Country Music Capital News - October 2017 Volume 42 No 10

(INC.GST)

OCTOBER 2017 VOL. 42 NO.10

$5.00

DREW McALISTER RIGHT ON TRACK

MISSY LANCASTER EMPOWERED

CARPENTER CASWELL MELODY MOKO’S

DISTINCTIVE MELODY years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

PAUL KELLY

OUR GREATEST SONGWRITER C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S O C T O B E R 2 0 1 7

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OUT OCTOBER 13

OUT NOW

The star of the popular E! TV series Eric & Jessie: Game On showcases her Powerful Vocals on this Fantastic New Album

Discover Missy Lancaster and her Stunning New Single ‘Forget.’ Recorded and co-written in Nashville. Available now on download and streaming services

OUT OCTOBER 13

OUT OCTOBER 20

Dolly’s first ever Children’s album is for the young and young at heart. Featuring a New Recording of ‘Coat of Many Colors’ and so much more!

US superstar Chris Young returns with his latest collection of Country Hits!

Features the Hot New Single ‘Losing Sleep’

SONYMUSI C.COM.AU years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

/ H O T T E S T S TARS O N T H E P L AN E T C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S O C T O B E R 2 0 1 7

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FROM THE EDITOR THERE’S BEEN MANY FESTIVALS ENJOYED THROUGHOUT THE PAST YEAR AND IT’S NOW THAT THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS IN PREPARATION FOR THE BIG ONE IN TAMWORTH, IN JANUARY 2018.

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housands of industry and fans are in preparation to attend the next Toyota Country Music Festival, Tamworth. It’s at this time that the Country Music Awards of Australia, Toyota Star Maker, Tamworth Songwriter’s Association, and others open their nominations in preparation for the January winner’s announcements.

You’ll read on our news page about the new Golden Guitar categories. The Album of the Year category has had a major change with a new Traditional Country Album of the Year, Alternative Country Album of the Year (introduced in 2012), and Contemporary Album of the Year (the original category). From these three, one will become the actual Country Music Album of the Year. I’m not convinced that this decision is a wise one and it seems that those at the top end of the industry feel the same way, yet the CMAA has advised that the majority of members who were polled did in fact accept the recommendation. We won’t really be certain of its success until we get through the coming awards to see what impact it actually has.

Another sad loss from the US in the past month with the passing of the distinguished Don Williams and the loss of fifty-year-old Troy Gentry (Montgomery Gentry) in a helicopter tragedy. Nashville must surely be feeling the losses.

Paul Kelly is regularly mentioned as an influencer of many country music songwriters and I’m absolutely thrilled to have him on our cover this month. He was kicking off a tour in the UK, Europe and North America and took time out to talk to Capital News’ writer Lachlan Bryan who writes that ‘Kelly is arguably Australia’s greatest songwriter of now, or any time’. His Australian tour dates are listed in our gig guide.

If you’re reading Capital News for the first time and like what you see, please check our details on page 7 on how to subscribe. We’d love to have you join us every month.

The team at Tamworth Regional Council is working on a lovely new website at capitalnews.com.au so please check in and have a look around and let us know what you’d like to see, both in the magazine and on our social sites.

Thanks for reading.

Keep it country Cheryl Byrnes Cheryl@tamworthcountrymusic.com.au

JOHN HOWIE Mu s i c Tou r s NEW ZEALAND Western Australia TO

with Craig Giles, the Hillbilly Goats, The Toombs Brothers and John Howie

Join us as we cruise on the luxury Sun Princess, listen to fantastic music and see the highlights of New Zealand’s North and South Islands. Cruise includes sightseeing tours in Dunedin, Akaroa, Wellington, Napier, Rotorua, Auckland & Bay of Islands as well as 6 exclusive music concerts. Also, 3 on-shore concerts, featuring outstanding NZ acts, including the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band.

19 Feb - 4 Mar, 2018

TOP END & KIMBERLEY Music Tour with Pete Denahy

6 - 20 Jun, 2018

Discover the beauty of the ‘Top End’, visiting Darwin & Kakadu National Park.

In Katherine, travel by boat through spectacular Katherine Gorge. Near Kununurra, visit El Questro cattle station and take a flight over the Kimberley coast (optional). Enjoy a fabulous cruise on Lake Argyle. Travel to the Bungle Bungles and Fitzroy Crossing before arriving in exotic Broome. Also, heaps of great Aussie music & bush poetry.

Music Tour with John Howie

Tour the beautiful South-West region of W.A. and enjoy a feast of great Aussie music & bush poetry. Visit Perth, Rottnest Island, Margaret River, Pemberton, Albany, Esperance, Kalgoorlie, Wave Rock, & The Pinnacles. Great local music, incl. Bluegrass Parkway, The Lost Quays (a sea shanty group), and The Pepperjacks.

Music Tour of

Ireland & Scotland

Belfast, Londonderry, Donegal, Westport, Galway, Dublin, Liverpool, Glasgow, Mull of Kintyre Oban, Isle of Skye, Ullapool, Orkney Islands, Inverness and Edinburgh

Plus optional AMSTERDAM extension tour, including ANDRE RIEU concert in Maastricht!

1800 033 436 6

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16 - 30 Oct, 2017

with

Beccy Cole Experience fabulous scenery and fantastic music (incl. Edinburgh Military Tattoo). John Howie (tour leader) has been leading music tours to Ireland & Scotland for 23 years!

16 Jul - 7 Aug, 2018

sales@travelrite.com.au www.travelrite.com.au years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

O C TO B E R 2 017 FEATURES

EDITOR Cheryl Byrnes P: 0407 106 966 E: cheryl@tamworthcountrymusic.com.au SALES Joanne Maiden P: 0429 784 860 E: j.maiden@tamworth.nsw.gov.au CONTRIBUTORS Allan Caswell, Anna Rose, Bec Belt, Ben Jackson, CMAA, David Dawson, Jon Wolfe, Lachlan Bryan, Lorraine Pfitzner, Peter Coad, Rachael Fahim, Susan Jarvis, Tom Inglis, Webster PR and our great mates in publicity and record companies nationally and internationally PHOTOGRAPHERS Glen Hannah, Robin Reidy, and our many suppliers TRC TEAM Hayden Pannell, Jess Barnden, Karlee Cole, Linda Bridges.

ART AND DESIGN Sam Woods

PAUL KELLY

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DREW MCALISTER

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MISSY LANCASTER

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CARPENTER CASWELL

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JEFF TROTT

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MELODY MOKO

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VALE DON WILLIAMS

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JOHNNY CASH MUSEUM

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THE OAK RIDGE BOYS

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RHONDA VINCENT

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REGULARS NEWS NASHVILLE NEWS TOYOTA STAR MAKER UPDATE ONE TO WATCH: ANGUS GILL HEAR & THERE FESTIVALS SOUND ADVICE COUNTRY CHARTS BUSH BALLADS DOWN MEMORY LANE WRITING GREAT SONGS

PUBLISHER Tamworth Regional Council 437 Peel Street, Tamworth NSW 2340 P: 02 6767 5555

COMING EVENTS GIG GUIDE

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Country Music Capital News is compiled and published monthly by Tamworth Regional Council, 437 Peel Street, Tamworth NSW 2340. The views and opinions expressed in Capital News are not necessarily those of the publisher. Copyright 2017 Tamworth Regional Council, ABN 52631074450. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part by any manner or method whatsoever without the written permission is prohibited. All statements made in advertising are the sole responsibility of the advertiser in respect of legal and industrial relations. Printed by Fairfax Printing, 159 Bells Line of Road, North Richmond. 2754. ISSN 1440-995X years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

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NEWS

NEW GOLDEN GUITAR CATEGORIES THE 2018 COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS OF AUSTRALIA HAVE TWO NEW CATEGORIES.

Troy Cassar-Daley

NATIONAL INDIGENOUS MUSIC AWARDS

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ollowing a poll of members and industry consultation, the Country Music Association of Australia has introduced the new Traditional Country Music Album of the Year for artists who use traditional sounds and concepts in their recordings.

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roy Cassar-Daley was awarded Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for Things I Carry Around at the 2017 National Indigenous Music Awards in August.

Held at Darwin’s iconic Amphitheatre under the stars the awards saw both Troy and A.B. Original take home major trophys.

A.B. Original took home two trophies for Song and Film Clip of the Year for their modern Australian anthem January 26 featuring Dan Sultan. A blistering performance of the track was one of the night’s highlights along with special guest Paul Kelly joining the band for their version of Dumb Things.

It was a night of elation and emotion as generations of Indigenous musicians, and their place in Australian culture were celebrated and acknowledged including a touching tribute to Dr G. Yunupingu, and surprise performance from Saltwater Band.

The National Indigenous Music Awards compilation The Sound of Indigenous Australia double-CD in conjunction with Warner Music Australia is in stores now and features tracks from this year’s winners, nominees and performers including A.B. Original, Troy CassarDaley, Dan Sultan, Jessica Mauboy, Busby Marou, Leah Flanagan, and Tia Gostelow. Disc two features anthems of Indigenous Australia including Yothu Yindi’s Treaty, Archie Roach’s Took the Children Away, Christine Anu’s My Island Home, Warumpi Band’s Blackfella/Whitefella, Kev Carmody’s From Little Things Big Things Grow and many more.

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There will be three ‘Album of the Year’ categories – traditional, contemporary, and alt-country, and an overarching Country Music Album of the Year selected from the three.

CMAA vice-chair Roger Corbett reported that when judges and members voted in the final round, they would choose one of their winners from one of the three album categories to be bestowed the ultimate honour of Country Music Album of the Year.

Nominations close at 5pm, Sunday, October 1 and nominees are encouraged to get their material in as soon as possible.

The Country Music Awards of Australia held at the Tamworth Regional Entertainment and Conference Centre on January 27.

In other CMAA news, artist manager Dan Biddle has resigned from the board after 18 months of voluntary service.

NEW ARRIVAL

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am McClymont and her husband Ben have given birth to their first child, Wilder Hercules. Wilder was born on August 2 in Sydney weighing 3.7kgs. All first-time mums The McClymonts have four children between them. Brooke and Adam Eckersley have a 4-year-old daughter Tiggy, and Adam’s 10-year-old son Harry, while Mollie and Aaron have a one-year-old son. years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

NASHVILLE NEWS

MIRANDA TOPS 51ST ANNUAL CMA AWARDS

COUNTRY AIRCHECK

MIRANDA LAMBERT TOPPED THE LIST OF NOMINEES FOR “THE 51ST ANNUAL CMA AWARDS” WITH FIVE NOMINATIONS.

CMT Managing editor Calvin Gilbert has left the company after 15 years. The network is undergoing a strategic shift toward social media platforms.

National Radio Hall of Famer Dave Ramsey will host the 29th Annual National Radio Hall of Fame Induction ceremony and celebration which will be live streamed on November 2.

Miranda Lambert

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ittle Big Town and Keith Urban each secured four nominations, tying for the second most nominations this year.

Lambert’s name appeared more than any others this year with nominations in the Single and Song of the Year categories for Tin Man. She secured her fourth nod for Album of the Year with The Weight Of These Wings, Music Video of the Year for Vice and Female Vocalist. This is Lambert’s eleventh nomination for Female Vocalist, a category she’s won a record-setting six consecutive times (2010-2015). She is the most awarded female in CMA Awards history with 12 trophies. Her career total has reached 44 CMA Awards nominations.

Little Big Town’s nominations include Single, Music Video of the Year for Better Man; Album of the Year for The Breaker, and Vocal Group of the Year.

Keith Urban tallied up nominations for Entertainer of the Year, Single and Music Video of the Year for Blue Ain’t Your Colour and Male Vocalist. This is his thirteenth nomination for Male Vocalist and he is a three-time consecutive winner in this category (2004-2006). Urban is a 10-time CMA Awards winner.

He received one nomination for Single of the Year, but can receive an additional trophy as producer.

Eric Church, Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett and Chris Stapleton each earned three nominations.

Brothers Osborne, Sam Hunt, Lady Antebellum, Old Dominion and Jon Pardi garnered two nominations.

Lauren Alaina, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Garth Brooks, Luke Bryan, Glen Campbell, Kenny Chesney, Luke Combs, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, Giddens, Faith Hill, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, LOCASH, Maddie years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

Keith Urban

& Tae, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Willie Nelson, P!nk, Rascal Flatts, Swift, Underwood, Brett Young and Zac Brown Band each received one nomination for trophies that will be handed out on Country Music’s Biggest Night™.

Reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Brooks returns with his 12th nomination in the category, a title he has won five times (1991, 1992, 1997, 1998, 2016), making him the most awarded artist in this category.

McEntire nabbed her eighteenth nomination for Female Vocalist, a category she’s won four years consecutively (1984-1987). She is a six-time CMA Awards winner and now ties Brooks & Dunn with 50 career CMA Awards nominations. She is the most nominated female in CMA Awards history.

The Musician of the Year category includes Jerry Douglas (dobro), Paul Franklin (steel guitar), Huff (guitar), Mac McAnally (guitar), and Derek Wells (guitar).

The 2017 CMA Awards, Hosted for the 10th Time by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, airs Live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville Wednesday, November 8.

John Carter Cash and wife Ana Cristina welcomed their daughter Grace June Cash to the world on September 11.

She joins the family with halfsiblings Jack Ezra, AnnaBelle and Joseph, and is the youngest grandchild of the late Johnny and June Carter Cash.

Songwriter/musician Mark Selby died on September 18 after battling cancer. Among his cuts is There’s Your Trouble by the Dixie Chicks, with other country artists including Wynonna, Trisha Yearwood, Lee Roy Parnell and Jo Dee Messina recording his songs.

TRAGIC END

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ontgomery Gentry’s Troy Gentry died in a helicopter crash on September 8 in New Jersey. He was 50. The duo was scheduled to perform that same evening in Medford, NJ. Formed in 1999, Montgomery Gentry found success with songs including If You Ever Stop Loving Me, Something To Be Proud Of and Back When I Knew It All. He is survived by his parents, wife and two daughters.

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OUR GREATEST

SONGWRITER

BY LACHLAN BRYAN

“I DON’T THINK SONGWRITING IS A CRAFT” SAYS PAUL KELLY, ARGUABLY AUSTRALIA’S GREATEST SONGWRITER OF NOW, OR ANY TIME.

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e’s speaking down the telephone line from Bristol, England, where he’s preparing for the first night of an epic Northern Hemisphere tour which takes in the UK, Europe and a very decent chunk of North America.

Tonight’s show is at Thekla, a relatively small venue which is in fact a boat moored on the river. It’s a return show for Paul, who played the room with his nephew Dan a little while ago.

“I don’t think I have any greater understanding of (writing songs) now than when I started”, he continues. “It’s not like making shoes or building a table. With those things, you develop a method and you do all the steps and you end up with a pair of shoes at the end of it – or a table. That doesn’t happen with songs. If anything, songwriting is more like fishing – that’s the best analogy I’ve found. You have to turn up, you have to give yourself space and time, but it doesn’t always happen”.

Craftsman or not, there is little doubt that Kelly, at 62, is writing some of the finest and most potent songs of his lauded forty year career. His latest collection, entitled Life Is Fine, shows a tenacious, hungry songwriter backed by a band of considerable force. If he’s merely been fishing, then he’s certainly been using the right bait.

“It’s always been hard to measure or have any perspective about what I’m doing,” says Kelly, “but these songs were really fun to play and record in the studio. And again, getting ready for this tour, they’ve been fun to play in the rehearsal studio”.

“There’s plenty to chew on (lyrically) and as a singer, these songs test out the range of my voice” he says, “I have to go low and high and sing things in different ways”.

“Singing (unlike songwriting)”, says Kelly, whose voice sounds stronger than ever on this disc, “is a craft”.

But as soon as you refer to Paul Kelly’s voice you are, of course, talking about a lot more than ‘just singing’. His has, for decades now, been the voice of a nation. Not in an anthemic sense (though you’ll hear many a Saturday night covers band lead a drunken throng in the chorus of To Her Door or the hook of Dumb Things), but rather in the sensitive, articulate and at times intellectual sense. His songs and stories are nuanced, daring and unpredictable – when he speaks of love it is through experienced eyes, and when he speaks of hardship it is with empathy and care. Kelly’s protagonists are flawed, his narrators unreliable and his heroes complicated – from the prisoner of How To Make Gravy to the regretful anti-hero of If I could Start Today Again.

Country music audiences are more than a little familiar with Kelly’s recent work, though I’d be loath to pin him down as a ‘country singer’. His frequent collaborations with Kasey Chambers have highlighted the credibility and impeccable taste of both artists. Kelly co-

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produced Kasey’s excellent Dragonfly record (with her brother Nash) and has dueted with her on several occasions.

“I wish I could write the way Kasey does”, confesses Kelly, before going on to praise Chambers’ prolific and instinctive style of writing.

Kelly’s collaborations with Troy Cassar-Daley have allowed Troy to embrace his own rootsier leanings – and he was a key contributor to the Freedom Ride record and tour.

The subject matter was close to Kelly’s heart.

“I really wanted to enlist Paul’s help”, Cassar-Daley told The Sydney Morning Herald at the time, “he’s always been a champion of Indigenous life and he’s got a beautiful understanding of it”.

In January 2015, Kelly (a frequent visitor to Tamworth) brought his Merri Soul Sessions to the country music festival. The star studded show featured Dan Sultan, Kira Puru, Vika and Linda Bull and others, introducing a new concept – other people singing Kelly’s catalogue, whilst the writer himself took on band-leader, rhythm guitar and backing singer duties. The idea is extended on this new Kelly disc, with both Vika and Linda taking lead vocal duties on tracks My Man’s Got A Cold and Don’t Explain respectively.

“The question is why didn’t I think of it earlier” says Kelly, when questioned on the thinking behind the shared lead vocals.

“It’s kind of a hangover from the Merri Soul Sessions” he continues, “but it’s something that a lot of my favourite bands have done in the past.

Keith Richards often gives Mick Jagger a rest on a Rolling Stones record or at a gig – and then there’s bands like The Triffids and The Velvet years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

Underground with more than one lead singer”.

With the Bull sisters on the road as part of the band, Kelly is looking forward to playing the record from start to finish – including the songs for which he steps away from the mic.

“I love playing rhythm guitar”, he says, “and I’m looking forward to stepping in to the sideman position”.

In conversation, Kelly’s enthusiasm for touring and performing is contagious.

“I just like singing” he explains, “I like the way it makes me feel, I like the endorphins – the buzz. It’s a real physical thing. And I still feel like I need to go and play my songs – I want people to hear them – new people to hear them. I couldn’t do it all year every year, but I do really like getting on stage”.

I have to admit my delight at the idea of Paul Kelly, an Australian voice of whom we can feel proud, handdelivering his songs to new fans around the globe. His humble, dignified yet engaging presence is surely a fine representation of how we’d like to feel about ourselves and our culture.

The popular music world has gotten smaller and it’s easy to argue that identity is getting lost. Spotify and iTunes have ensured that new songs arrive simultaneously in Europe, America, Australia, New Zealand and probably everywhere else too. These days you can watch your favourite artist live in their home town, courtesy of a stranger’s social media feed and shoddy smartphone footage. A guy can piece together music in his bedroom in Melbourne and watch it take off all over the globe, winning ARIAs, Grammys and setting YouTube records along the way, whilst in some thousanddollar-a-day studio in Sydney a producer places fiddle recorded in a Nashville basement for $50 into a song written by a committee of struggling songwriters, sung by a teenage wannabe starlet and paid for by her proud parents.

But Paul Kelly stands apart from all this – one of those rare beacons of credibility and integrity amid a sea of noise. Like American greats Bob Dylan and Tom Waits he continues to evolve and, like those artists, he gains more respect and admiration with every passing year. Life Is Fine reached #1 on the ARIA album charts just a few weeks ago, making it Kelly’s first ever chart-topper, a significant achievement. I’m sure he gained some satisfaction from this, but I chose not to ask him about it – discussing sales just seems like a waste of precious minutes with an artist like Paul Kelly.

For those of us closer to home, Kelly and his stellar band will be touring the record throughout Australia and New Zealand in November/December. They’re appearing in theatres and convention centres in both capital cities and regional centres, with guests and support acts including Busby Marou, Sahara Beck, Middle Kids, The Eastern and the great Steve Earle. Kelly plans to play the record in its entirety (as he is currently doing in Europe and America) first, before treating fans to hits and album tracks from his extensive discography.

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RIGHT ON

TRACK 14

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BY SUSAN JARVIS

T

hat’s the quote Drew McAlister has chosen to end the video clip for his sensational new single, Coming Your Way, and it pretty much captures his approach to life.

“I wrote this song as a message of hope, for all the little people out there – the people who can’t get a break, who are doing it tough. It is meant as a reminder that they aren’t alone and that things will get better,” Drew said.

“I know plenty of people, including friends, who are going through struggles or coming out of them. It’s just life, but I really wanted to salute the silent majority who don’t complain and just get on with what has to be done.”

For Drew, music is about many things. There’s absolutely no doubt that his songs are incredibly entertaining, but he also wants them to offer an insight into the human condition, and perhaps a ray of light in what might be a tough patch.

And that’s really the focus of his third solo album, also titled Coming Your Way. The album is packed with powerful, positive songs – whether they’re touching love ballads or in-your-face party songs.

Drew is widely regarded as one of the finest songwriters in Australian country music. His songs are in huge demand, and he is a superb craftsman.

Yet he’s also very conscious that music is entertainment, and on this new album – as before in both his solo projects and collaborations with Adam Brand and The Outlaws and McAlister

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‘SUCCESS IS NOT FINAL, FAILURE IS NOT FATAL: IT IS THE COURAGE TO CONTINUE THAT COUNTS.’ SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL Kemp – he seamlessly merges the message and the music to create wonderful, uplifting songs.

Drew says he was very aware that things would change after he and Troy Kemp decided to resume their solo careers following five hugely successful years as a duo.

“I saw it as a five-year plan: rebuilding my solo career.

And this is my second solo album following the end of MK. I feel like I’m right on track, and I’m really happy with the direction things are taking,” he said.

Drew collaborated with the likes of Allan Caswell, Mike Carr, Matt Scullion and Michael Carpenter to create the songs for this album, as well as recording a couple of carefully hand-picked songs he found in Nashville.

“The songs on the album are all very close to my heart. And they say something important – whether that’s celebration of what those close to you mean, or simply a reminder to get out there and make the most of your life,” Drew said.

Perhaps the most personal song on the album is the tender Time, penned about his life with wife Justina and daughters Jessica and Matilda. Drew adores his family, and is always very conscious of how lucky he is to have them.

“We’ve had such an amazing journey together, and I’m

acknowledgement that we all make mistakes – but it’s better to try and fail than not to try at all.

“I’ve learnt over the years that you don’t have to get everything right all the time, and sometimes you learn an important lesson from failing,” Drew said.

Drew says Wake Up Call is one of the most significant songs on the album for him.

“I’ve had a couple of close calls in my life, where I’ve nearly died, and sometimes it’s just chance that saves you. So often, the outcome could have been different, and you need to learn from that lesson and don’t ignore the life-changing signs.

“When something like that happens, it’s a chance to move forward.”

Drew’s enjoyed a multi-faceted career since he first realised that he belonged in the world of country music during a trip to Nashville more than a decade ago.

Since then, he’s collected four Golden Guitars, including Best New Talent with

“IT’S JUST LIFE, BUT I REALLY WANTED TO SALUTE THE SILENT MAJORITY WHO DON’T COMPLAIN AND JUST GET ON WITH WHAT HAS TO BE DONE.” always very aware that they’re at the heart of everything I do. I can’t thank Justina enough for the support she’s given me over the years, through everything,” he said.

Kissing A Girl Goodnight, which he didn’t write, is in a similar vein – it’s about the magic of love and family, and never taking it for granted.

The album is topped and tailed by two anthemic tracks that are sure to become Australian country music classics.

Coming Your Way is a killer track, and has already received an overwhelmingly positive response.

Australian Heartbeat, penned with Matt Scullion and Allan Caswell, captures the spirit of this country and its people perfectly, and is a true celebration.

The other tracks that really stand out are Wake Up Call, Did It Anyway and Better When I Do, all of which reflect on overcoming adversity and giving life your best shot.

Did It Anyway, written with Mike Carr, is a song about acknowledging life can be tough, but forging ahead and doing what you want anyway.

Better When I Do is in a similar vein, but is a cheeky

McAlister Kemp, APRA Song of the Year and Heritage Song of the Year with Luke O’Shea for Lady On The Land, and Vocal Collaboration with Allan Caswell for A Little Bit Of Country In Us All. McAlister Kemp also picked up the CMC Oz Artist of the Year award, as well as opening for Alan Jackson and touring the USA with Big and Rich.

Drew McAlister’s a thoughtful and skilled songwriter, who really cares about the messages in his music. But he definitely has a lighter side too, and it emerges on tracks like Ain’t Waiting On The Weekend, Better Buzz and Fooling Around In The Summertime, all of which are incredibly catchy and appealing.

Coming Your Way was launched at the Deni Ute Muster last month. Drew will perform at Wests Diggers on Thursday, 25 January, during the Tamworth Country Music Festival.

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BY SUSAN JARVIS

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ut – as with most of us – scratch the surface and the story gets a whole lot more complicated and, as Missy is the first to admit, not nearly as pretty.

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TALENTED NEWCOMER MISSY LANCASTER APPEARS TO HAVE IT ALL: A BLOSSOMING CAREER, A RECORD DEAL AND ABUNDANT TALENT AND CHARISMA. Missy could easily have enjoyed her growing success and filed away her past, to be forgotten or at least hidden. But she has chosen to tell her story because she believes she can help others.

“When I was 16, I was diagnosed with an eating disorder – it began as anorexia and

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then, partly due to the treatments I received, morphed into both anorexia and bulimia,” she said.

“Things got very serious, and I was in and out of hospital for four years, with constant supervision of everything I put into my mouth, and everything I did. It continued until I was about 20.

“Finally it got to the point where going to hospital made

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me even sicker, and I decided I couldn’t do it any longer – so I took a different, more holistic approach.”

Missy says she stopped listening to other people and tuned into her own instincts.

“I was halfway through a university degree, and I knew it was wrong for me. But I also

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knew that what made me happy was writing and singing songs.

So I threw in the course, and I headed to Nashville to immerse myself in music.

“By changing my environment, my whole mindset was altered, and I was able to find the strength to fight what was happening to me. It took a long time, and I don’t think it will ever really go away completely, but now if I’m struggling with eating I have different mechanisms to deal with it – I can channel it into a song, or get out there on stage and be in a different place,” she said.

Missy freely admits that music has been her savior. Not only did it take her out of the dark place she’d inhabited for so long, but it has given her a sense of belonging, a career and a very bright future.

“I’ve gained a lot of insights, and I find that through writing I not only understand myself better but I can also convey so much to other people through my songs,” she said.

Missy is currently working hard on her debut album. She’s released two EPs, Missy and Till I Figure It Out, and was a top three finalist in the Toyota Star Maker competition in 2016.

Her decision to publicly discuss her battle with eating disorders came after considerable reflection.

“Ultimately, I decided that I wasn’t going to worry about being judged any more. It is so important to embrace who you are and to be honest and real and up-front about it,” she said.

“I feel strong enough to talk about it now, and remembering how alone I felt a few years ago, I really wanted to be able to help someone else – even if it’s just one person.

“I hope they can look at me

now and see that you can overcome something that might seem impossible to beat.

While her battle has definitely influenced her songwriting, Missy says she is determined to make it an empowering thing – she doesn’t want anyone to feel sorry for her.

“I’m so glad to be alive and where I am today, and I want people to know the full story of what has made me who I am.”

The song that really captures her experience, The First Time, will be included on her first full-length album, which is due for release early in 2018.

“I wrote the song with Damien Leith, who’d written Call Me Crazy with Travis Collins.

“It’s me talking to my 16-year-old self, saying, ‘Don’t give in – it will get better.’

Missy said most of the songs on the new album are all very personal.

“I’ve put my heart and soul into them. They capture who I am – everything from the eating disorder to growing up, learning who I am, having a broken heart, going to Nashville. I’ve dug deep and I’m really proud of all of them,” she said.

The album is being produced by Lindsay Rimes and Josh Kerr.

“The focus has been on creating a sound that is uniquely mine. It has been a much longer journey than I planned, because I first needed to discover who I am as an artist, but the time and effort have been well worthwhile,” Missy said.

She has just released a brand new single, Forget, about letting your guard down after a relationship breakdown, and letting the emotions flood back in.

Over the past year, Missy has performed at numerous major festivals, including the Gympie Muster, the Deni Ute Muster and Dirt and Dust at Julia Creek.

She will present a show with Travis Collins at the 2018 Tamworth Festival – something she’s thrilled about, given that he was the first act she ever supported at the age 17.

Meanwhile, in keeping with her passion for giving something back, in gratitude for all life has bestowed on her recently, Missy is currently preparing to head off to Uganda, as part of the Walk with SHE walk across the country.

“It is being organised by International Needs Australia to raise funds to lift young women out of poverty in Africa, mostly through education.

“I feel very strongly about this charity, and it is an incredible thing to be part of – I’d love my fans to support the walk, and the charity,” Missy said.

Missy says she’s feeling positive, empowered and ready to tackle the next challenge her career has in store.

“And I know that like everything I’ve experienced so far in my life, it will teach me new lessons, give me new insights and help to make me a better person,” she said.

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BY JOHN F WESTERN

SEVERAL MONTHS AGO ALLAN CASWELL AND MICHAEL CARPENTER HAD LUNCH AND DECIDED THAT, EVEN THOUGH THEY LOVED WRITING TOGETHER, THEY WOULD NEITHER FORM A BAND NOR RECORD AN ALBUM.

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hey went back to Michael’s studio and wrote, Back When I Was Older and started recording it. Within a week it had been recorded, mixed, released and videoed. Within weeks it was a hit around the country. It was a similar story with the second and third singles Life Like It’s A Train Wreck and High Hopes.

Now the never-to-be-recorded album Carpenter Caswell has been released by the never-to-beformed band Carpenter Caswell.

Carpenter Caswell (the album) is an eclectic collection of carefully created songs that cover a whole range of country music from bluegrass to rockabilly and country rock to honkytonk.

Want That Back Again features a delightful cameo appearance

by Felicity Urquhart. The Boys In Black (written with Manfred Vijars) is an anthem/tribute to road crews and was written in support of The Australian Road Crew Association. Among the other great tracks is the trademark Caswell style drinking song Bourbon Every Time and Michael’s virtuoso instrumental The Big Daddy. Most of the album features Michael playing all the instruments. The exception is the bluegrass song Too Young, Too Cute, Too Pretty, which features great playing from Zane Banks – banjo, Anna McInerny – fiddle and James Daley – mandolin. Michael’s partner in crime from his other band

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The April Family, Kylie Whitney also appears as a backing vocalist on three tracks.

The way the songs were chosen for the album was simple … if they both liked a song it was in. This album is all about the songs. They were chosen for their quality and emotional impact not for their style.

“The album is like an Americana pizza but it all holds together nicely”. Carpenter Caswell features the work of two of Australian Country Music’s most talented and experienced singer/songwriters … the combination is dazzling.

CASWELL ON CARPENTER “When you work with Michael it’s a hundred miles an hour … you sort of hold on and wait to see where it lands next. The man is driven and seems to have an endless supply of energy and enthusiasm. He needs a bigger business card than most people to cover his singer/ songwriter/multi instrumentalist/video producer/record producer/engineer talents. He is an amazing musician and played just about everything on the album.”

As a songwriter, I’ve always wanted to be Hal David rather than Burt Bacharach and Michael gives me that. On Carpenter Caswell the ideas came from both of us … we’d jump in on each other’s ideas and it would work seamlessly. By the end of each songwriting session we would have come up with at least one song that neither of us could have written alone … and mostly couldn’t remember who wrote what. What we created was an eclectic collection of songs we loved” “As a producer, Michael is both an artist and a craftsman. A lot of his playing was recorded around his other projects. I’d come in and listen to these beautifully crafted tracks and hear these genius little pieces of playing and think “Where did that come from?” It was, at the same time “out there” and perfect.”

“We have over a hundred years of life experience between us, dozens of different influences, completely different voices that somehow blend together perfectly.

We push each other but agree on nearly everything.”

“This indulgent little accidental project turned into something we call Austracana (Americana with an Australian accent). Outside of it I’ll still be Allan Caswell with all that entails and Michael will still be the in demand producer and a big part of The April Family and Michael Carpenter and the Cuban Heels but everything about

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Carpenter Caswell is so much fun that it bound to keep going”.

CARPENTER ON CASWELL “Working with Allan was like a master class in song writing every time we got together. I learned a lot about refining a lyric and looking for a more effective option to try to deliver the true meaning of what the song is trying to say”.

“I think one of the important things about our collaboration was that we both pushed each other to places we normally wouldn’t go for whatever reason. Allan is such a great singer so it was great hearing him in the

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CARPENTER CASWELL context of some rockabilly and bluegrass tunes, for example.”

“We never really thought too hard about whether the songs we were writing would work together. Remember, this was never really a ‘project’ until it stumbled into itself!

So we were just indulgently exploring the different styles of country music that we love and having a lot of fun doing it. And when we heard it all together, it DID have a sound and a style that was unmistakably ours.”

“Allan is such an accomplished vocalist.

Most of his vocals on the album were done just as we’d written the song. Occasionally

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he’d want to come back later and re-sing something, and I’d let him. But it generally sounded pretty much the same as how he did it originally. It was a great example of him being such an accomplished and experienced performer, and these are some of the best, most naturally effortless vocals that I’ve recorded.”

“I love that the project played easily into our strengths.

There was no problem with delegating things, or any ego.

We’re both fans of each other and things just evolved naturally in terms of everyone’s role”

THE FUTURE The never-to-be-recorded band will be doing shows to promote their never to be recorded, just released album.

Shows have so far been booked in Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle and Tamworth. There will also be a show called “The Travelling Austracana Review” featuring Carpenter Caswell, The April Family and Smith and Jones.

For the live shows Carpenter Caswell will be using other musicians as well. Michael played nearly everything on the album but has yet to figure out how to play them all at the same time.

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he BMI Awardwinning LA songwriter and producer and his family made the bold move to Nashville in 2016 and has cemented his reputation as a heavyweight ‘go to’ for song writing sessions and song production in the Music City.

Ben Jackson caught up with Jeff to discuss life in Nashville, the art of songwriting... and being knighted Sheryl Crow’s ‘musical husband’.

THE COLLABORATOR Jeff Trott with Sheryl Crow

You recently made the move to Nashville from LA, how did you find the transition as a songwriter and producer and how different is it to LA creatively?

Well, funny thing is I keep running into music friends from LA, here in Nashville.

It’s as if I haven’t left! There is a misconception that it’s “all country, all the time” but I find that while there is a lot of country music being made here, there are a ton of young indie rock bands here doing some wonderfully brilliant music. I guess the difference between LA and Nashville is that the community here is more socially entwined and very supportive. Still very competitive but you have artists mixing and matching.

In LA there are many very creative people but there seems to be a more secular attitude towards intermingling with one another.

BY BEN JACKSON

FROM SHERYL CROW AND STEVIE NICKS, TO RANDY HOUSER AND MAREN MORRIS, JEFF TROTT IS AN AMERICAN MUSIC INDUSTRY SONGWRITING CORNERSTONE.

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Some of your most world renowned hits have been due to your creative relationship with nine-time Grammy winner and Nashville resident Sheryl Crow, who has fondly knighted you her ‘musical

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husband’ this year.… how did you come to gel with Sheryl back in the early ‘90s?

Sheryl and I met through a mutual friend, Bill Bottrell. We just hit it off immediately. You know when you meet someone and it feels like you’ve known them your whole life. Even our family upbringings mirrored each others. We had this informal attitude towards music.

More like geeky fans of music. I think that informality made for a lot of musical exploration. I used to say to her, “Hey let’s get together soon and make some musical nonsense” – the joy and pleasure of making music because it’s just fun to do. It also doesn’t hurt to have something to say.

Songs such as the iconic If It Makes You Happy and My Favourite Mistake still sound as relevant 20 years later…

The Crow/Trott songwriting machine seems to find that sweet spot for listeners… can you share with us what it is you feel about your writing partnership with Sheryl that sparks intriguing lyrics and memorable hooks?

Haha! We do a lot of talking before we even play a note. We share stories and listen to all kinds of new music. Another thing we’ve just recently brought back to our little rituals is going to a newsstand or bookstore and buy a ****load of magazines. We’d steal, I mean get inspired by articles to find something interesting to write about, but in our way. For instance, I bought a bondage magazine called Rope that had this article about a housewife, who to make ends meet, would work part time as a dominatrix. I just thought it was the most amazing story.

We turned that story into a song called Sweet Rosalyn. It wasn’t hit song material but it was/is a really cool song.

Your latest record with Sheryl Crow Be Myself (Warner Music) is sonically a real return to the gritty, fierce and feisty Crow/Trott sound that really hooked a generation 20 years ago… can you share the writing process with Sheryl for this record?

We decided to get back to the essence of what got us excited about doing music.

Sometimes you can overthink everything

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just because you want to sell some records. You end up following trends and in the process lose yourself, your identity. So, we both made a pact that we would just “be ourselves in every way” create music we’d like to hear. We spent a lot of time making sure each song had a deliberate message or theme. Many of the themes for this record were about being isolated by technology. Our phones do everything for us, hence we miss out on the real life experience which is way more vivid first hand than through a viewer. We didn’t get preachy though, more about being observant of the life going on around us. The ridiculous political climate going on in the US, and everywhere else for that matter.

You co-produced tracks from Stevie Nicks’ 2001 Top 5 Billboard album Trouble In Shangri-La – can you share with us the process and experience of working with Stevie on this project?

Well, I have to say, I was just fortunate to have Sheryl bring me into Stevie’s world. Stevie is one of the most generous persons I’ve ever met. She likes to include everybody. I really don’t think Sheryl needed me to help her but she must have wanted my company.

Stevie shared all of these amazing stories and read beautiful poetry to us. I was really touched. She likes to be surrounded by her friends at all times. I’m not sure if she likes solitude, I could be wrong but friendship is a big thing to her and that makes her such a fantastic person. Making music is just like breathing for her. I on the other hand have a harder time being around a lot

of people. I’m not sure what the phobia is but I must have a bit of it. It’s not that I’m not friendly, or dislike people in general but I clam up in big groups. Stevie has a big entourage most of the time and it became an issue for me but I tried my best to overcome this.

You recently signed with Ole Music Publishing who house such country stars such as Tyler Farr and Lindi Ortega. Could you share with us the experience of songwriting in Nashville with artists such as Randy Houser and Maren Morris?

I’ve written with Lindi too! I just wrote with Houser not long ago. He and this really great guy named Keith Gattis and I got together and threw around several ideas. Some of them were really good but Randy likes to jump from one thing to another. Normally, I don’t like writing that way but after an afternoon of jamming on a few songs we ended up writing a song called New Buzz. It’s about being high on being in love. Like love intoxication. One of my first co-writes when I first started to write in Nashville was with Maren Morris and Daniel Tashian.

She is a smart songwriter who knows the craft very well.

I am super happy for her success.

Which artists do you have your eye on in the Nashville scene at the moment?

I am working with a band called Fairground Saints who are incredible singers. Even though they are pretty young, they remind me of a young Eagles or Linda Ronstadt in her country rock days. I am also working with Lucie Silvas who may be one of the best singers I’ve ever heard.

As songwriters and bands battle the ever changing landscape of social media platforms, they often end up compromising appropriate time allocation on their own art… Do you have some words of advice for young talent when writing songs?

I think the best advice to young artists and bands that I can offer is to try to stand out from the pack.

Break the rules. It’s tough enough so why play it safe.

Just do music you would personally go purchase.

What words of advice can you offer hopeful Australian songwriters headed to Nashville to further their music career? Be open-minded. Try getting out of your comfort zone every once in a while. Also, try to find collaborators that you enjoy. Find your tribe.

What’s next for Jeff Trott in 2018?

I am trying to find the time to release an EP of my own. I do love collaborating on other people’s music but I am feeling the gravitational pull to throw my own hat into the ring but I’m quite happy being The Collaborator.

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BY SUSAN JARVIS

THERE ARE RARE MOMENTS IN AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY MUSIC WHEN EVERYTHING CHANGES.

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hink of James Blundell’s performance in the 1998 Star Maker, Lee Kernaghan’s The Outback Club, Kasey Chambers’ The Captain and Sara Storer’s Chasing Buffalo.

They’ve been few and far between in recent years, but Melody Moko’s stunning new album The Wreckage has changed that.

This is a fresh, vibrant and truly original album that will make Australia’s music industry sit up and notice – it somehow transcends genres, seamlessly blending country, pop and Americana into a cool, contemporary sound.

Produced by Catherine Britt (in her first outing as a producer) and Melody’s husband Michael Muchow, this is an exquisitely crafted collection of mostly original songs (plus one Paul Kelly cover) that simply cuts through the crowd.

Melody says she had a vision for this album: to create an Americana/alt-country record that was happy.

“I wanted to push the boundaries of genre, but at the same time stay true to country – with Catherine and Michael producing, that was a given,” she said.

“But I’m a positive, happy person and in Australia, Americana seems to have been hijacked by the hipsters, and is focused on really sad, dark themes.

“My goal was to infuse the Americana and country style with some indie pop, and to write songs that were very different from anything out there, but that reflected me and what I want to say.”

Melody’s first single from the album, Take Me, was launched exclusively on CMC, and charted at no. 19. The song was part of a special exclusive “taster” EP, with only 250 copies available, that was available at the 2017 Tamworth Festival.

A cool, jazz-infused song, Take Me, shows both the calibre of Melody’s songwriting and the talents of her producers.

“It’s a song about being insecure – about reconciling the public persona we all put out there and how you feel about yourself, and about fearing not living up to others’ expectations,” Melody said.

The album’s radio single, The Wreckage, shows an even greater depth of talent.

The Wreckage is a fascinating song. It’s musically and lyrically powerful, and the subject matter is profound.

“I wrote the song almost from my subconscious, but I could never work out who it was about. It took a couple of years to realise that it was actually about me,” Melody said.

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If you haven’t yet heard of Melody Moko, that’s because she’s been quietly working hard behind the scenes to put everything in place, ready for the launch of The Wreckage.

Along with Michael, she’s also been bringing up the couple’s son, four-year-old Miller, who is clearly the light of her life.

It was due to Miller that Melody decided to include a Paul Kelly cover on her debut album.

“Miller is a Paul Kelly nut – we listen to him all the time in the car – so I decided to include one of his songs.

The song she chose was Don’t Explain.

“It’s written from a female viewpoint – which made me want to cover it, so it would be different from Paul’s version.

He’s heard the song and said he really liked the energy I brought to it, which was a huge compliment,” Melody said.

Melody grew up in South Australia, and says she had more than 7000 records to listen to as a child. As a child, her father packed Melody, an old guitar and cassette mix tapes for company in the car and gave his daughter a musical education at small festivals across Australia.

She says she blossomed when she discovered songwriting, and as a teenager won numerous songwriting awards. She was also a finalist in the Telstra Road to Discovery and Toyota Star Maker.

A musical pilgrimage to the United States saw her perform at the Bluebird Café in Nashville, the Continental Club in Austin, Texas

“WE WERE AT A POINT WHERE WE WERE BECOMING ADULTS – MEETING OUR LIFE PARTNERS, I WAS HAVING A BABY. WE DECIDED THAT RATHER FOCUSING ON THE PAST, WE SHOULD CONCENTRATE ON WHAT IT WAS WE WANTED TO BECOME.”

and Tootsies. During a second US trip, she performed at the Americana Festival.

Her first EP was Walk That Wire.

A few years ago, she and Michael set up house on the NSW Central Coast – known as “Hillbilly Heaven” in country music circles. It was a difficult time for Melody, and inspired one of the album’s best tracks, Truth About It, which reflects on her own self-esteem.

“When I first moved there, and was the mother of a young baby, I often felt that people only saw me in relation to Michael – all my friends had originally been his friends, and anything I achieved felt like it was viewed through my relationship.

“I’m not sure whether any of it was true, or whether I really did seem to be in his shadow, but that’s what the song’s about.”

These days, Melody is shining bright on her own terms – with Michael’s years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

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wholehearted support and pride.

She’s even taken a version of his name, “Moko”, as her own – and says he’s considering changing the spelling of his own.

Melody says having Michael and her close friend Catherine Britt produce the album proved surprisingly easy.

“They both know me so well that they knew what I wanted, and they were able to make the songs come alive exactly as I heard them in my head,” Melody said.

“Catherine became sick during production, and we ended up moving all our gear into her room, because she wanted to be doing something other than just going through chemo. So some of it was recorded in her bedroom.”

Catherine also cowrote What I Used To Know with Melody.

“We were at a point where we were becoming adults – meeting our life partners, I was having a baby. We decided that rather focusing on the past, we should concentrate on what it was we wanted to become,” Melody said. years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

The real standout on this album – and the brand new single – is Secondhand Heart, one of several love songs written for Michael, but – like many of the album’s tracks – with a fresh, new twist.

“You reach a point in your life when falling in love means taking on a person’s past baggage and hurts and history. But that’s what makes the person who they are, so it’s something to be celebrated,” she said.

This song is incredibly catchy and appealing, and is a sure-fire hit.

Every track on this album is a treasure, including Will You Wait?, another love song, Bite Back, a

song about getting someone to fight back, and the alt-country Look What You Made Me Do. The album’s final track, Bury Me Sane, is classic Americana. Penned with Michael, it is a wonderful tale.

“It’s a fantasy – what would happen if you got married and realised you’d made a terrible mistake. I had this image of a burning wedding dress, and went from there,” Melody said.

The Wreckage was launched in Newcastle last month. Melody is planning a solo show at the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January, as well as performing with Fanny Lumsden and appearing in Americana in the Park.

She is also about to set off on her second Country Halls Tour with Fanny, which will continue through until next February.

She will tour with Catherine Britt in the second half of 2018.

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THE COUNTRY MUSIC WORLD MOURNS THE LOSS OF ONE OF ITS MOST DISTINCTIVE SONG STYLISTS WITH THE PASSING OF DON WILLIAMS AFTER A SHORT ILLNESS. HE WAS 78.

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native of Floydada, Texas, Don Williams was born May 27, 1939. He grew up in Portland, TX, graduating there in 1958.

Music had always been a part of his upbringing, entering – and winning - a talent contest when he was just three years old. For his efforts, he received an alarm clock. He began playing guitar during his teenage years, learning the songs that he heard on the radio during that period. He and his friends played in local bands around the area, and he wed wife Joy Bucher on April 10, 1960.

To support his family – which would grow to include two sons, Gary and Timmy – Don worked at a number of odd jobs, including oil field work, and also as a bill collector. While living in Corpus Christi in 1964, he formed the folk-styled trio The Pozo Seco Singers with Lofton Cline and Susan Taylor. They stayed together for seven years, with their biggest hit being Time.

After the group disbanded in 1969, Williams found his way to Nashville. By 1971, he had a songwriting contract with the publishing company owned by Jack Clement.

The next year would see Williams ink a recording deal with Clement’s JMI Records. He made his chart debut with The Shelter of Your Eyes in 1973, and was soon hitting the charts time and again with a much more laid-back sound than a lot of the music coming out of Nashville at the time. 1974 would see Williams top the charts for the first time with I Wouldn’t Want To Live If You Didn’t Love Me. From that point all the way through 1991, each Don Williams’ single would hit the Top 40 on the Billboard Country charts. His 1970s hits included such chart toppers as Tulsa Time, She Never Knew Me, and It Must Be Love. His career grew steadily through label shifts to ABC / Dot, MCA, Capitol, and finally RCA. Williams also gained a devoted following overseas in such unlikely spots as England, Ireland, and New Zealand, and even South Africa and Kenya – where he reached superstar status. He was named the Male Vocalist of the Year by the Country Music Association in 1978. Though known for being very low-key and soft spoken, he made two movie appearances – 1974’s W.W. and The Dixie Dancekings, and 1980’s Smokey and the Bandit II. The 1980s saw no slow down in Williams’ recorded output, with the singer notching his biggest hit with

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1981’s I Believe In You, which not only topped the country charts, but crossed over to No. 24 on the Hot 100. By this time, he had earned the nickname The Gentle Giant for his trademark mellow sound, and the hits continued to pile up throughout the rest of the decade - Stay Young, If Hollywood Don’t Need You, and One Good Well being three of his biggest of the 1980s. His final top 10 came in 1991, with Lord Have Mercy On A Country Boy, a song that Josh Turner – a Williams fan – went on to record in 2006.

Though the changing of the guard at radio slowed down Williams’ chart success, he continued to perform for sold-out crowds in America and abroad, playing a final tour in 2006. However, retirement was not in the cards for the singer, who returned to the road in 2010 – the same year that he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Williams’ return to the spotlight also included a pair of albums on Sugar Hill, 2012’s And So It Goes, and 2014’s Reflections, which included contributions from Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, and Keith Urban. It was a sign of his enduring appeal that both albums hit the Top-20 on the Billboard Country Albums charts – his biggest rank there in three decades.

In 2016, Williams decided that the time was right for his final performance, after one of the most successful careers in the history of the country music business. “It’s time to hang my hat up and enjoy some quiet time at home. I’m so thankful for my fans, my friends and my family for their everlasting love and support,” the 76-year-old Williams said in a statement at the time. Last year also saw the final release of his career, a live CD and DVD recorded in Ireland. In 2017, the singer was the subject of a tribute album, Gentle Giants: The Songs of Don Williams, that included performances of his hits by artists such as Lady Antebellum and Garth Brooks.

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VALE THE GENTLE

GIANT years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

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JOHNNY CASH MUSEUM TOP US

ATTRACTION TRIPADVISOR HAS NOMINATED THE JOHNNY CASH MUSEUM AS A TOP US TRAVEL DESTINATION FOR THE SUMMER OF 2017.

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ounder Bill Miller said that he’s proud to see fans, tourists and locals experiencing the interactive journey through the personal and professional life of his friend, the Man In Black.

Since opening its doors in April 2013, The Johnny Cash Museum has expanded by adding a café and additional exhibition space. The latest wing of exhibits profiles “Walk The Line”, The Carter Family, The Legends of Sun Records and Cash Covers, in addition to green screen technologies that enable fans to get a picture with Johnny Cash.

Icon Entertainment, the parent company for The Johnny Cash Museum, also owns and operates The Patsy Cline Museum, Nudie’s Honky Tonk and Skull’s Rainbow Room.

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BACK TO THEIR ROOTS COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME MEMBERS AND FIVETIME GRAMMY WINNING GROUP, THE OAK RIDGE BOYS, HAVE A NEW PROJECT SET FOR RELEASE IN EARLY 2018, WITH ACCLAIMED PRODUCER DAVE COBB.

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he Oak Ridge Boys recently performed songs from their yet-tobe titled project, at a listening event during Americana Music Association AmericanaFest at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A, where the album was recorded. The event was hosted by Peter Cooper, senior director, producer and writer at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

This is the group’s second project with Cobb, who

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produced their acclaimed The Boys Are Back album in 2009.

For the new project, Cobb’s vision was to dig way back into their roots of gospel music. A different kind of gospel; one that took a hard look at the early days of rock and roll, which was influenced by spiritual, or black gospel.

The album will be released by Lightning Rod Records and distributed by Thirty Tigers.

According to Logan Rogers, founder of Lightning Rod Records, “Everyone has heard the Boys sing gospel, but nobody has heard it quite like this. Under Dave Cobb’s direction, they touch on unchartered territory—and for a longtenured act like The Oak Ridge Boys, that’s saying something.”

The Oak Ridge Boys have sold over 41 million units worldwide. They are synonymous with America,

apple pie, baseball, pop, rock, gospel and country music. The group – Joe Bonsall, Duane Allen, William Lee Golden, and Richard Sterban – have earned prestigious membership in the Country Music Hall of Fame (2015 Inductees) and Grand Ole Opry, and are known worldwide as one of recording history’s most extraordinary musical successes.

They have charted single after single and album after album, celebrating two doubleplatinum albums and more than 30 Top 10 hits, including No. 1 chart-toppers Elvira, Bobbie Sue, Thank God For Kids, American Made, Y’All Come Back Saloon, among dozens more.

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QUEEN OF

BLUEGRASS ALL AMERICAN BLUEGRASS GIRL, RHONDA VINCENT, TOGETHER WITH THE MOST AWARD WINNING BAND IN BLUEGRASS MUSIC HISTORY, “THE RAGE” RECENTLY PERFORMED AMONGST THE BREATHTAKING BEAUTY OF PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC AND GSTAAD, AND SWITZERLAND.

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honda said “The response was overwhelming, It is such an amazing feeling to know our music transcends beyond borders, languages, and cultures. Music is a universal language, and we certainly felt the love by the ovations received after every song. It was equivalent to a finale ending after every solo, and at the ending of each song. What an exhilarating experience to feel such response to our music.”

The first performance of the tour was at the historic Rudolfinum, in Prague, Czech Republic, the current home to the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and Rhonda and The Rage are the first artists to perform bluegrass music there.

Rhonda set another historic landmark as one of the few who have made triple performances at the most prestigious country music festival in Switzerland, Country Night Gstaad. The festival is an annual event, spanning over 20 years, and hosted by entrepreneur Marcel Bach in the beauty of the Swiss Alps. Rhonda first performed at the Country Night Gstaad in 1997 with a country music band; next in 2007 with The Rage; and her third appearance another 10 years later in 2017 along with country music newbie Mo Pitney and the multi-charting Mark Chesnutt.

She and the band stole the night with their energetic performance.

In addition to their nightly performances, Rhonda & The Rage did a special meet and greet with fans who travelled from all parts of Europe, which included Slovakia, Italy, France, and Spain and they also hosted a special impromptu jam session at their sponsor booth D’Addario.

“We love getting involved in every aspect of a festival,” Rhonda said. “It’s more than just coming to a concert. We love getting to visit with our friends, and meeting new friends. With Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, we can stay in touch well beyond the show. It’s important that I can shake each person’s hand, and look them in the eye to really make a connection you cannot make from the stage. They are lifelong friendships. We bring our heart and soul to every venue, and this is displayed in the amazing love we are shown in return.”

Following the tour, and whilst still in full flight they continued on to perform at the Dumplin Valley Bluegrass Festival in Kodak, TN, Starvy Creek Bluegrass Festival in Conway, MO, and Pickin’ In The Pines Festival in Flagstaff, AZ. years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

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R A C H A E L F A H I M Confetti is the hit single from the self-titled EP Rachael Fahim Available now on iTunes

rachaelfahim.com JANUARY 2018 Tamworth CMF NSW Opening Concert, Toyota Park, Tamworth NSW

OCTOBER 2-8 Mildura CMF Vic 14 Toyota Caringbah NSW

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Toyota Star Maker Grand Final, Toyota Park, Tamworth NSW Toyota Stars Under The Stars, Toyota Park, Tamworth NSW

P R OU D L Y S U P P OR T E D B Y

OR G A N I S E D B Y

HAIR DESIGN & MAKE UP

e: info@starmaker.com.au | w: starmaker.com.au 32

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TOYOTA STAR MAKER UPDATE

BACK IN THE STUDIO From last month’s performance in Townsville in front of a 24,000 crowd, for the Toyota Cowboys match.

LAST MONTH I SAID THAT MY YEAR WAS GETTING BUSIER, AND I WASN’T JOKING.

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ello I wrote this diary having enjoyed a beautiful drive enjoying the view of the New England Highway from Tamworth to home.

I had spent another night and day in Tamworth, this time for a photoshoot with the oh-so-talented Andrew Pearson. Deb Woods at Plush did my makeup and styled my hair pre-shoot and after our Plan A for locations went out the window we had to go to Plan B which we made up really quickly. Despite the crazy windy day – bad hair day – it was a fun time overall and I can’t wait to see them and show you too.

It was my second weekend in Tamworth in two weeks.

I hosted my first Muso’s Jam at the Albert Hotel where the theme was songs from Star Maker winners. What a great night with all the local muso’s.

If you were in the Tamworth area on the weekend of September 2 & 3 - or if you’re a local - you might have seen my band and I play our gig at the Albert Hotel or maybe you caught the acoustic session I did with Michael John Horneman at the Longyard Hotel on Fathers Day. The venue was packed - I loved every minute of the gig, and the Longyard was so lovely and I was so glad to see a

years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

bunch of local media come by to listen too.

The day was gorgeous until the dark clouds rolled in, and from nowhere the rain pelted in drenching us, so we had to pack up 15 minutes early. Thanks to Kym Beare, Ryan Morris and Rusty Crook for helping us out.

Late last month, I headed into the studio with Brisbane producer Andrew Cochrane to record my second Star Maker single, which I can’t contain my excitement about. I’ve been crushing on this song for a while now and I can’t wait to share it with you. Stay tuned on my Facebook and Instagram pages for all the updates.

As I write this, I’m preparing for my first Deni Ute Muster and Mildura Country Music Festival and Southern Stars Awards, and I am very excited to see what they are like.

I’ve also just locked in my second year

performing at McHappy Day, which is on October 14. It’s an event I love being a part of and money raised is for seriously sick kids and their families, and every bit counts. No matter where you are, make sure you buy a Big Mac on October 14 and you’ll be doing your part to lend a hand.

On that same day, I’ll be participating in a huge day with hundreds of families at Toyota’s Family Day to help celebrate and farewell the Sydney team before Toyota moves to Melbourne in 2018.

Also this month, I’ll be popping up as a special guest with the Viper Creek Band on October 21, at East Cessnock Bowling Club from 8pm. Tickets are only $10 and available from the club, so just give them a call, I’d love to see you there.

I’ll also be at Dural Public School for the annual Country Fair. My set starts at 12pm so come and say hey.

Thanks for reading – love Rach xx

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D R OVE R MUS IC PRE S E N TS

Melissa THE

BAJRIC

SHOW TAMWORTH EDITION

WITH THE

LINDSAY WADDINGTON SHOW BAND

Capitol Theatre Tamworth 10am, Tuesday 23rd January 2018 Special Guests: Lindsay Waddington, Lloyd Back, Bob Easter, Sharnee Fenwick, Donnie Soper and Runaway Dixie Tickets $25 | Phone 02 6766 2028 Online: www.capitoltheatre.com.au In Person Capitol Theatre Tamworth, The Big Golden Guitar or Ray Walsh House www.melissabajric.com

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years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

O N E T O WAT C H

ANGUS GILL

BY SUSAN JARVIS

ANGUS GILL ADMITS THAT HE NEVER REALLY FELT HE BELONGED WHILE GROWING UP. BUT HE DECIDED EARLY ON TO TURN THAT DIFFERENCE TO HIS ADVANTAGE.

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ngus said, “I wasn’t bullied or treated badly, but I just didn’t fit in anywhere. So I decided to embrace who I was, and really focus on the things I loved. I see that uniqueness as a positive,” he said.

Now, still only 19 years of age, Angus has written, produced and even mixed his debut album, Nomad.

Many people saw Angus for the first time in this year’s Toyota Star Maker grand final.

One of them was Australian pop star Guy Sebastian, who was blown away by the young singer’s energy and talent.

Sebastian tweeted during the competition (at which he performed as a guest artist): “Forget Duncan. I wanna have a beer with Angus!”

Angus has been preparing for his new album for the past couple of years. He’s enlisted the talents of the cream of Australian

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songwriters to co-write with him – including Gina Jeffreys, Kevin Bennett, Adam Harvey, Matt Scullion, Bill Chambers and Luke O’Shea, and counts Matt Fell, Stuie French, Simon Johnson and Brad Bergen among his mentors.

He did unpaid work experience with Simon and Matt to learn the craft of producing, and travelled to Nashville at the tender age of 17 to immerse himself in the country music industry and write songs.

“I was learning to produce while I was finishing my Higher School Certificate, and I developed a passion for production. I absolutely love being able to bring my songs to life the way I hear them in my head,” he said.

The first single from Nomad is Roadworks, a song about the ups and downs of life, and having to come to terms with the things that get in your way.

“I’ve made the song speed up and slow down along with the lyrics, to reflect the way roadworks affect a driver’s journey. It made it a challenging song to record, because of all the tempo changes, but it has ended up being an up-beat, light-hearted song that captured who I am,” Angus said.

Nomad is an album of fun and frivolity, but also perceptive, moving songs that reflect the other side of Angus’s personality.

“It’s like the Yin and Yang of me. I have a sense of humour, and I love word play – it really appeals to me.

But at the same time, I wanted to reveal my sensitive side through some moving ballads that would really touch people,” Angus said.

The fun songs include a track he wrote and recorded with Adam Harvey, P Plater, which will resonate with every newly licensed teenager and their stressed-out parents.

Police Forgive Me, which he penned with Troy Kemp, is almost a sequel, taking off on a flight of fantasy that captures the thoughts that race through a young man’s mind when he’s stopped by the police.

Tracks like Country Bloke, City Driving, written with Luke O’Shea, Rusty Machines, penned with Bill Chambers, and Traffic Lights In A Small Town, co-written in Nashville, really establish Angus’s country credentials.

They’re thoughtful, yet whimsical songs that capture the Australian ethos and way of life beautifully, with a real depth that offers an insight into human nature and the way society works.

But it’s with the ballads that Angus really shows his maturity – extraordinary for such a young man.

Before We Say Goodbye is a poignant song about loss – about never knowing when the last farewell will be. The song was written with Lyn Bowtell, and it is a wonderful piece of work.

Also memorable is the moving Starin’ Out The Back Of A Car, written with Kevin Bennett and featuring KB and Amos Morris. It is a powerful reaction to Angus learning about reality of the Stolen Generations.

Other great tracks on the album are the title track, Nomad, about Angus’s touring life, Walking Cliché, which Angus describes as “highly autobiographical” and Young Wheels Down An Old Road, which deals with taking risks and entering uncharted territory.

Nomad was launched in Port Macquarie last month, and will have additional album launches on the NSW Central Coast in November, and at the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January.

Angus, who recently performed at the Mildura Country Music Festival, is also planning a caravan park tour up the Queensland coast in January, which will take him from Crescent Head to Airlie Beach.

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HEAR+THERE WALTZING AUSTRALIA WHEN PLANNING THEIR NEW ALBUM THE HUNGRY MILE THE BUSHWACKERS ASKED COLIN BUCHANAN TO CONTRIBUTE A SONG. HE WROTE ABOUT THE MIGRANT EXPERIENCE, A POWERFUL NARRATIVE FEATURING HIS FRIENDS MANUEL (PORTUGAL) AND ANNE (VIETNAM).

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he song, Waltzing Australia, included reference to the Karen people who were driven out of Myanmar, 200 of whom have settled, and subsequently transformed the little Mallee town of Nhill in Victoria. Community leader and grocery store owner Kaw Doh Htoo makes an appearance.

John Williamson sings the third verse about the Karen people in the Mallee and Sara Storer sings about Anne’s story in the second verse. A host of country stars including Troy Cassar-Daley, Lee Kernaghan,

Shane Nicholson, Catherine Britt, Amber Lawrence, Lyn Bowtell, Fanny Lumsden, Felicity Urquhart, Aleyce Simmonds, Amanda O’Bryan, Aimee Hannan, Drew McAlister, Luke O’Shea, Kevin Bennett, Allan Caswell, Pete Denahy, Greg Storer, Rob Imeson, Col Gentles, Simply Bushed, Rory Phillips, Ian Quinn and Colin Buchanan join

the last chorus singing, “Now his son plays on the footy team like Nhill’s always been his home.

“Come one, come all, make yourself at home, who’ll come a Waltzing Australia?”

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ost Highway Australia artist Imogen Clark’s new single Collide is an exciting example of what to expect from her upcoming second album. Produced

by Mark Lizotte, it’s steeped in rhythmic, altcountry production with a gritty, rock edge, and it showcases her deep, soulful vocal tone and is another example of her wisely crafted lyrics.

To direct the new video, Imogen teamed up with Jeremy Dylan who directed her videos Drawing Hearts (2017), You’ll Only Break My Heart (2016) and Take Me For A Ride (2015). Imogen has spent the last five years touring tirelessly, both nationally and internationally supporting and playing alongside highly-respected artists such as Diesel, Ian Moss, Daryl Braithwaite and Shane Nicholson. She cowrote two songs on Kasey Chambers’ #1 album Dragonfly, and recorded backing vocals on Shane Nicholson’s Love & Blood record. Her debut album Love & Lovely Lies (2016) charted at #15 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter Chart and #15 on the ARIA Chart for Australian Country Albums with the album’s singles, You’ll Only Break My Heart, Drawing Hearts and Take Me For A Ride all enjoying success on the CMC Chart, Official Australian Country Airplay Chart and iTunes Country Chart.

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IMOGEN CLARK RELEASES NEW SINGLE COLLIDE years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

H+T AUSSIES WIN US-BASED COMPETITION SINGER SONGWRITERS EL COSGROVE (DALBY, QLD) AND KATRINA BURGOYNE (GUNNEDAH, NSW) ARE MAJOR WINNERS IN THE US-BASED UNSIGNED ONLY MUSIC COMPETITION.

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l was awarded first place as well as an honourable mention with her song Nobody’s Gettin’ Out Alive and Katrina’s When I’m Broken was second place.

Since 2012, Unsigned Only has become an important source for discovering new talent and acts as a benchmark for excellence in the arena of contemporary music.

Selected from 6,000 entries from almost 100 countries, the winners share in over $150,000 in cash and prizes split among 28 winners. It is open to all artists who are unsigned to a major record label and entries are narrowed down to a group of finalists that are given to the panel of judges whose task is to select the winners.

Australian artists garnered a total of 21 wins in the competition, including two First Place wins, one Second Place win, and 18 Honourable Mentions.

“Australian artists always make a strong showing in Unsigned Only,” said founders/ directors Candace Avery and Jim Morgan. “Our Aussie winners exemplify some of the best up-and-coming talent in the world, and winning Unsigned Only gives them the opportunity to be heard on an international scale. We are committed to showcasing their talents.”

Honourable mentions went to Gretta Ziller (Melbourne, Vic) – Slaughterhouse Blues – Americana; Matt Henry (Bangalow, NSW) – Catch

El Cosgrove

Someday – Americana; Matt Joe Gow (Melbourne, Vic) – Bottle It Up, Pass It On – Americana; Mitch King (Gold Coast, Qld) – Southerly Change – Americana.

For a full list of winners and to submit for 2018 go to www.unsignedonly.com.

DIESELINE DREAMS H

ave you seen the new music video for the Graeme Connors’ song Dieseline Dreams recorded by Slim Dusty? The song was first released on Slim’s 1984 album Trucks On The Track and re-released on a number of Slim’s trucking albums since, including most recently Prime Movers.

“Slim released over 100 albums and if you averaged out 10 songs per album, that’s one thousand songs. It would have been pretty hard to make a music video for all of them.” said music fan Brent Langley. After seeking approval from both Graeme Connors and Joy McKean, Brent contacted The Filmery to create a music video of the original recording.

“It is such a great story of a boy jumping in the truck with his dad for the first time as they head off on a long years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

trip,” he said. The music clip, directed by Josh Favaloro, was shot around Singleton in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, the birth place of Joy McKean. Duncan Toombs arranged for Matt Manning and his five-year-old son Bailey to play the part of the father and son who embark on their first journey together up to far north Queensland. Matt is a talented musician in his own right and also a truck driver so it was second nature for him.

Brent said that everybody has a favourite song of Slim’s. “Mine would have to be Dieseline Dreams.”

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^]Zh ^] years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

H+T RICHMOND TO HONOUR CHARLES KINGSFORD SMITH SINGER JONNIE RUSSELL HAS ORGANISED A SPECIAL EVENT TO HONOUR AND HIGHLIGHT THE ENDEAVOURS OF AVIATOR CHARLES KINGSFORD SMITH.

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he event, to be held on October 14 at Richmond School of Arts in West Market Street, Richmond, NSW will pay tribute to Kingsford Smith who made the first trans-Pacific flight from the United States to Australia in 1928.

He also made the first nonstop crossing of the Australian mainland, the first flights between Australia and New Zealand,

and the first eastward Pacific crossing from Australia to the United States and made a flight from Australia to London, setting a new record of ten and a half days.

Michelle Little and Irish entertainer Nick O’Neill will join Jonnie in concert and local historian Carol Roberts from the Hawksbury Heritage Tours will show a power point presentation of the global hero.

In the early days of aviation, Kingsford Smith was closely associated with the town of Richmond in as much as many of his pioneering flights either commenced or terminated at Richmond Air Force Base,

Charles Kingsford Smith

including the infamous Coffee Royal affair.

Jonnie welcomes all to the event and in particular encourages the Hawkesbury district to pay tribute to this great Australian. “This is my small way of trying to keep the name Kingsford Smith alive and well, said Jonnie. Next year, it will be 90 years since he made the first transPacific flight and it is hoped that a big event will be held at Sydney’s State Theatre.

Tickets to the concert are $30 and doors open at 7pm for an 8pm start. Contact Jonnie Russell for more information on 02 9625 0289 or email jonnierussell1@ hotmail.com.

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RUBY BOOTS SIGNS INTERNATIONAL DEAL years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

ustralian-born, Nashville-based gogetter Ruby Boots has signed with renowned Chicago label Bloodshot Records.

Having toured with Nikki Lane throughout Europe and the UK earlier this year, Ruby Boots will unveil the first taste of new material by way of a single and video this coming October.

Last month, she made her first US label-related public appearance at this year’s AmericanaFest performing at the ‘Bloodshot & Pandora Backyard Bash’ at The Groove in Nashville.

The album, due early 2018, was produced by Beau Bedford and recorded at Modern Electric Sound Recorders in Dallas TX. It features Lone Star-bred collective and studio wizards The Texas Gentlemen as backing band. In 2015, Ruby Boots (real name Bex Chilcott) released her debut record entitled Solitude to budding and consistent critical acclaim including rave reviews from Rhythms Magazine, The Courier-Mail, The Age, and No Depression.

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FESTIVALS

GYMPIE CMF

GYMPIE CMF Rod Coe and Pete Denahy

The Voice 2017 Judah Kelly

Christie Lamb

Amber Lawrence & Travis Collins

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Jessica Mauboy

Linc Phelps

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Brendan Radford

Jeremy Marou

years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

FESTIVALS

GYMPIE CMF

Caitlyn Shadbolt

Chad Morgan

Lyn Bowtell ALL PHOTOS BY ROBIN REIDY PHOTOGRAPHY

Adam Brand

Graeme Connors

Thomas Busby

years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

Anne Kirkpatrick

Bill Chambers

Matt Cornell

Jody Direen

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FESTIVALS

COMING UP

JETT WILLIAMS FOR CLARENCE VALLEY MUSTER THE 2017 CLARENCE VALLEY COUNTRY MUSTER IS THE ONLY FESTIVAL APPEARANCE IN AUSTRALIA BY JETT WILLIAMS, DAUGHTER OF THE LATE, GREAT HANK WILLIAMS.

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n Sunday, October 29, Jett will perform exclusively at the muster, singing some of her father’s songs with Australia’s own version of the Drifting Cowboys.

The band features Rod Coe on bass; Kelvin Nolan on guitar; Dallas Southern on pedal steel and Brendan Crickmore on fiddle. (Hank didn’t have drummers in his band, so neither does his daughter).

Get a Hankering for what’s ahead on Thursday night, October 26, by trying out your own version of your favourite Hank Williams song. Hank fan Ray Essery will donate a trophy to the winner. Then, after the songs have been sung, settle back with some popcorn for the Hank Williams movie, I Saw The Light on the big screen. While you’re watching, think up a Hank memory to share with Jett when you meet her on Sunday.

The Gunbarrell Highwaymen – Terry Gordon, Reg Poole and Owen Blundell – who are all major Hank Williams fans, will mark a significant milestone at the muster. It’s 28 years since the trio began. They’ve toured Australia and New Zealand, and performed at most major festivals. There are always plenty of laughs and the odd beverage or two consumed when the three friends meet.

Registered marriage celebrant Tania Kernaghan will be at the muster for anyone who wants to renew their wedding vows – but you must book in advance.

Tania will get the ball rolling by renewing the marriage vows of Glenn and Gayle Jones in a special ceremony at 9am on Sunday, October 29 on the Tex Morton stage. If you’re considering this special renewal you’re required to pre-register on the website cvcmuster.com.au at a cost of $20 per couple.

Don’t miss the salute to the Charge of Beersheba on Friday, October 27 at 1pm, when Glenn Jones and two Light Horsemen ride down the boulevard to honour those who took part in that seemingly “impossible” charge a century ago on a Turkish battlefield.

Jett Williams

It is 100 years since the Charge of Beersheba by 800 members of the Australian 4th and 12th Light Horse.

Look out for Chad Morgan when he performs and remember to congratulate the consummate showman on the bronze bust he recently unveiled in his honour, located in Tamworth.

There’s a $2000 prize package of studio time for the best walk-up act of the muster thanks to Lindsay Waddington at Kross Kut Records and it’s certainly worth thinking about.

Find out more at www.cvcmuster.com.au.

RETREAT REFRESHER COURSE

F

ollowing the success of the mid-year Songwriters Retreat, organiser John Krsulja has planned a brand new retreat.

The Spring Songwriters Retreat will take place from November 23 to 27, 2017 and has been designed to give established artists a place to meet and grow creatively. If you are looking to improve your songwriting, performance skills, creative flow or market presence, this retreat is for you.

The program allows artists to intimately work

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with prominent songwriters, and well-known established artists and musicians.

Previous retreat attendees are encouraged to register.

Luke O’Shea, Kevin Bennett and Lachlan Bryan have all been confirmed to tutor attendees.

For further information go to www.thedag.com.au.

John Krsulja years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

FESTIVALS

COMING UP

BEAUTIFUL BALLINA THE BALLINA COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL WILL BE HELD FROM FRIDAY, TO SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3 TO 5.

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t’s the sixth annual country music festival for the town and it’s created significant interest from locals and visitors during the three-day event. There are more than 30 artists providing entertainment on six stages in various venue locations throughout Ballina, including Cherry Street Sports Club, Henry Rous Hotel, Westower Tavern, Shaws Bay Hotel, and the Street Entertainment Stage, and they’re all free entry.

Two major ticketed concerts will be held in a special marquee on the grounds of the Cherry Street Sports Club.

The opening concert on Friday, November 3 is the Festival Benefit Concert featuring Brothers3, The Mid North, Stuie French & Camille Te Nahu and on Saturday, November 4 the Main Concert will feature current three times Golden Guitar winner and three times CMC winner Travis Collins,

together with multi-award winner Felicity Urquhart, Murray Hartin, Billy Bridge and Rebecca Lee Nye. On Saturday, November 4 a section of Cherry Street adjacent to the club will be closed from 10am to 4pm providing a main feature stage with artists, street market stalls, food stalls and children’s activities.

This year’s festival is proudly supported by the Ballina Shire Council, major sponsor Cherry Street Sports Club and participating venues.

With over fifty percent of the artist line up performing at the festival for the first time this year, everyone attending is sure to have a great time.

Travis Collins

Find all you need to know on the website ballinacountrymusic.com.

For more information contact Garry Lavercombe on 02 6686 9255 or email him at gazlav49@ hotmail.com .

3•4•5 NOVEMBER 2017 OVER 30 ARTISTS ON 6 STAGES FREE

PLUS Friday November 3 – OPENING BENEFIT CONCERT Brothers 3, Stuie & Camille, Murray Hartin, The Mid North Saturday November 4 – FESTIVAL SHOWCASE CONCERT Travis Collins, Felicity Urquhart, Billy Bridge and Rebecca Lee Nye MAJOR SPONSORS

Tickets on sale at www.outix.co For more info visit www.ballinacountrymusic.com

years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

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years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

FESTIVALS

COMING UP

SLIM DUSTY FESTIVAL THE THREE GENERATIONS OF SLIM DUSTY’S FAMILY AND THE MEMBERS OF THE TRAVELLING COUNTRY BAND (TCB) WILL REUNITE FOR A VERY SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY PERFORMANCE IN OCTOBER AS PART OF THE 14TH ANNUAL SLIM DUSTY COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL.

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t’s 10 years since Slim’s beloved home studio Columbia Lane was re-opened to record the Family Reunion album …the first family album without Slim. It proved 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 anniversary concert will be hosted by family matriarch Joy McKean, on Saturday evening (21 October) and will surely be one of the highlights of this year’s popular Slim

Dusty Country Music Festival to be held at the Kempsey Showground.

See Joy McKean, Anne Kirkpatrick, David Kirkpatrick, Jim Arneman, Flora Smith, Kate Arneman, The Lindsay Sisters (Dianne and Sandra) and bush balladeer Jeff Brown, Kathryn Jones, Errol Gray, Wayne Docherty, Chris Cook, Ian B MacLeod, Paul McCloud, Steve Passfield, Todd

Haywood, Chris Haigh, Brad Bergen, Scott Hills, Amos Morris, Rob Breese, Taylor Pfeiffer, Peter Simpson, Steve Grace with compere Barry Williams.

This special anniversary concert, promises to take the 2017 festival fans on an exhilarating Australian country music journey, with the family’s stories, and renditions of many of those Slim favourites and of course there will be performances of tracks from their #1 charting Slim Dusty Family Reunion album.

The 2017 festival will kick off on Monday, October 16 through until Sunday, October 22. Book a tour out to Slim’s boyhood home in the Nulla Valley or to the historic Trial Bay Gaol at South West Rocks, to complete your festival experience!

For more information call 1800 18 SLIM or (02) 6562 6533, email festival@ slimdustycentre.com.au or go direct to the website slimdustycentre.com.au.

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C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S O C T O B E R 2 0 1 7

years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

FESTIVALS

TCMF18

RUB SHOULDERS SALUTING WITH RODEO’S ELITE THE QUIET ACHIEVERS COWBOYS, COWGIRLS AND COUNTRY MUSIC COLLIDE IN SPECTACULAR FASHION AT THE ABCRA’S IRONMAN 4X4 NATIONAL FINALS RODEO AND CAMPDRAFT.

H

eld at the award-winning Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre (AELEC) from January 23-27, it draws close to 10,000 people during the festival.

The finals promise action aplenty as spectators witness the ultimate display of adrenalinefuelled equine and livestock sport and entertainment.

The Ironman 4X4 ABCRA National Finals is composed of three major finals – the National Finals Rodeo, National Finals Junior Rodeo and National Finals Campdraft.

ABCRA executive officer Hunter Jones said the Ironman 4x4 ABCRA National Finals was Australia’s premier rodeo event.

SEE THE LATEST EPISODES

“Competitors push themselves throughout the year competing at the many ABCRA events held across Australia to qualify for this spectacular season finale,” Hunter said.

“With more than $200,000 in cash, prizes and championship titles up for grabs, competitors are up against some of Australia’s best rodeo stock creating action-packed, heart-racing entertainment.

“We will see over 400 of Australia’s top junior and senior competitors battle it out in the various rodeo and campdraft Events.”

Patrons will also find a large number of trade stalls, great pre-rodeo entertainment and loads of fun for the kids.

Tickets are available from Destination Tamworth on (02) 6766 2028.

T

he Peel Valley Lions Club of Tamworth is seeking nominations for a worthy recipient of its annual Country Music Community Service Award.

Since 1994, awardees have included wellknown stars, songwriters, musicians, media personalities and couples or individuals who work tirelessly behind the scenes.

President Amanda Gwalter said the nominee might be someone who entertains members of their community, works on major country music fundraising events, or simply gives their time to help in caring and support programs.

Nominees don’t have to be Lions Club members but nominations must be made through your local Lions Club in writing to: The Secretary, Peel Valley Lions Club, PO Box 957, Tamworth, NSW, 2340 or via email to secretarypeelvalleylions@gmail.com and need to be in by December 18, 2017.

The 25th Peel Valley Lions Club Australian Country Music Service Award will be presented during the 46th Tamworth Country Music Festival in January 2018.

The recipient will receive a one-off trophy crafted by respected artist Fred Hillier and will also be given the opportunity to nominate a charity to receive a $500 donation on his/her behalf from Peel Valley Lions Club.

Enquiries should be directed to Terry Hill on (02) 6765 6042, Jon Wolfe on 0478 040 167 or email terryanddihill@bigpond.com

BALCONYTV TAMWORTH Music with a view

Tune into BalconyTV Tamworth to check out the latest episodes from both touring and Tamworth artists

balconytv.com/tamworth years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

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FESTIVALS

TCMF18

PURE COUNTRY FROM THE GOLDEN GIRL MULTIPLE GOLDEN GUITAR WINNER MELINDA SCHNEIDER WOULDN’T DREAM OF MISSING THE KICKSTART TO HER TOURING YEAR IN TAMWORTH – THE COUNTRY MUSIC CAPITAL.

T

Melinda Schneider

he star who’s played to sell-out houses saluting her inspirational idol, Doris Day has come up with a new concept for her Tamworth 2018 audience.

100% Country is an all-new, two-hour show from Melinda, tracing her life and country music career through song.

She will offer the audience a deeper insight into where her songs have come from and speak about the country songs that have influenced her and how they form the pieces of the performer Melinda is today.

To help bring all these songs to life Melinda has selected a first-class group of musicians as her 100% Country Band –

Doug Gallacher, Rod Motbey, Ian Lees and Brad Bergen.

With just the one show, you won’t want to miss this. It’s at 7.30pm on Thursday, January 25, at Tamworth Town Hall.

Tickets are now on sale from www.tamworthtownhall.com.au

PUT YOUR FACE ON A FLAG

H

ave you ever driven through Tamworth, seeing all the artists’ faces on banners and wondered how they got there?

It’s not magic. It’s just a unique advertising opportunity to make a big impression and attract attention.

Artist face banners are the brainchild of Tamworth Regional Council and are displayed on selected light poles throughout the city.

If you would like to see your face on a banner streaming from a light pole, visit www.tcmf.com. au and download an application form from the Get 48

C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S O C T O B E R 2 0 1 7

Involved drop-down menu.

As there are only a limited number of spots available for this unique promotion, don’t delay or you could miss out.

The banners will be installed in midDecember and will remain on display for the duration of the 2018 Toyota Country Music Festival Tamworth.

The fee for a banner is $250, which includes GST. An invoice for $250 will be issued upon receipt and acceptance of your application form.

Payment for your banner can be made at the customer service desk at council headquarters, 437 Peel Street, Tamworth.

Submissions must be received by 5pm on Friday, October 27, 2017, along with an electronic copy of your image to display on the banner.

years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

FESTIVALS

TCMF18

DAVIDSONS BACK WITH BLUEGRASS AND MORE TWO OF AUSTRALIA’S MOST DEDICATED BLUEGRASS MUSICIANS ARE BACK IN TAMWORTH WITH A WHOLE NEW SHOW.

T

he Davidson Brothers – Hamish and Lachie – will perform for one night only at The Pub at 8.30pm on Thursday, January 25.

Raised in the rural Victorian town of Yinnar, the brothers began performing in 1998 and have since toured Europe and the United States, appearing at the famous Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

They’ve travelled Australia extensively with their band taking their bluegrass and good times to all states and territories.

National Bluegrass champions and three-time

The Davidson Brothers

Golden Guitar winners, the boys were inducted into Tamworth’s prestigious Hands of Fame in 2017.

Since then, they have released their eighth studio album, All You Need Is Music, recorded in Nashville and featuring 12 new original bluegrass and country tracks.

Join the brothers as they perform a variety of previously released material and some classics at their 19th Tamworth Country Music Festival.

Doors open at 8pm. Tickets are $20 plus booking fee.

Camping during TCMF2018?

Have we got a spot for you...

Riverside Camping Make it easy and pay now.

Set up and relax. years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

BE SEEN ON THE BOULEVARDE OF DREAMS

P

lenty of people have made their dreams come true by busking on the streets of Tamworth.

Troy Cassar-Daley, Kasey Chambers, Beccy Cole and Keith Urban all got their start on the Boulevarde of Dreams, so if you’ve got a hankering for a country career – why not give it a go?

It’s easy. All you have to do is visit www. tcmf.com.au and register online by downloading an application form from the Get Involved drop-down menu.

If you don’t have access to the internet, simply pop into council headquarters at 437 Peel Street, Tamworth upon arrival in the Country Music Capital and register in person.

Throughout the festival, judges will select buskers to take part in the Toyota LandCruiser Country Music Busking Championships 2018, where the ultimate winner will be decided in a familyfriendly concert in Bicentennial Park.

The Toyota LandCruiser Country Music Busking Championships is one of the most anticipated aspects of the festival each year, with up to 600 buskers performing on Tamworth’s “Boulevarde of Dreams” in Peel Street.

Whether you want to be famous – or you just want to be seen – make sure you’ve registered for the most fun you’ll have all year.

The Riverside Camping Grounds are a central camping location next to the Peel River and just minutes walk from the musical hype and action in the Tamworth CBD. Head to

tcmf.com.au and pay for your camping today.

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ARE YOU READY TO BE AUSTRALIA’S NEXT COUNTRY MUSIC STAR?

LAUNCH YOUR CM CAREER THROUGH

WINNERS 1979-2017:

GRAND JUNCTION • TOMMY MILLER • LEANNE DOUGLAS • LEE KERNAGHAN • THE VIC LANYON BAND • GREAT DIVIDE • JANE MADDICK JAMES BLUNDELL • JENINE VAUGHAN • CRAIG ROBERTSON • KEITH URBAN • GINA JEFFREYS • WARREN DERWENT • BECCY COLE • CLINT BEATTIE TANYA SELF • DARREN COGGAN • LYN BOWTELL • KATE BALLANTYNE • BRENDON WALMSLEY • GRANT RICHARDSON • KYLIE SACKLEY KIERAN LANCINI • TODD WILLIAMS • TRAVIS COLLINS • SAMANTHA MCCLYMONT • CAT SOUTHERN • KIRSTY LEE AKERS • TALIA WITTMANN LIAM BREW • LUKE AUSTEN • LUKE DICKENS • BOB CORBETT • KAYLEE BELL • JARED PORTER • MICKEY PYE • KARIN PAGE • RACHAEL FAHIM

2018 ENTRIES OPEN NOW - CLOSE 31 OCTOBER 2017

AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY MUSIC’S 38TH ANNUAL SEARCH FOR A NEW STAR SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018 • TAMWORTH NSW ENQUIRIES: info@starmaker.com.au | T: 02 6767 5555 | W: tcmf.com.au/star-maker T: Star_Maker_Aust | F: Facebook.com/StarMakerAustralia ORGANISED BY

PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

HAIR DESIGN & MAKE UP

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AristoMedia years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

FESTIVALS

TCMF18

ENTRIES ROLLING IN FOR 39TH TOYOTA STAR MAKER WHEN ENTRIES OPENED FOR THE 39TH TOYOTA STAR MAKER LAST MONTH, MORE THAN 90 ENQUIRIES TO ENTER WERE MADE IN THE FIRST WEEK.

S

tar Maker – Australia’s longest running search for a new country music star has been a crucial launching pad for some of Australia’s biggest country music acts including Keith Urban, Lee Kernaghan, James Blundell, Travis Collins, Kylie Sackley, Beccy Cole, Sam McClymont, Darren Coggan, Lyn Bowtell, Kirsty Lee Akers, and Kaylee Bell.

Australia’s Star Maker platform sets out to find a new country music star and all the aforementioned winners are leading the way with strong careers both internationally and locally.

In 2018, competition will be as tough as ever with former winners setting strong examples of what is possible when committed to a career in the country music industry.

“Toyota Star Maker has a responsibility to deliver a new winner who is not only the ‘next big thing’ but who also becomes an automatic ambassador for the Australian country music industry,” said coordinator Cheryl Byrnes.

We want someone who is already making a considerable impact in country music, who has the country music x-factor, is driven and articulate, motivated and talented and someone who lives country music.

Cheryl said, “Entrants should already be working in the scene and have basic business knowledge and prepared to work with a team with nearly 40 years experience.”

STAR MAKER WINNERS 1979-2017

Toyota’s commitment to Star Maker is inspiring participants with a passion to progress, setting the benchmark in showcasing Australian country music’s best new talent.

This year’s winner Rachael Fahim has taken advantage of her prize package driving the country in her Toyota RAV4 using her courtesy fuel card recently performing to 25,000 people at the pre-game for Toyota Cowboys versus the Broncos in Townsville, Qld. Confetti, her first single as the 2017 Toyota Star Maker has enjoyed chart success on both national radio and the Country Music Channel.

Toyota Star Maker is organised and promoted by Tamworth Regional Council, publishers of Country Music Capital News and the Official Guide To The Tamworth Country Music Festival.

1979 Grand Junction * 1980 Tommy Miller * 1981 Leanne Douglas * 1982 Lee Kernaghan * 1983 The Vic Lanyon Band * 1985 Great Divide * 1986 Jane Maddick * 1987 James Blundell * 1988 Jenine Vaughan * 1989 Craig Robertson * 1990 Keith Urban * 1991 Gina Jeffreys * 1992 Warren Derwent * 1993 Beccy Cole * 1994 Clint Beattie * 1995 Tanya Self * 1996 Darren Coggan * 1997 Lyn Bowtell * 1998 Kate Ballantyne * 1999 Brendon Walmsley * 2000 Grant Richardson * 2001 Kylie Sackley * 2002 Kieran Lancini * 2003 Todd Williams * 2004 Travis Collins * 2005 Samantha McClymont * 2006 Cat Southern * 2007 Kirsty Lee Akers * 2008 Talia Wittmann * 2009 Liam Brew * 2010 Luke Austen * 2011 Luke Dickens * 2012 Bob Corbett * 2013 Kaylee Bell * 2014 Jared Porter * 2015 Mickey Pye * 2016 Karin Page * 2017 Rachael Fahim years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

THE PRIZE PACKAGE INCLUDES: • Use of the title 2018 Toyota Star Maker; • 12 months use of a brand new, fullyserviced Toyota motor vehicle; • A fuel card for the length of reign; • Return air flight including 4-nights accommodation for one to Nashville for the CMA Festival in June 2018 courtesy of Chris Watson Travel.

• Photographic portfolio with Andrew Pearson Photography Tamworth; • A Maton acoustic guitar; • Fender products; • Shure products from Jands Australia; • A recording session with Australia’s top musicians and producer; • Recording, distribution and promotion of a four-track EP; • Production of two professional video clips by an award-winning director; • 12 months media promotion in Australia’s only monthly country music magazine Country Music Capital News; • Full colour promotional material including posters, a pull-up and more; • Direct and personal introductions to industry based on the organisers 38 years history; • Guidance and support by HSF Artist Services; • Media promotion including radio, print and television; • Hair and make-up styling by Plush Hair Designs & Make-up of Tamworth for photographic portfolio; • A designated list of events for Toyota including National Tree Day, Shades Day and more.

• Guaranteed paid performances at a designated list of festivals and events.

• A guaranteed paid performance with Tamworth’s Wests Entertainment Group; • A guaranteed performance with The Pub Group;

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SOUNDADVICE ODDS & SODS SLIM DUSTY EMI Odds & Sods is a collection of recordings harvested from Slim’s later 78s, 7” singles, EPs and unavailable compilation albums but continued requests for these songs from fans have spurred on this new collection. There are 130 hardto-get Slim Dusty recordings beautifully presented in a small 5CD hardcover book-like ‘box set’. Long-time fans will find the re-mastered tracks refreshingly “new” and, for those discovering the legacy of the varied music that Slim produced, this will be a treasure trove of musical delights. The set covers recordings from 1957 through to 1999, featuring some forgotten b-sides, maybe slightly forgotten country hits and the odd discovery of a song you may never have heard before. There is a wonderful note from Joy McKean, which will bring a chuckle or two, and the packaging offers some great photos put together by Anne Kirkpatrick from Slim’s many years on the road and industry friends. The cover photograph, taken by John Elliott in the Gowrie Station sheds in Queensland, is perfect and published for the first time – Slim’s smile is infectious, just like his music.

EMI/UNIVERSAL 6485749 JON WOLFE

LIFE IS A STORY

DOYLE LAWSON & QUICKSILVER MOUNTAIN HOME MUSIC COMPANY

I was introduced to Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver when I joined the Hoedown radio team thanks to Bruce O’Hara and have been a fan since then, so a new album is always going to get plenty of spins. Bluegrass is the band’s staple and from the almost Celtic opening bars of track 1 – Kids These Days – to the harmonies and banjo cascades of the closer – Drivin’ It Home (written by Jerry Salley and Kerry Kurt Phillips) – I was hooked. In between there’s stories that reach out to be heard and savoured. From a blue-collar viewpoint, there’s the driving Life Of A Hard Working Man, What I’m Living For takes the Chuck Willis R&B tune into waltz time, while another Salley co-write, Life To My Days, speaks of changing times. With nearly 40 albums to his credit Doyle Lawson is living proof of the connection that this brand of country music has to its Celtic and Appalachian roots and its unique place in the American music pantheon.

MH17012 JON WOLFE

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DCX MMXV1

STAND IN THE MIDDLE

SONY The Texan trio long ago proved they would never be known as one-trick chicks. They frequently topped charts with eclectic country rock and bluegrass that reached back to a busking era as a quirky quartet in 1989.

But since arrival of lead singer Natalie Maines in 1995 the trio has won 13 Grammys and sold more than 31 million albums despite a six year hiatus from 2008-2014. This 23-track double CD and bonus live DVD recorded during their 2016 reunion tour is testament to their talent. The first CD embraces hits diverse as Lubbock Or Leave It, Long Time Gone and Goodbye Earl. But it’s the second CD that enables them to recreate acoustic versions of Bruce Robison’s Travelin’ Soldier and White Trash Wedding and revisit Ready To Run, Sin Wagon, Wide Open Spaces, vitriolic Not Ready To Make Nice and wedding song Cowboy Take Me Away that impacts most. It also includes a diverse bluegrass medley reprised on the marathon 22 song live concert DVD. Mirthful magic.

INDEPENDENT

SONY 88954806224 DAVID DAWSON

INDEPENDENT JON WOLFE

DIXIE CHICKS

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THE SETTLEMENT The Settlement are a five-piece band out of Hamilton, Victoria, mixes alternative/folk with southern stomp fuelled by fiddle and strong rhythms, into an alt-country (not that they use the term themselves) gumbo that is fed by the songwriting and lead vocals and guitar of Adrian Calvano, Matthew pitman’s violin, the bass of Shane Baker, Jimmy Doheny’s guitar and the drums of Harry Pettit. Following the release of a number of singles, including Clean Trouble and She Feels Like Home, the 11 tracks range from the loose feel of the title track, to the haunting Carolina, the almost traditional folk-like Blood Moon and the Hammond-heavy Wolves. There’s a Jon English quality to Calvano’s voice, but at the same time it is unique in its delivery and its almost primordial feel. The Settlement offer up a different sound that doesn’t follow the norm but has an appeal that should gather the most discerning of music lovers in the broad church that is country music – and Australian music in general.

THE NIGHT OF OUR LIFE

THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT INDEPENDENT

Yarraville singer-signwriter David Baird and Williamstown lawyer Patsy Toop long ago mastered the art of writing videogenic songs for their six indie albums. The duo’s digital diligence created massive marketing tools with memorable and imaginative videos shooting this 11 track disc to local chart tops. It’s mirthful magic from humorous entrée Kangaroo Rodeo, set at a famed outback hotel, pathos primed Jesus Money, inspired by a homeless Nashville singer, to philosophical finale When I’m Gone. Equally evocative is Gypsy Whitemoon, set on the Sunshine Coast, but filmed near Port Phillip Bay and the Dandenongs. Kiss Me Better name checks local ice creams in love metaphors, Don’t Bait My Hook echoes fishing fantasies while Einstein and Disney references uplift positive paean Just Give It All You Got. Foolin’ Around warns of cheating camera traps, hereditary hedonism fuels rollicking One Of The Boys while wry wisdom fuels Old School. It’s no surprise the duo wrote all songs.

Nashville producer Kenny Royster added melodic polish. A joyous journey.

CHECKED LABEL SERVICES 931710500583 DAVID DAWSON years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

SOUND ADVICE - album reviews are the reviewers’ own opinions and do not necessarily reflect the view of Capital News or the publisher. Sound Advice will accept unsolicited albums for consideration, but cannot guarantee published reviews. Sound Advice does not review singles. Send 2 CDs together with biography or media release to Capital News, PO Box 555, Tamworth NSW 2340 and email a jpg of the cover to c.byrnes@tamworth.nsw.gov.au HAPPY ENDINGS OLD DOMINION RCA Virginia quintet Old Dominion triumphed by debuting at #7 on the Billboard all genre top 200 with its second album. Writing all 12 songs makes this a financial pleasure. It’s a joyous journey from social comment entrée No Such Thing As A Broken Heart, replete with Jack & Dianne name check and inspired by real life tragedies, to live finale Can’t Get You. Equally memorable is the love metaphor, accompanied by a vibrant video, in Shoe Shopping that segues into Not Everything’s About You, with Fleetwood Mac reference, and passion primed Hotel Key. Lethal love fuels A Girl Is A Gun, female power drives Be With Me while Written In The Sand and Still Writing Songs About You are hedonistic hymns. Dual Grammy winners Little Big Town guest on Stars In The City that shares urban love imagery with New York At Night - a vast contrast to pathos anchored So You Go. Production by prolific hit writer Shane McAnally ensures this is positive country with panache and happy endings.

RCA/SONY 889854293925 DAVID DAWSON

SIMPLE DREAMS

CARPENTER CASWELL

QUEEN OF BOOMTOWN

NEVER GETS OLD

RHINO RECORDS

BIG RADIO RECORDS

SOCIAL FAMILY RECORDS

RED BOW RECORDS

Linda Ronstadt released one of the most successful albums of her groundbreaking career in 1977 with the #1Grammy®-winning smash Simple Dreams. It was her eighth studio album and sold more than three million copies in the U.S. alone. Forty years later, this classic album has been revisited to create a new version that features remastered audio, plus a trio of live songs taken from a 1980 concert performance. It became Linda’s fifth consecutive platinum-certified album.

Simple Dreams’ success spread beyond America, hitting #1 here in Australia. It featured several tracks that would emerge as fan favourites like Warren Zevon’s Poor Poor Pitiful Me and the Rolling Stones’ Tumbling Dice.

Dolly Parton joined Linda on the traditional ballad I Never Will Marry, a Top 10 hit on the country charts. This Expanded Edition of Simple Dreams includes bonus live recordings of It’s So Easy, Poor Poor Pitiful Me and Blue Bayou.

All three are taken from a concert recording that originally aired on HBO in 1980.

Allan Caswell and Michael Carpenter have combined forces to produce an album full of pure country sounds and songs that’ll have you singing them in your head long after the last note is played. As well as songs from the pens of these writers, the album truly showcases the vocal strengths of both artists with each track a strong collaboration of their talents. It’s not a country album without a train song and you won’t be disappointed here with a heartbreak train song coming in at track four. Bluegrass even gets a guernsey in Too Young, Too Cute, Too Pretty with fiddle and banjo heralding in this song. It’s not all heartbreak, though, with tracks including Back When I was Older and High Hopes that leave the listeners considering the messages in each. This is an album of varied styles, all deeply rooted in country and a beautiful showcase of these two artists combining their influences.

This album has been a real highlight of 2017 for me: it is powerful, appealing and filled with wonderful songs. Gretta is a superb songwriter, and her songs are multi-layered, fascinating journeys into the human condition. She describes them as “tiny novels”, and they draw you in and compel you to keep listening. Highlights include the raw Slaughterhouse, about suffocation and escape, the wonderful Whiskey Shivers and Round and Round, which features Henry Wagons.

I also loved the poignant I Don’t Ever, written for Gretta’s late mother, Let It Go, about being in the moment, and Alright With Me, about accepting someone for who they are. The title track, Queen Of Boomtown is a complex contradiction - outwardly boastful, yet really about self-deprecation and doubt. Other memorable tracks include two breakup songs, Go On, about being stuck after the end of a relationship, and This is Gonna Hurt. Gretta Ziller has well and truly arrived with this album. It clearly showcases her as a world-class songwriter, superb vocalist and unique artist.

I am always going to find it hard to find anything wrong with a Joe Nichols album. He has the most perfect country voice and a deep appreciation of American country’s roots, which he celebrates with a modern twist on all his albums. Never Gets Old’s headline-grabbing track has been the country cover of Sir Mix-ALot’s Baby Got Back, which he has included parts of in his live show previously. We know he’s never been one to stack albums full of serious songs, and this is one of the lighter moments and the opening track, Diamonds Make Babies, originally sung by Dierks Bentley welcomes listeners to this album that celebrates everything that Nichols brings to country – respect and entertainment.

He revisits Billy Graham’s Bible, off his Crickets album, released in 2013. It’s been a long time between albums for Nichols fans, and this is a winner, appealing to both country traditionalists and contemporary country enthusiasts.

LINDA RONSTADT

WARNER MUSIC 467049 CHERYL BYRNES

years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

CARPENTER CASWELL

INDIE/CHECKED LABEL SERVICES BRR20173 BEC BELT

GRETTA ZILLER

JOE NICHOLS

538299902 BEC BELT

SOCIAL FAMILY RECORDS SFR0056 SUSAN JARVIS

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COUNTRYCHARTS ARIA TOP 20 AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY ALBUMS Week Commencing 18 September 2017 TW

LW

TI

HP

TITLE

ARTIST

LABEL

1 1 71 1 Ripcord

KEITH URBAN

CAP/EMI

2 2 7 1 Count On Me

JUDAH KELLY

UMA

3 7

970 1

SLIM DUSTY

The Very Best Of Slim Dusty

5 9

279 1

EMI

LEE KERNAGHAN

4 3 25 1 The 25th Anniversary Album

KEITH URBAN

The Story So Far

ABC/UMA CAP/EMI

6 8 311 1 Ultimate Hits

LEE KERNAGHAN

7 4 20 1 The Great Country Songbook Vol. II

ADAM HARVEY & BECCY COLE

ABC/UMA SME

8 14 510 1 Greatest Hits: 18 Kids

KEITH URBAN CAP/EMI

9 11 56 1 His Favourite Collection

JOHN WILLIAMSON

WAR

10 15 35 1 Endless

THE MCCLYMONTS

ISL/UMA

11 13 205 1 12 6 11 2 13 19 128 1 14 10 6 3 15 17 207 2 16 R/E 172 1 17 R/E 206 2 18 16 34 1 19 18 66 1 20 R/E 46 2

The Great Country Songbook Jason Owen Sings John Denver: The 20th Anniversary Spirit Of The Anzacs Odds And Sods A Hell Of A Career!

Fuse Keith Anthems - A Celebration Of Australia Dragonfly 60 Summers This Crazy Life

TROY CASSAR-DALEY & ADAM HARVEY SME JASON OWEN

SFR/UMA

LEE KERNAGHAN

ABC/UMA

SLIM DUSTY

EMI

JOHN WILLIAMSON URBAN

WAR CAP/EMI

JOHN WILLIAMSON

WAR

KASEY CHAMBERS

WAR

GRAEME CONNORS

ABC/UMA

THE WOLFE BROTHERS

ABC/UMA

OFFICIAL AUSTRALIAN AIRPLAY COUNTRY TOP 20 Week commencing 23 September, 2017.

TW

LW

TI

HP

ARTIST

TITLE

LABEL

1 1 23 1 Sam Hunt

BODY LIKE A BACK ROAD

2 2 6 2 Morgan Evans

KISS SOMEBODY

3 6 7 3 Fanny Lumsden

ROLL ON

4 3 8 3 Melanie Dyer

SAVE MY CENTS

5 17 5 5 Brad Butcher

WELL DRESSED MAN

6 8 9 6 Travis Collins & Amber Lawrence

OUR BACKYARD

ABC/UMA

7 15 12 7 The Viper Creek Band

FIREWORK

WJO/UMA

MCA/UMA WMA IND UMA IND

8 7 5 3 Dierks Bentley

WHAT THE HELL DID I SAY

9 10 7 8 Christie Lamb

JUDGEMENT DAY

ABC/UMA

10 NEW 1

BAD

ABC/UMA

10 Caitlyn Shadbolt

11 19 5 11 Kaylens Rain

DO YOU WAKE UP

12 18 3 12 Drew McAlister

COMING YOUR WAY

CAP/EMI

DWM/UMA ABC/UMA

13 32 5 13 Shannon Noll

SOUTHERN SKY

14 5 10 1 Kelsea Ballerini

LEGENDS

SME

15 43 3 15 Rodney Crowell

STORM WMANING

IND

16 48 7 16 Shania Twain

LIFE’S ABOUT TO GET GOOD

17 NEW 1

COLLIDE

17 Imogen Clark

18 49 2 18 Darius Rucker

FOR THE FIRST TIME

19 39 4 19 Colter Wall

SLEEPING ON THE BLACKTOP

20 NEW 1

ADIOS

54

20 Glen Campbell

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WMA

UNI/UMA UMA EMI IND CAP/EMI years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

COUNTRY TRACKS Week commencing 23 September 2017. This chart is published by Country Music Services and updated weekly at countrytrackschart.com.au POS LW

TI

HP

TRACK TITLE

ARTIST

1 20 2 1(1) World Full Of Angels

CARTER & CARTER

2 31 2 2(1) Somewhere In The Middle

CLELIA ADAMS

3 7 2 3(1) Just One Moon

THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT

4 0 1 4(1) Just Down The Hall

KALESTI BUTLER

5 8 2 5(1) Can’t Just Kiss You

BECCI NETHERY

6 3 4 3(1) Fight

JODY DIREEN

7 9 8 5(1) The Piano

THE BOBKATZ

8 10 6 8(2) Little Ronnie’s Ghost

JUSTIN STANDLEY

9 24 5 4(1) Stacks

JAYNE DENHAM

10 1 9 1(1) Judgment Day

CHRISTIE LAMB

11 5 8 5(1) The Closer You Get

SHELLY JONES BAND

12 4 3 4(1) Keep This Old Truck Tickin’

GREG CHAMPION & JOHNNY CHESTER

13 6 4 1(1) Keep Me Coming Back

CASEY BARNES

14 11 5 11(1) Roadworks

ANGUS GILL

15 0 1 15(1) He’s A Writer Of Songs

MELISSA ROBERTSON

16 2 8 2(1) Giving Up

SCOTT DOUGLAS

17 15 8 7(1) Three In The Morning

STEVE SPARROW

18 27 15 2(2) You Ain’t Worth The Rain (2017)

NATALIE HOWARD

19 28 8 17(1) Never Never Land

TOM CURTAIN

20 0 1 20(1) In Like Flynn

PAT DRUMMOND

CMC CHART W/c 23 September 2017. This chart is updated weekly at countrymusicchannel.com.au or tune into CMC. # TITLE

ARTIST

# TITLE

ARTIST

1 Start Over

O’SHEA

26 Five More Minutes

SCOTTY MCCREERY

2 Our Backyard

TRAVIS COLLINS/

27 Slide Over

TIM HICKS

AMBER LAWRENCE

28 What Ifs

KANE BROWN

3 Save My Cents

MELANIE DYER

FEAT. LAUREN ALAINA

4 Legends

KELSEA BALLERINI

29 You Need To Run

JETTY ROAD

5 Safe

SHANE NICHOLSON

30 Every Little Thing

CARLY PEARCE

6 I Could Use A Love Song

MAREN MORRIS

31 Yours

RUSSELL DICKERSON

7 They Don’T Know

JASON ALDEAN

32 Collide

IMOGEN CLARK

8 Judgement Day

CHRISTIE LAMB

33 Take Me Back

KIRSTY LEE AKERS

9 Fix A Drink

CHRIS JANSON

34 Grave Robber ’s Daughter

TORI FORSYTH

10 Roll On

FANNY LUMSDEN

35 Forget

MISSY LANCASTER

11 Heartache On The Dancefloor JON PARDI

36 No Such Thing As A Broken Heart OLD DOMINION

12 Firework

VIPER CREEK BAND

37 Slaughterhouse Blues

GRETTA ZILLER

13 Small Town Boy

DUSTIN LYNCH

38 It Ain’t My Fault

BROTHERS OSBORNE

14 Closing This Memory Down

BAYLOU

39 The Way We Ride

CASEY BARNES

15 Coming Your Way

DREW MCALISTER

40 Take Me Home Country Roads JASON OWEN

16 Rev It Up

SUNNY COWGIRLS

41 All The Pretty Girls

KENNY CHESNEY

17 Boy

LEE BRICE

42 Kingdom Come

JUDAH KELLY

18 What The Hell Did I Say

DIERKS BENTLEY

43 Baby Got Back

JOE NICHOLS

19 Tin Roof

GORD BAMFORD

44 Trouble

SAM OUTLAW

20 When It Rain It Pours

LUKE COMBS

45 The Wreckage

MELODY MOKO

21 Bad

CAITLYN SHADBOLT

46 Fight

JODY DIREEN

22 Drinkin? Problem

MIDLAND

47 Wacky Tobaccy

TOBY KEITH

23 Ring On Every Finger

LOCASH

48 Anchor

ALEYCE SIMMONDS

24 Well Dressed Man

BRAD BUTCHER

49 Feel The Beat

ASHLEIGH DALLAS

25 California

BIG & RICH

50 Confetti

RACHAEL FAHIM

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BUSH BALLADS

OCTOBERFEST

BY PETER COAD OAM WWW.BUSHBALLADEERS.COM.AU

IT’S GOING TO BE TRICKY TO ATTEND ALL THE FESTIVALS THIS MONTH, HOWEVER SOME OF YOU MIGHT JUST BE ABLE TO DO IT. DUSTY FAMILY HEADLINE KEMPSEY WEEK The three generations of Slim Dusty’s family, along with members of the Travelling Country Band (TCB), will reunite for a very special anniversary performance as part of the 2017 Slim Dusty Country Music Festival, to be held at the Kempsey Showground from October 16 to 22.

The family concert will be hosted by the family matriarch Joy McKean and will be one of the highlights of the festival. Special guests include the Lindsay Sisters (Dianne and Sandra) and multi-award winning bush balladeer Jeff Brown. A full line-up of all artists appearing at the festival can be found at the Slim Dusty Centre website slimdustycentre.com.au.

Callaghan, Laura Downing, Ashley Cook, Jeanette Wormald, Trevor Tolton, Sharon Heaslip, Peter Salata, Evelyn Bury, Waddo, Linda Hansen, Tony Wagner, Cockroach The Drummer, Kerry McDonald, Alan Blowers. Comperes include Rosanna Ruddock, Clarrie Weller, Ian Crombie, along with poets Gary Fogarty and team of Funny Buggars.

ROSEWOOD COUNTRY ROUNDUP

The Rosewood Country Roundup will be held from October 19 to 23. Artists this year include Craig Giles, Dennis Morgan, Hank Koopman, Donna Marie Koopman, Owen Blundell, Vicki Walsh, Johanna Hemara, Stephen R. Cheney, Pete Smith, ‘Whip cracking’ Sandy, and Mr Smith, along with other special guests. Rosewood is located near Tumbarumba in NSW.

CLARENCE VALLEY COUNTRY MUSTER Just out of Lismore in the northern rivers area of NSW, is the beautiful Clarence Valley. The event, to be held from October 23 to 29, is now well established with top line artists appearing including Tania Kernaghan, and the daughter of Hank Williams, Jett Williams, along with Chad Morgan, Gunbarrel Highwaymen, Dianne Lindsay, Peter Simpson, Lex K, Rodney Vincent, and many others.

FRASER COAST MUSIC MUSTER

Glen Albrecht & Ricochet Band, Dean Perrett, Kylie Castle, Kalesti Butler, Bruce Lavender, Barry K & Lin Chandler, Brian Letton, Wal Neilsen, Kwozzi (Di &Barney), Apple Cider Band featuring Stu Watson, Clyde Cameron & Rob Hopkins, and many others will be performing at the Maryborough Equestrian Park (Showgrounds) in Queensland for the Fraser Coast Music Muster. The event will be held from Thursday, 19 to Monday 23 October.

WIDGEE BUSH BALLADEERS MUSTER This annual event will be held at the Widgee Bushmans’ Bar and Sportsgrounds in Widgee Qld from October 6 to 8. Artists at this year’s event are Keith and Caitlyn Jamieson, Alisha Smith, Kevin Groves, Michael Clare, Dianne Lindsay, Peter Simpson, Johnny Greenwood, Alice Benfer, John and Christine Smith, and Jeff Brown. Poets are Clarrie Weller, Gary Fogarty, and Ray Essery.

PRESENTATIONS Peter Coad and Lorraine Pfitzner attended Government House on September 8 where they were presented with their Order Of Australia Medals by His Excellency General, The Honourable David Hurley of NSW. Peter’s sister Virginia and her husband Jim Hermel also attended the ceremony.

THE MUNNA CREEK COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL

Lex K presents the annual Munna Creek Country Music Festival from October 19-22. A great line up of artists again this year with Rodney Vincent, Chris 56

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years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

D O W N M E M O RY L A N E

SHOWCASING VERSATILITY

BY LORRAINE PFITZNER

STANTHORPE SINGER AND SONGWRITER PETER SALATA HAS NOTCHED UP MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY IN THE COUNTRY MUSIC INDUSTRY, AND HE’S STILL JUST AS INSPIRED AS EVER.

O

ver the past seven years, he’s released three albums – Another Side, Saddle the Wind and the instrumental collection Destination Unknown.

Now he’s recorded another new album, Homeward Bound, featuring a diverse collection of thirteen original songs, ranging from traditional country to gospel, rockabilly and even country rock on A Place To Call Home.

Peter says he wanted to showcase the versatility of his music, and to make an album that would appeal to everyone who heard it.

The album features an instrumental titled Where the Desert Flower Blooms and a different kind of Christmas song, Merr y Christmas.

Let Me Walk With You is an impressive gospel song, and Stubby, Stubby, Stubby is an hilarious comedy offering – particularly if you listen carefully.

The rockabilly song, Rocking Man, was also recently recorded by Shelley Minson.

And of course Peter has included several impressive bush ballads, The Old Fire Box, Drifting Back and Over The Mountain.

The album was produced by Lindsay Waddington, and backing vocals are provided by Kylie Adams-Coller, Tyson Colman and Madison and Charli Waddington. Musicians include Hugh Curtis, Lawrie Minson, Tony Wagner and Lindsay Waddington.

The album was released by Kross Kut Records, with which Peter has been recording for over seven years now.

Peter is a proud Australian and lets his fans know about his feelings by writing and recording songs with Aussie themes – often telling true stories that he has unearthed, or that someone has told him. He sees part of his role as a songwriter as documenting Australia’s history.

Peter won the Comedy/Novelty section at the 2016 TSA Songwriters Salute Awards in Tamworth with Wallaby Hotel from Saddle The Wind. He was also awarded third place in the 2016 Australian Songwriting Contest with his instrumental Destination Unknown.

Peter works regularly at pubs and clubs around Northern NSW, including Tamworth, and Southern Queensland.

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W R I T I NG GR E AT SO NGS

NOT WRITING SONGS EDIT YOUR OTHER STUFF

BY A L L A N CA S W E L L

ONE OF MY SONGWRITING HEROES TOM T HALL ONCE FAMOUSLY SAID THAT “THE MOST CREATIVE THING MOST SONGWRITERS DO IS TO COME UP WITH EXCUSES FOR NOT WRITING”…

CRUEL BUT PRETTY HONEST.

O

n a given day we can always come up with a hundred really good reasons for not writing … most of them can be distilled down to, “I just don’t feel like writing today”. I get that … I almost never try to write unless I have an idea or, at the very least, a feeling that I might like to write.

I never force it or the song sounds like I did. If I have a co-write lined up, I never cancel in case my songwriting partner comes with an idea that we can work on.

A lot of artists I work with only go into songwriting mode when they are about to record an album and then write for the project.

They don’t feel the need to write at other times. I tend to write continually and pick the ones I want to record, writing a couple of others that I think the album needs. Basically it gets down to whatever works for you. Here are a few tips on the subject.

ENJOY IT: If it becomes a chore you’ll get stale and find even more reasons to not write. If it stays fun you’ll do it more often.

Writing with someone you like hanging out with can be helpful here. Even if nothing gets written, you will hopefully have enjoyed it enough to try again or, at least, have woken from your creative slumber. I have been writing for over 50 years and I still enjoy it as much as ever … maybe more. It can be frustrating at times but the reward is always in a finished song you are proud of.

THINK IT: Use the time when you are not actually writing to come up with ideas for future songs … and if they come write them down. I listen to talk back radio, watch television and eavesdrop on people’s conversations … anything that might lead to a good idea. If you want to move people it has to be with an idea that first moves you.

GO FOR A DRIVE OR HAVE A SHOWER Ok maybe that’s just me but it’s where I get a lot of my best ideas. When I’m not thinking about songwriting my brain keeps working in that direction.

There is a thing called “songwriting radar” everyday life can be your muse. There are ideas to be found everywhere.

Sadly, when someone says “There is a song in that” … there often isn’t.

It has to be done to get your other songs from good to great and I find the process of rewriting gets the creative juices flowing.

CO WRITING This is always a good fallback position. The process of working with someone else, especially if they have an idea can work really well. The thing to remember is that no writing session is wasted and you can always learn from it.

NEVER THROW ANYTHING AWAY An idea that on one day seems pretty ordinary, on another day or in another writing situation can come alive. I have a “new songs” folder on my computer where I keep unfinished ideas that I go to when I have nothing going on.

TITLE BOOK I have to own up to not owning one but having a list of potential titles can be invaluable.

When I was going to Nashville regularly I would always spend a few weeks coming up with titles that I could use over there with a quick “I had this idea last night” The main purpose of all my workshops is to get people to “want to write” … if you don’t, you won’t … it’s that simple.

See you next month … maybe.

If you have questions regarding participating or hosting upcoming songwriting workshops, my “one on one” private songwriting coaching service (based in the Blue Mountains), my book or my “how to” DVD contact me on 0419218988 or at allan@allancaswell.com

1966 - 2016 CELEBRATING 50 YEARS SINCE ARRIVING IN AUSTRALIA ALLAN CASWELL’S BRILLIANT NEW ALBUM

50 Years in OZ

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2

years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

COMINGEVENTS

TELL THEM YOU READ IT IN

OCTOBER 1

2PK Parkes CM Spectacular | Parkes | NSW

1-2

Pioneer Valley CMF | Qld | W: pvcma.com.au

1-8

Mildura CMF | Vic | Contact: John Arnold | W: milduracountrymusic.com.au | T: 1800 039 043

6-8

Widgee Bush Balladeer’s Muster | Bushman’s Bar & Sportsgrounds | Widgee | Qld

12-15

Northern CM Port Pirie Music Festival | SA | Contact: Mary Bateman | T: 08 8633 2302 or M: 0408 334 086 | E: mabiena.mb@gmail.com | W: northerncountrymusicassociation.org

13-14

5 Rivers Outback Festival | Balranald | NSW | W: 5riversoutbackfestival.com.au

16-22

14th Annual Slim Dusty CMF | Kempsey Showground | NSW | Camping, food and entertainment | Contact: Pauline Fisher or Kate Mainey | T: 02 6562 6533 | 1800 18 SLIM | E: Festival@slimdustycentre.com.au | W: slimdustycentre.com.au

19-22

Munna Creek CMF | Guest artists Rodney Vincent, Chris Calligan, Lindsay Waddington, Sharon Heaslip, Laura Downing, Jeanette Wormald and many more Contact: Lex K | M: 0428 293 145

19-22

Annual Waterhole Rocks – Rock n Roll Campout weekend | Contact Sue | M:0474 266 215 | E: waterholerocks@outlook.com | Facebook and Web Nanango Show Society

19-23

Fraser Coast Music Muster | Maryborough Equestrian Park | Maryborough | Qld

19-23

Rosewood Country Roundup | Rosewood near Tumbarumba | NSW

23-29

Clarence Valley Country Muster | Grafton | NSW | Contact: Wendy Gordon | M: 0432 741 947 | E: wgordon@cvcmuster.com.au | W: cvcmuster.com.au

27-29

Nambung CM Muster | WA | T: 08 9652 4048 | E: enquiry@nambungstation.com.au | W: numbungstation.com.au

27-29

Dorrigo Folk & Bluegrass Festival | W: dorrigofolkbluegrass.com.au

NOVEMBER 3-5

Ballina CMF | Various venues | T: 02 6686 9255 | W: ballinacountrymusic.com

9-12

6th Kyabram RV CM Corral | Kyabram Showgrounds | Vic | T: 03 5853 2933 | E: ky47347@bigpond.net.au | W: kyrvcountry.com.au

13-19

Gidgee Coal Bush Ballad Awards | Pittsworth Showground and Bottletree Hall | QLD | Bush ballads, bush poets, walkups, food, damper | M: 0427 731 088 OR 0427 578 264

10-12

Burra CMF & TQ | Burra Showgrounds | SA | Camping, Food, Licensed Bar, Workshop, Bush Poetry | Contact: Secretary | M: 0428 922 614 | E: burracmf@gmail.com | W: burracountrymusicfestival.com

JANUARY 2018 12-18

Countdown to the 46th Toyota Country Music Festival | Tamworth | NSW

13

Gwandalan CMF | NSW

19-28

Toyota 46th Country Music Festival | Tamworth | NSW | W: tcmf.com.au

23-27

Australian Bushmen’s Campdraft & Rodeo Association’s Ironman 4x4 ABCRA National Finals | T: 02 6766 5863 | www.abcra.com.au

PERFORMING AT THE TCMF?

PROMOTE YOUR SHOWS IN THE

OFFICIAL GUIDE For further information contact TAMWORTH REGIONAL COUNCIL PO Box 555, Tamworth NSW 2340 | M: 0429 784 860 E. j.maiden@tamworth.nsw.gov.au www.tcmf.com.au DEADLINE: Wednesday, November 8, 2017

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GIGGUIDE

Please note all show venues & times are correct at time of printing.

Capital News recommends you check with the venue prior to attending.

8 BALL AITKEN

25 The Royal Hotel, Woodstock NSW

OCTOBER 6 Caloundra RSL Qld 8:30pm 7 Retro Bar, Kenmore Qld 8pm 8 Tyalgum Hotel NSW 2pm 13 Shamrock Hotel, Balranald NSW 14 Balranald’s 5 Rivers Outback Festival NSW 19 Gilbert Street Hotel, Adelaide SA 26 Rooty Hill RSL NSW 29 Sydney Harbour Cruise, 11am to 3pm NOVEMBER 9-12 Airlie Beach Festival of Music Qld

NOVEMBER 3 Young Services Club NSW 4 Braidwood Serviceman’s Club NSW* 5 The Oaks Hotel, Illawarra NSW 24 Windsor RSL NSW

ANGELA EASSON

OCTOBER 1-8 Mildura CMF Vic 12 Port Elliot Holiday Park SA 15 Howard’s Vineyard, Nairne SA NOVEMBER 10 Clare Holiday Park SA 12 Sevenhill Hotel SA

ALI S COUNTRY SINGER

ALICE BENFER

AMBER LAWRENCE Our Backyard Tour with Travis Collins *Amber Only OCTOBER 26 Warwick RSL Qld 27 Dag Pub & Motel, D’Aguilar Qld 28 Hamilton Hotel Qld 29 Mary’s Commercial Hotel, Dalby Qld

BRAD BUTCHER *W SARA STORER

CONNIE KIS ANDERSEN

BILLY BRIDGE

OCTOBER 20-22 Patchewollok Vic NOVEMBER 3-5 Ballina NSW 11 Gamekeepers Secret Inn, Rockbank Vic 12 Café Zoo, Drysdale Vic

BOBBY HOWSON

OCTOBER 14 Monto Qld* 20 Blackall Qld* 21 Capella Qld* 22 Yeppoon Creek Seassions Qld* 27 Oodies Cafe, Bundaberg Qld

NOVEMBER 17-19 Cully Fest, Toowoomba Showgrounds Qld OCTOBER 6&7 Widgee Bush Balladeer Festival Qld 13 Gympie Civic Centre Qld 14 ACMA CMH of Fame, Yandina Qld NOVEMBER 4&5 Murgon Music Muster Qld 11 Lockyer Valley CMF, Laidley Qld

DECEMBER 30 Green Valley Farm Fun Park, Tingha NSW

13 Boorowa Ex SC NSW 14 Braidwood SC NSW 20 Colonial Hotel, Werrington NSW 27 Muswellbrook RSL NSW 28 The Albert Hotel, Tamworth NSW NOVEMBER 1 Prince of Wales Hotel, Merewether NSW 11 Narellan Town Centre NSW 12 The Catho Pub Catherine Hill Bay NSW 18 Kiama LC NSW 24 Young SC NSW 25 The Rock BNS NSW

CARTER & CARTER ANNE KIRKPATRICK OCTOBER 8-16 Cruisin’ Country 21 Slim Dusty Festival, Kempsey NSW

BEN RANSOM

OCTOBER 6 Walrus Club Regatta Hotel, Toowong Qld 12 Rooty Hill RSL NSW 13 West Tamworth LC NSW 27 Old Dubbo Gaol NSW NOVEMBER 10-12 Airlie Beach MF Qld 18 The Loaded Dog, Tarago NSW

OCTOBER 15 Kinglake Town Centre Vic 28 Clare BC, Waikerie SA 29 Hindmarsh Valley Hall SA NOVEMBER 4 Gravity Discovery Centre & Observatory, Yeal WA 5 Connections Counselling Centre, Mundaring WA 11 Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, Booragoon WA

CHRISTIE LAMB

OCTOBER 6 Casino RSM Club NSW 7 Johnny Ringo’s Bar, Brisbane Qld 8 Caloundra RSL Club Qld 12 Tourist Hotel Queanbeyan NSW

OCTOBER 14 Port Pirie Harness Club SA 26 Nambung CM Muster, Nambung Station WA

CRAIG GILES

OCTOBER 21&22 Rosewood Sporting Complex NSW 24 Albury Commercial Club NSW 27 Mollymook Golf Club NSW 28 Shoalhaven Ex SC, Nowra NSW NOVEMBER 3 Wagga Aussie Rules Club NSW 10 Wagga Aussie Rules Club NSW

DALE HOOPER

OCTOBER 14 Rotorua Civic Centre NZ 15 Geyserland CMC NZ NOVEMBER 5 The Australian Hotel, McGrath’s Hill NSW 11 Johnny Cash CMF, Stanthorpe Qld 18 Dubbo RSL Club Resort NSW

S O N GW R I T E R S J O I N T SA MEMBERS BENEFITS

• Informative quarterly newsletters • Reduced fees for TSA National Songwriting Contest Re • Reduced fees for TSA Sponsored So Songwriting Workhops • $69 Annual Single Membership includes 12mths Country Music Capital News Co • $35 Annual Single Membership excludes Country Music Capital News Co • Options Op for Junior and Household memberships • Pe Performances opportunities 60

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JOIN online or complete d e t a i l s b e l ow

and send to Tamworth Songwriters'Association Inc PO Box 618 Tamworth NSW 2340 Please send me a TSA Membership Application form Name: ..........................................................................

Address: ....................................................................... ....................................................................................... www.tsaonline.com.au years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

Please note all show venues & times are correct at time of printing.

Capital News recommends you check with the venue prior to attending.

DANA HASSALL

OCTOBER 3 Floriade, Canberra ACT 4 Floriade, Canberra ACT 14 Gundaroo MF NSW NOVEMBER 3 The Basement, Canberra ACT

DEAN PERRETT

OCTOBER 20-22 Maryborough Equesterian Park Qld NOVEMBER 3-5 Murgon Showgrounds Qld

DIANNE LINDSAY

OCTOBER 6 Widgee Muster Qld 21 Music Memories Kempsey NSW 28 Clarence Valley Muster NSW NOVEMBER 11 Cooma Ex-Services Club NSW 12 Queanbeyan Football Club ACT 18 Gidgee Coal Awards, Pittsworth Qld 26 Pittwater RSL Club NSW

GEORGIA FALL

NOVEMBER 25 Palmwoods Hotel Qld

GRETTA ZILLER

NOVEMBER 9 The Hideaway Bar, Enmore NSW

GRAEME CONNORS

*60 Summers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Back in Town Tour OCTOBER 3 Summergarden Theatre, Bowen Qld* 5 Diggers EC, Hughenden Qld* 6 Winton Shire Hall Qld*

7 Civic Centre, Mount Isa Qld* 8 Shire Hall, Cloncurry Qld* 10 The Dispensary, Mackay Qld*

HILLBILLY GOATS

OCTOBER 6 Albion Hotel Cootamundra NSW 8 St Arnauds CMC Vic 14 Live @ The Bundy, Sale Vic 22 Spiegeltent @ Docklands, Melbourne Vic NOVEMBER 3 Mooloolaba Yacht Club Qld 4 Gympie RSL Qld 11 Airlie Beach Festival Qld

ISLA GRANT

OCTOBER 1 Wests Leagues Club, New Lambton NSW 3 Glasshouse, Port Macquarie NSW 4 Tamworth Town Hall NSW 6 Brolga Theatre, Maryborough Qld 7 Empire Theatre, Toowoomba Qld 8 Pilbeam Theatre, Rockhampton Qld 13 Bunbury Regional EC WA 14 Albany EC WA 15 Regal Theatre, Perth WA 20 Devonport EC Tas 21 Princess Theatre North, Launceston Tas 22 Theatre Royal, Hobart Tas

JEANIE

OCTOBER 15 The Pub, Tamworth NSW

JETT WILLIAMS (USA) & THE DRIFTING COWBOYS (AUS)

MADCDS

GIGGUIDE OCTOBER 12 West Tamworth League Club, NSW 8pm 13 Weston Workers Club, NSW 8pm 14 Bankstown Trotting Club, NSW 8.30pm 15 Batemans Bay Soldiers Club, NSW 3pm 17 Young Services Club, NSW 8pm 18 Dubbo RSL Club, NSW 8pm 19 Commercial Club, Wagga, NSW 8pm 20 The Sphinx Hotel, Geelong, Vic 8pm 22 Morwell Club, Vic 1pm 29 Clarence Valley Country Muster, Grafton NSW NOVEMBER 4 Rumours International, Toowoomba Qld 2pm 5 Caloundra Events Centre Qld 3pm

JONNIE RUSSELL

OCTOBER 14 Kingsford Smith Commemoration Concert, Richmond School Of Arts NSW

KALESTI BUTLER

10&11 The Irish Village, Emerald Qld 19 The Irish Village, Emerald Qld 24 Blackwater Country Club Qld

KEL-ANNE BRANDT OCTOBER 4 Belmont 16ft Sailing Club NSW 12 St Marys Band Club NSW

KIDDNKELLY GANG

OCTOBER 1 The Irish Village, Emerald Qld 6&7 The Irish Village, Emerald Qld 20- 22 Maryborough Showgrounds Qld 27 Blackwater Country Club Qld NOVEMBER 5 Geebung BC Qld 10&11 The Irish Village, Emerald Qld 10 The Irish Village, Emerald Qld 27 Blackwater Country Club Qld NOVEMBER 5 Geebung BC Qld

OCTOBER 1 Spruke Festival, South Brisbane TAFE Qld

KIRSTY LEE AKERS NOVEMBER 17 Lithgow Workers Club NSW 18 Hawkesbury Hotel NSW 19 East Cessnock BC NSW

KORA NAUGHTON NOVEMBER 5 Albion Park Hotel NSW

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GIGGUIDE

Please note all show venues & times are correct at time of printing.

Capital News recommends you check with the venue prior to attending.

Bittern Vic 19 Heritage Hotel, Bulli NSW

MELISSA ROBERTSON

LEE KERNAGHAN *Guests The Wolfe Brothers, Tania Kernaghan & Christie Lamb ** Guests The Wolfe Brothers, James Blundell & Christie Lamb *** Guests The Wolfe Brothers, James Blundell & Tania Kernaghan #Guests The Wolfe Brothers & Christie Lamb ## Guests The Wolfe Brothers ### Guests The Wolfe Brothers & Tania Kernaghan OCTOBER 8–16 Cruisin’ Country 27 The Events Centre, Caloundra Qld 28 Brolga Theatre, Maryborough Qld NOVEMBER 10 Civic Theatre, Newcastle NSW 11 The Glasshouse, Port Macquarie NSW 12 Cex, Coffs Harbour NSW 15 Her Majesty’s Theatre, Ballarat Vic ### 16 Ulumbarra Theatre, Bendigo Vic ### 17&18 The Palms at Crown, Melbourne Vic ***

LINDSAY BUTLER & SHAZA LEIGH WITH THE BUTLER SHOWBAND

OCTOBER 21 Wolumla Community Hall NSW 22 Queanbeyan ACT 27 West Tamworth LC NSW NOVEMBER 3 Theodore Qld 4 St Mary’s Hall, Rockhampton Qld 5 Bororen Community Hall Qld 25 Oakey Community Centre Qld

LONNIE LEE

OCTOBER 9 Ararat Vic 10 Stawell EC Vic 11 Wesley Performing Centre, Horsham Vic 12 St Anaud Town Hall Vic 13 Echuca Paramount Theatre Vic NOVEMBER 24 St Georges Basin, Sanctuary Point NSW

LYN BOWTELL

OCTOBER 13 The Music Lounge, Brookvale NSW NOVEMBER 4 Upper Hunter Conservatorium Of Music, Muswellbrook NSW 9 Bayview Country Art Club,

OCTOBER 1 Coomealla GC, Mildura Vic 1 Darling Wentworth Wharf, Mildura Vic 2 Mildura City Showcase, Mildura Vic 2 Red Cliffs Club, Mildura Vic 3 Mildura Gardens Retirement Village, Mildura Vic 3 Club Merbein, Mildura Vic 4 Gateway Tavern, Mildura Vic 5 Country On The Darling -Wentworth Wharf, Mildura Vic 5 Edge Hotel Buronga, Mildura Vic 7 Seaforth BC NSW

MERILYN STEELE OCTOBER 28 Maroubra Seals Club, Maroubra Beach NSW NOVEMBER 2 Riverwood SC NSW 7 Merrylands BC NSW

OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW

W Valerie June OCTOBER 1 Forum Theatre, Melbourne Vic 3 Enmore Theatre, Sydney NSW

PAUL COSTA

OCTOBER 1 Whangamata RSA NZ 8 Hornby Working Mens Club, Christchurch NZ 11 Dubbo RSL NSW 12 Nundigully Hotel Qld 13 St George Hotel Qld 14 Beerwah Hotel Qld 20 Alpine Hotel, Cooma NSW 21 Loaded Dog Hotel, Tarago NSW

PAUL KELLY

#W Steve Earle & Middle Kids *W Busby Marou **W Sahara Beck NOVEMBER 4 Entertainment Centre, Darwin, NT* 7 Convention Centre Great Hall, Cairns, Qld* 8 Entertainment Centre, Townsville, Qld* 9 Great Western Hotel, Rockhampton, Qld* 11 Riverstage, Brisbane, Qld# 12 Regional Botanic Gardens, Coffs Harbour, NSW# 14 Tamworth Regional Entertainment Centre, Tamworth, NSW# 15 Entertainment Centre, Newcastle, NSW# 17 Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, Vic# 18 MONA Mainstage & Lawns, Hobart, Tas# 19 Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Sydney, NSW# 22 Adelaide Entertainment Centre Theatre, Adelaide, SA# 25 Kings Park and Botanic Gardens, Perth, WA# 29 Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch, NZ@ 30 Wellington Opera House, Wellington, NZ@

PEPPER JANE

OCTOBER 4 The Drunken Poet, West Melbourne Vic 5 Charles Weston Hotel, Brunswick Vic 13 Cafe 54, Glenorchy Tas 14 Iron Horse Bar & Grill, Launceston Tas 19 The Bent Elbow, Greenslopes Qld

PETER CAMPBELL OCTOBER 1 Gatton Showground Qld 7 Gatton Showground Qld

Want to busk at #TCMF2018?

Registrations open NOW at tcmf.com.au 62

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Please note all show venues & times are correct at time of printing.

Capital News recommends you check with the venue prior to attending.

PETER COAD & THE COAD SISTERS

GIGGUIDE 12 Opotiki Deluxe Theatre NZ 13 Gisborne War Memorial Theatre NZ 14 Napier Municipal Theatre NZ 20 & Sat 21 Taupo Great Lakes Centre NZ 22 Hamilton Clarence St Theatre NZ

DECEMBER 23 The Peppertree Bar & Cafe, Aldinga SA

*W/ Runaway Dixie OCTOBER 6 Condobolin RSL NSW* 7 Dubbo RSL* 21 RFDS Fundraiser, Spear Creek via Wilmington SA* NOVEMBER 10 Lockington Town Hall Vic 11 Kyabram RV Festival Vic 25 Littlehampton Peace Memorial Hall SA

RORY PHILLIPS NOVEMBER 25 Royal Hotel Woodstock NSW

THE WEEPING WILLOWS

ROUND MOUNTAIN GIRLS OCTOBER 8 Cruisin’ Country 7, Radiance of the Seas NOVEMBER 4&5 Ballina CMF NSW 25 South Tweed Sports Club NSW DECEMBER 16 Cabarita Sports Club, Cabarita Beach NSW

TAYLOR PFEIFFER ‘THE BANJO GIRL’

OCTOBER 1-8 Mildura CMF Vic 20&21 Slim Dusty CMF, Kempsey NSW

TEX PERKINS

NOVEMBER 3&4 Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne Vic

RUBY BOOTS OCTOBER 1 Semaphore MF, Adelaide SA 5 Wesley Anne, Melbourne Vic

RUNAWAY DIXIE

RACHAEL FAHIM

NOVEMBER 10 Lockington Town Hall Vic 11 Kyabram RV Festival Vic 25 Littlehampton Peace Memorial Hall SA

*Guest of Viper Creek OCTOBER 2-8 Mildura CMF Vic 21 East Cessnock BC* JANUARY 2018 Tamworth CMF NSW Opening Concert, Toyota Park, Tamworth NSW 21 Toyota Star Maker Grand Final, Toyota Park, Tamworth NSW 26 Toyota Stars Under The Stars, Toyota Park, Tamworth NSW

SHANE NICHOLSON OCTOBER 13 Trinity Sessions, Adelaide SA 14 Song Room, Barossa Regional Gallery SA 16-23 Rock The Boat Pacific Cruise 27 Lonestar Tavern, Gold Coast Qld 28 Welcome to Morrisonville, Brisbane Qld

RISING SOUTH

OCTOBER 6 The Peppertree Bar & Cafe, Aldinga SA

THE MCCLYMONTS OCTOBER 8 Cruisin Country #7

THE SHERRAHS

NOVEMBER 4 Eudunda Institute SA 12 Clovelly Park Memorial CC SA 19 The Marion Church of Christ, Mitchell Park SA

TOPP TWINS

OCTOBER 6 Pukekohe Town Hall NZ 7 Thames War Memorial Civic Centre NZ

OCTOBER 7 Newport Bowls Club NSW 14 Tago Mago, Thornbury Vic

TRAVIS COLLINS

Our Backyard Tour with Amber Lawrence OCTOBER 26 Warwick RSL Qld 27 Dag Pub & Motel, D’Aguilar Qld 28 Hamilton Hotel Qld 29 Mary’s Commercial Hotel, Dalby Qld NOVEMBER 3 Young Services Club NSW 4 Ballina CMF NSW 5 The Oaks Hotel, Illawarra NSW 24 Windsor RSL NSW TWO GALS OCTOBER 8 Tamworth Bicentennial Park NSW 21 West Tamworth LC NSW NOVEMBER 17 West Tamworth LC NSW

VIPER CREEK BAND OCTOBER 1 Brisbane River Cruise Qld 8-16 Cruisin’ Country 1 East Cessnock BC NSW 28 Clarence Town River Hoedown NSW 29 Newcastle Truck Show NSW NOVEMBER 4&5 Ballina CMF NSW 11 Bungendore B&S Ball NSW 17 Muswellbrook RSL NSW 18 Narrabri RSL NSW

Visiting Tamworth?

See Star Maker’s amazing journey at the Star Maker Café at Diggers, Kable Ave, Tamworth

1979

THE LEGEND CONTINUES

years of bringing you the music 1975–2017

2017

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REF SF8370

264 PACKED PAGES • DAILY FESTIVAL PROGRAM A TO Z ARTIST DIRECTORY • VENUE MAPS • BUS ROUTES

AVAILABLE AT SELECTED VENUES AND NEWSAGENTS JANUARY 2018 Published by TAMWORTH REGIONAL COUNCIL www.tcmf.com.au/officialguide T: 02 6767 5555 e: info@officialguide.com.au

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years of bringing you the music 1975–2017