch the video.
Following the launch of the video on Facebook, it received a strong global response. Featuring vision from inside the Kempsey Slim Dusty Centre Museum at Kempsey (NSW), as well as messages from fans and personalities including the likes of Colin Buchanan, Troy Cassar-Daley, Beccy Cole, Pete Denahy, Ray Hadley, Lee Kernaghan, Brendan Nelson, Felicity Urquhart, The Wiggles and Warren H Williams, the video also includes some Kempsey locals who have forever embraced their local hero. Messages from around the world are flooding in as people share their own story of Slim and can be added by clicking on the image above and viewing the video (viewers need to be logged in to Facebook to do so). Another highlight of this year’s celebrations will be the official launch of a new and exclusive Slim Dusty Movie Exhibition at the Slim Dusty Centre. This additional exhibition is dedicated solely to Slim and Joy McKean's ground-breaking 1984 docudrama The Slim Dusty Movie. Only showing for a limited time, the new exhibition will feature props, costumes and memorabilia plus many previously unreleased/unseen behind the scenes images from the movie. To further celebrate this year's Slim Dusty Day, EMI Music has released a special limited edition vinyl LP of Slim’s 100th album Looking Forward, Looking Back. Originally released on CD and cassette, the album has been meticulously represented in the vinyl format for the first time ever with a special gatefold sleeve packaging. Weblink – www.slimdustycentre.com.au. SATURDAY, JUNE 3, 2017
South Australia's Riverland Country Music Festival got underway yesterday and will run for through next week concluding on Monday June 12. Around 5,000 visitors are expected to head to the region over the next 10 days for the annual event. Almost 100 official events are listed on the program which comes to a head on the main final weekend. Highlight activities will include Murray Mac's Campfire Concert, the SA Country Music Concert and the SA Country Music Spectacular. New to the festival this year will be the Running of the Sheep, the first time this has been held during the festival as a precursor to the Barmera Sheep Dog Trials. A full program can be obtained from www.riverlandcountrymusic.com. FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 2017
Jody Direen was named winner of Best Country Album with her latest work Shake Up at the New Zealand Country Music Awards in Gore last night. Chester Travis was announced the winner of Best Country Song with Toothache. And winner of the Songwriting Award was Mal McCallum with After The Storm; the runner-up being announced as Kaylee Bell with Mayday. The New Zealand Gold Guitar Awards festival continues throughout this weekend. Weblink – www.goldguitars.co.nz. |  |
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Sunday night sees the culmination of television talent search The Voice Australia with country talent Judah Kelly in the final four competing for the 2017 winner's crown.
Vale – Coral Dasey
The special five CD set will be released on Friday August 4 with pre-order available 
From All Souls Saint Gabriel’s in Charters Towers, Kasey entered the competition after seeing it on Facebook through a friend. She said it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
Festival favourites Brothers3, Beccy Cole and Steve Passfield (all pictured) return to the Bay Festival this year; Beccy performing on Sunday night at Soldiers Point Bowling Club.
Steve considers himself "almost a local" having played at many other major Nelson Bay events. Steve told News Of The Area: "Going back each year to the blue water of the Nelson Bay area is such a wonderful thing to do.
This unveiling is unique for a number of reasons... firstly the timing, as these ceremonies usually take place during the July Hats Off or January Tamworth Country Music events, and because this will be the first bust unveiling with the guest of honour present.
Riverland Festival in full swing
New Zealand Award winners