Please take some time to read about our artists for 2010, we are privileged to have each and everyone of them on our program. Also please support our business’ who advertise with us, along with our major sponsors, they make this festival possible.
THANKYOU.
Beccy Cole – Sunny Cowgirls – Doug Bruce and the Tailgaters – Tim Farren – The Dalton Gang – The Prairie Oysters – Rene Diaz & Avalon – Carmen Fraser – Cameron Mason – Lianna Rose – 8 Ball Aitken
Beccy Cole
Beccy Cole has earned 3 gold records and won countless awards including 7 golden guitars, all for singing country music. Beccy’s passion for the genre began as a youngster listening to Dolly Parton but when you peruse Beccy’s list of influences, the edge with which she has
delivered her country is better explained. Pat Benatar, Chrissy Amphlett, Tina Turner, Patty Griffin, The Indigo Girls, Bonnie Raitt, Janis Ian, Carole King, Melissa Etheridge, Shawn Colvin and many more have all played a part in shaping the syle that Beccy has developed. Apart from the appeal of the music, Beccy says the attraction is also to “strong women with something to say”. Inspection of some of Beccy’s later recordings will reveal that she continues to hold these influences with versions of Carole King’s Natural Woman, 4 Non Blondes Whats up, Fleetwood Mac’s Say you love me and her heartfelt version of The Divinyl’s Pleasure and Pain, which gianed major radio airplay.
Wick Studios Brunswick for all your recording and rehearsal needs. When only the best will do. 23-25 Leslie St Brunswick
Ph: 9387-7044
Sunny Cowgirls
Australians love a good yarn and The Sunny Cowgirls are supreme storytellers. The music and original song-writing of Sophie and Celeste Clabburn have struck a chord not just with country music fans but Aussies all over. The Sunny Cowgirls’ songs are authentic stories of outback life and bloody hard work, coupled with universal themes of longing for love and romance while keeping your favourite Ute on the road – all told with their unique, sisterly sense of humour. With the music turned up full blast it’s easy to imagine yourself in an outback pub with a crowd of jackaroos and rousabouts determined to have a good time.
Doug Bruce and the Tailgaters
Victorian based Doug Bruce is a singer songwriter impressing die hard country fans and new converts alike,sincemoving from Texas to Australia in 2005. With the release of his first full album, “All I Need” Doug has been awarded 2009 best male vocalist the well regarded Tamworth independant artists recognition awards. (TIARA’S). Numerous songwriting nominations and awards have followed. Doug took out Victorian male vocalist, Victorian Album of the year and the Smokey Dawson best independent release in the national section of the prestigious 2009 Victorian and National Country Music Awards. With his band the Tailgaters, Doug performed in Nashville and Texas to wide acclaim in 2009 and has been invited to do so again in 2010.
Tim Farren
Tim Farren stands out from the new wave of talent in Australian country music because he has that rare ability to capture a live audience simply through his presence and leave a lasting impression with a song. It’s a magic quality. His audiences love it, and it keeps them coming back. The Victorian-based singer-songwriter sells a song with absolute sincerity, as he proved during the final of the 2006 Toyota Star Maker Concert when the performance of his own tune, ‘Till I Found You’, was the highlight of the night. ‘Knowing an audience is enjoying my performance as much as I am is what really matters to me,’ says Tim. Tim’s career in Country Music continues to grow. His dedication to his craft and commitment to building his career have seen him travel thousands of kilometers to sing and play wherever there was an opportunity, as a solo act or with his band.Tim and his band won the most popular band at the Country Music Guild of Australasia 2007-2008, and Tim won vocalist of the year for 2008-2009.
The Dalton Gang
The Dalton Gang burst onto the Australian music scene in April 1995 and their polished sound and well crafted arrangements have been impressing audiences ever since. Their first performance was at Melbourne’s Dallas Brooks Hall as support for American Country star, Don Williams. Not only did the audience want to hear more of this talented threesome but Don and his band agreed that ” The Dalton Gang sounded more like a hot five piece band than a trio”…..
The Dalton Gang won most popular band at the Country Music Guild of Australasia 2003-2004 and 2004-2005. Each year since they have been in top 3 .Their layered harmonies and tight instrumentation ensure they keep working the pubs, clubs, festivals and private functions around Victoria.
The Prairie Oysters
The Prairie Oysters are widely regarded as one of Victoria’s best country music acts. The band consists of four good mates who each have over 30 years experience in the music business. Since their formation in 2006, the guys began making friends around Australia and internationally with a sound that was aptly described by Amazon Music as an “explosive mix of country, southern rock, blues and rockabilly”.
The Prairie Oysters are:
Mark “Yorkie” Crossley: Vocals, Guitar
Tony Bonnici: Vocals. Bass Guitar
Lee Slater: Vocals, Lead Guitar
Rob Street: Vocals, Drums
They’ve achieved a lot since getting together and their hard work has been recognised by winning the award for Most Popular Band by The Country Music Guild of Australasia in 2007 and 2009 and becoming Top 10 finalists for Best New Talent in the 2009 National Country Music Awards. They were also nominated for a 2008 Tamworth Golden Guitar Award for Best Heritage Song with their debut single When The Dust Settles, which received rave reviews and airplay on radio stations throughout Australia, America and Europe.
If you like to dance and love country music that kicks butt, with you will enjoy The Prairie Oysters.
Rene Diaz & Avalon
Rene Diaz & Avalon were formed back in 1991 playing a host of different festivals and venues. The band has toured NSW, QLD, and even the Fijian islands promoting Rene’s debut album. These days an older and wiser Rene Diaz says he is proud to say that he stayed in his home state of Victoria and not moved up north to where the powers to be of Australian country music say all the action is. Rene has been lucky enough to have played and recorded with some of the best muso’s both sides of the border, with his current band line-up being Rob Glover on bass, Conrad D’Zilva on drums, Chris Appleton on piano, keyboards, sax and backing vocals and Mark D’Rosario on lead guitar, one of the finest pickers in Victoria.
Carmen Fraser
Victorian singer/songwriter, CARMEN FRASER has the ability to hold an audience captive with her distinctively unique voice and the way she conveys emotion through her songs. The Mansfield girl has been a passionate singer since she could talk, and discovered her love for songwriting at age nine when after being stranded in a far paddock after the motorbike ran out of fuel, she crafted her first well written song while walking back.
Growing up listening to her parents’ record collection including Bruce Springsteen, Carole King, Whitney Houston, Kenny Rogers and Garth Brooks amongst many others, Carmen developed an unshakeable obsession with emotive music. Despite graduating high school with the International Baccalaureate Diploma and a TER of 97.45, the pull towards playing and writing songs was so strong that there was never really a choice. Fraser is a dynamic alt. country performer with the ability to transform life experiences into a lyrical poem, delivering a flawless performance from the opening line. The influence those great singer songwriters have had on her is evident in her well crafted lyrics and stirring melodies.
Cameron Mason
Growing up in Bendigo Cameron was never far from the sounds of country music in the family home. His early favourites were Hank Williams, Charlie Pride, Don Williams, and Merle Haggard, and they gave him the motivation to pick up a guitar at the age of nine and begin to sing. Realising right from the beginning that music would play a major role in his life, Cam started writing his own songs and formed a band at the age of 12. The band worked all over the state. Cam and his band relocated to Sydney where they worked consistently on the live scene playing support to many of the top acts, such as Goanna, John Paul Young, and international act Hot Chocolate. After 11 gruelling years on the circuit the band called it quits, with the exception of Cameron. With music still running deep in his veins Cameron was determined to continue to follow his dream. Cameron has recieved many awards and nominations and had a top 10 single with ” Nothin’ that a little bit of you can’t cure”
Lianna Rose
Since bursting onto the scene late 2008, Lianna Rose has quickly carved a niche for herself among the ranks of Great Australian Music with songs on “Home & Away”, “Neighbours” and Paul Hogan’s New movie, Charlie & Boots! Lianna’s music can now be heard ringing from Radio, Television & Movie screens all over Australia delivering the New Wave of Australian Country Music to perfection.” ! Born & raised a Country Girl, Lianna has worked tirelessly for the past 15 years making a living from what she loves to do, write songs and play great music. With the release of her debut album “Soak Up The World” in 2008, Lianna has had 3 consecutive hits on national radio and CMC Foxtel with “Jack”, Just Like A Rose and the hilarious “ I Want My Tractor Back”.Signed to Mushroom Music Publishing in 2007, Lianna is a prolific songwriter with a story to tell. When it comes to writing a great song and cuts on Adam Brand’s new album to Talia Wittmann’s highly acclaimed debut album, Lianna is a force to be reckoned with! Her delivery is Raw, Passionate and Infectious and her songs are an eclectic mix of humour, love, life on the road and all the good bits in between. A fresh New Storyteller, delivering each song with heart and originality ! Continuing to rack up the miles, Lianna is the perfect advocate for“Work Hard, Play Hard” and that she does.
8 Ball Aitken
8 Ball Aitken is authentic — a real-deal Aussie character who rattles the roof, stomps the planks, and gets his audiences whooping and hollering along in a frenzy of pure exuberance. He plays a sizzling hot blend of original country, blues & roots music. 8 Ball’s material delivers a fresh serve of honk, stomp, Aussie swamp music, straight from the Mareeba Delta — roots music with balls.
When 8 Ball was nineteen years old, a radical conversation altered his life path. “I used to work on a farm all week, then party all weekend,” he explains. “An Aboriginal elder from Townsville was visiting my town, and we were talking on Sunday morning after he had been watching me play guitar all weekend. He sat me down and told me off sternly – ‘I will be really disappointed if I visit next year and see you still here drinking and smoking, just wasting your talent and your life away,” explains the ex-farm worker, recalling his labouring in the Atherton Tablelands fruit plantations as a young teenager. He packed his bags, grabbed his guitar, and hitch-hiked south to the Big Smoke of Brisbane. “This was a ‘time stands still’, life-changing experience”, adds 8 Ball. “From that point on, I have stayed true, and followed my dream of making music and taking it out to the people”.
