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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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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2017 Vale – Rob PottsAustralian country music industry figure Rob Potts died tragically in a motorcycle accident on the West Coast of Tasmania yesterday afternoon. He was 65. Rob became heavily involved in the Australian country music industry soon after he was elected to the board of the newly established Country Music Association of Australia (CMAA) in the 1990s as a partner in the artist booking agency Allied Entertainment with Marius Els.
Ultimately, Rob began began to spend more time focussing on bringing US based artists to Australia as a concert promoter or co-promoter and moved more into artist management and festival direction, including the successful CMC Rocks franchise. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Rob was a booking agent to James Blundell, Tommy Emmanuel, Lee Kernaghan and Keith Urban. Most recently, he was managing Morgan Evans who had signed to Warner Music in Nashville and is just at the start of a hugely successful international career. He sat on the Country Music Association (CMA) Board in Nashville and was up for re-election currently for a further term. Just this year, the CMA presented Rob with the Jo Walker Meador International Award in recognition of his achievements in advocating and supporting country music’s development outside of the USA. Max Ellis, Chief Executive of the CMAA at the time Rob was involved, said he was a dedicated and highly effective member of the Board. "Rob was involved in many of the CMAA's major projects at the time, most notably our first series of credible national surveys that found strong listenership and popularity of country music in Australia including the Golden Guitar brand. "I first came to know Rob in the 1970s when he worked with Maurie Cameron at Premier Entertainment. He certainly put a lot of work in over many years to achieve all that he did." The news of Rob's death comes just weeks after CMC Rocks Qld sold out in record time, an achievement he incredibly proud of. Rob's long-time business partner Michael Chugg said: "I’m lost for words. I’m heartbroken. Rob came to me more than 35 years ago as a fellow Tasmanian with a passion for music, he wanted to do great things." Matthew Lazarus-Hall, CEO of CMC Rocks Qld added: "It has been an honour and a privilege to have worked with Rob in delivering his dream of a sell-out country music festival in Australia. Rob’s passion and determination was never ending. The industry has lost a great man and I have lost one of my dearest friends. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2017
The Clarence Valley Muster comes to its climax this weekend with a raft of guest artists on the bill ensuring yet another successful event for the NSW North Coast. Hot on the heels of the Slim Dusty Memories Week Festival at Kempsey, the Clarence Valley Muster is running on it's own festival venue at Ulmarra just north of Grafton. Headline acts are Tania Kernaghan and Jett Williams, daughter of Hank Williams at her only festival performance in Australia this year.
Bush poets Ray Essery and Gary Fogarty will also appear. The Festival got underway on Monday and wraps up with Weblink – www.cvcmuster.com.au. MONDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2017 New from The Spurs The Spurs – a band of session musicians from NSW and Queensland – have released an instrumental single.
Earlier this year, band members were inspired to start composing their own original material, they became The Spurs and started recording an album. The Spurs are currently on tour with Aleyce and Universal's latest signing, Tori Forsyth and are preparing for a busy Tamworth Country Music Festival and a "jam-packed" year touring in 2018. Weblink – www.facebook.com/thespurs. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2017 CMC Awards return to the Gold Coast The CMC (Country Music Channel) Awards will return to the Queensland Gold Coast for its 2018 event in March after last year's successful presentation from The Star Casino.
It will be an added bonus for The Star which will also host television's Logie Awards next year. While The Logies have been held in Sydney on a handful of occasions, Melbourne has been the ceremony’s traditional home. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2017 Slim Dusty Festival underway The 14th Slim Dusty Country Music Festival kicked off at Kempsey, NSW, on Monday and will build to a big final weekend this weekend concluding on Sunday. Concerts and events run all week to celebrate Slim Dusty and Australian country music. The three generations of Slim Dusty’s family and the members of the Travelling Country Band (TCB) will all reunite for a very special anniversary performance as part of this year's annual event.
Pictured above, clockwise from below left: David Kirkpatrick, Kathryn Jones & Steve Passfield, Amos Morris, Peter Simpson & Dianne Lindsay, Small Town Romance, Steve Grace and Anne Kirkpatrick with Taylor Pfeiffer in the centre. "It’s hard to believe, but yes, Slim’s family will be celebrating the passing of a full decade since their re-opening of Slim’s beloved home studio Columbia Lane to record the family reunion album… the first family album without Slim," said a Festival spokesman. The hugely successful Slim Dusty Family Reunion album was to prove so popular with both fans and the media that it also spawned a sell-out Slim Dusty Family Reunion Concert Tour and then a platinum selling Live Concert DVD in 2008. The special anniversary concert will be hosted by the Dusty Family Matriarch Joy McKean on Saturday evening. "It will surely be one of the highlights of this year’s popular Slim Dusty Country Music Festival," said the spokesman. Special guests will include the Lindsay Sisters (Dianne and Sandra) and multi-award winning bush balladeer Jeff Brown. "This special anniversary concert, promises to take 2017 festival fans on an exhilarating Australian country music journey, combining projected visual images (from the family archives) with the family’s renditions of many of those Slim favourites. "Then, of course, there will be performances of tracks from their the number one charting album." In addition to Joy McKean, Anne Kirkpatrick, David Kirkpatrick, the Travelling Country Band, Dianne and Sandra Lindsay (with Peter Simpson) and Jeff Brown, the full artist line-up for this year's Festival also includes Steve Grace, Kathryn Jones, Ian B MacLeod, Amos Morris, Steve Passfield, Taylor Pfeiffer and Small Town Romance (Flora Smith and third generation Dusty Jim Arneman). Weblink – www.facebook.com/slimdustyfestival. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2017 Vale – Iain Shedden
Scotissh-born Iain was also a musician who played with a number of bands including Australia's The Saints. The Australian's Editor-in-chief Paul Whittaker paid tribute to "our much loved and respected colleague" who "was a close friend to many, many people on the paper". "He was as brilliant a friend as he was a journalist and will be deeply missed. He had been treated for throat cancer some years ago and was undergoing additional treatment when he died suddenly on Monday." Iain is survived by his wife Christine, and their children Molly, 18, and Conor, 16. MONDAY OCTOBER 16, 2017 Victorian Music Awards
In the Best Country Album category, the finalists are... Big Smoke with Time Is Golden, Matt Joe Gow with Seven Years, Freya Josephine Hollick with The Unceremonious Junking Of Me, Raised By Eagles with I Must Be Somewhere and Small Town Romance with their self-titled work. The Age Music Victoria Awards will recognise excellence in various music genres and industry sectors in the state of Victoria for the previous 12 months. Picturd at right: Raised By Eagles (above) and Big Smoke). Big Smoke is also a finalist in the overall Best Album award and Freya Josephine Hollick is also a finalist in the overall Best Female award and Best Regional Act. A full list of finalists can be found at the "vote now" website noted below. Members of the music community have until November 10 to contribute to the final count in 13 public awards.
Pictured at right (from left): Matt Joe Gow, Freya Josephine Hollick and Small Town Romance (Flora Smith and Jim Arneman). "We encourage (voting) for your favourite acts, venues and festivals in the public awards. Victorians are passionate about their music, and by voting and buying a ticket to The After Party, you get to give something back and join in celebrating our wonderful music scene," he said. Voting is open here... www.musicvictoria.com.au/votenow. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2017 New Cradle Coast Festival A brand new country music festival will come to Ulverstone Rowing Club (Tas) tomorrow (Saturday).
"We’re riding on a big wave and look forward to catching up with everybody," Patsy said. Other acts include Hank and Donna Marie Koopman, Live It Up, Addison Marshall, Anthony Tenace, Chris E Thomas and Whiskey Rose. Tickets are $30 for the whole festival, 1pm to 10:30pm, or $20 for the afternoon or evening session with a break at 5:30pm. It is hoped the festival will become an annual event. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017 New programs for Capital Country Radio Two new programs are being added this week to Capital Country Radio – the Australian country music internet radio station streaming 24 hours a day, seven days a week from Tamworth, Australia’s Country Music Capital.
Hosted by the Association’s Athol Latham, "TSA Showcase" goes to air every Saturday morning at 6am (for the early risers) then again at 9 o’clock each Tuesday. The TSA has been representing and promoting Australian country music songwriting since the early 1980s. It has been staging the Songwriter Salute Awards – recognising excellence in songwriting – during the annual Tamworth Country Music Festival since 1989. Athol, who is currently the TSA’s Treasurer and Membership Co-ordinator, has been involved with the Association for many years. "TSA Showcase" will allow more Australian country songwriters to get exposure for their material. The second new show returns local country music celebrity Lorraine Pfitzner to "airwaves" out of Tamworth. Lorraine brings her "My Kinda Country" program to Capital Country Radio every Wednesday morning at 6 then again on Friday evenings at 9. Recently awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her service to Australian country music, Lorraine has, among many other activities, been responsible for spearheading fundraising efforts for commemorative busts of Australian country music pioneers in Tamworth.
Dianne Lindsay and Peter Simpson present the "Australian Bush Balladeers Show" each Friday morning at 6 then again on Monday at 7. Connie Kis Andersen presents "Showcase Australia" – a program mainly highlighting new Australian country music releases – Thursday evenings at 7 then again on Sunday mornings at 10. And Pete Matthewman presents "My Country Australia" Wednesday evenings at 7 then again each Saturday morning at 9. Apart from these specialist programs, the bulk of Capital Country Radio programming comprises classic country hits and new Australian country music. The station can be accessed via the website www.capitalcountryradio.com or for smartphones, a free app is available from the Apple App Store for iPhones and iPads and via Googleplay for Android devices. It can also be accessed via a range of online radio directories including tunein.com. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2017 ARIA finalists Finalists in the 2017 ARIA Awards were announced in Sydney yesterday. For Best Country Album, the finalists are 61-615 by O'Shea, The 25th Anniversary Album by Lee Kernaghan, Dragonfly by Kasey Chambers, Endless by The McClymonts and Love And Blood by Shane Nicholson.
Busby Marou feature among finalists for the Best Blues & Roots Album with Postcards From The Shell House. Winners in this year's ARIA Awards will be announced next month, Tuesday November 28 at The Star, Sydney. Weblink – www.ariaawards.com.au. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2017 8 Ball "racks 'em up" For more than 10 years, multi-awarded global troubadour 8 Ball Aitken has flown the Australian flag on the international circuit performing 200 plus shows a year. With his 10th album – Swamp Blues – now under his belt, he says he is thrilled to be back for 43 gigs on the "Rack Em Up" Australian tour travelling all the way through to the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January.
"His funky, foot stomping energy and infectious blend of swampy blues-rock, have brought the party vibe to venues, festivals and high profile music events in the USA, France, Japan, Canada and Europe as well as at home in Australia," said a spokesman for the artist. He has garnered numerous accolades, awards, rave reviews and recognition across genres with the single (She’s Going To Mexico) I’m Going To Jail reaching number one on the Country and number two on the Blues charts. The international patron for the Airlie Beach Festival of Music is a prolific singer/songwriter and talented multi-instrumentalist. 8 Ball's "Rack Em Up" tour kicks off this weekend in Balranald and takes in almost 50 separate performances before the start of Tamworth 2018. Weblink – 8ballaitken.com. MONDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2017 CMC Rocks tickets sell outTickets for CMC Rocks Queensland 2018 sold out in less than an hour after going on sale this morning.
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During this time, Rob was a passionate exponent of country music in Australia and was instrumental in many of the young organisations early initiatives.
Clarence Valley Muster underway
Also featuring are Errol Gray, the Gunbarrel Highwaymen (Owen Blundell, Terry Gordon and Reg Poole), Glenn Jones, Dianne Lindsay & Peter Simpson, Chad Morgan, Rodney Vincent and Lindsay Waddington.
The band is Jared Adlam, Reece Baines, Karlee Cole, Michael Cole NS Zachary Miller and have traveled the country playing for some of our Australia's leading country artists at some of Australia's most prestigious festivals. 
The 8th annual CMC Music Awards will be televised on the pay TV channel live in the evening of Thursday, March 15 just prior to the CMC Rocks festival at Willowbank near Ipswich.
Iain Shedden, music writer with the Australian newspaper, a man who has had a good deal of connection with the Australian country music industry for almost two decades, died yesterday at age 60.
Finalists have been announced for the 2017 The Age Music Victoria Awards with voting now open to the music community to determine winners.
"Victorian music boasts such strong diversity, it’s important to shine a light on the best genre acts and releases of the year," said Music Victoria Chief Executive Patrick Donovan.
The main act at the Cradle Country Music Festival will be Melbourne duo The Long and the Short of It (Patsy Toop and David Baird) who are travelling to Tassie direct from the Mildura Country Music Festival where they were judged runner up for Australian Independent Duo of the Year.
First is a program dedicated to giving exposure to Australian country music songwriters via the dedicated Australian national country music songwriter organisation Tamworth Songwriters’ Association (TSA).
The two new programs join three other key specialist programs on the dedicated "all Australian country" streaming radio service.
8 Ball hails from Mareeba in North Queensland and has spent the better part of the last decade calling Nashville, Tennessee, and Austin, Texas home.
Eighteen thousand tickets were snapped up by fans for the event which will be staged at Willowbank, Ipswich, from Thursday to Sunday March 18 next year.
Thanks to a report from The Country Journo (Rebecca Belt), Darren took out the Male Vocal, Single and Album of the Year awards with Aleyce taking home the Female Vocal award and also the prestigious Artist of the Year title.
The Far North Queensland community of Yarrabah will host ots fifth festival on Saturday October 28.
Organisers of CMC Rocks have announced their 2018 artist line-up.
APRA AMCOS Chief Executive Brett Cottle said: "The rise and rise of consumer subscriptions to music and video streaming services was the key factor underpinning our revenue growth during the year. We estimate that there are now nearly four million subscriptions to one or other of these services across Australia and New Zealand."
More than 15,500 people converged on the Riverina town for "two days of family entertainment and ute focused activities together with a who’s who of Australian country music".
This year’s Tradie Challenge was won by Melbourne’s Brad Rossetto and Paul Riley taking out first prize and a cool, $1,000 cash for their clock.