THREE decades in the music industry is a milestone that anyone would be proud to chalk up and James Blundell is celebrating in style.
The Queensland singer-songwriter has a show this evening, January 26, at Wests to launch his new album, Campfire, released on Friday, February 2. This is not your typical Blundell album, though.
“It was quite a decision to make that this was going to be an album purely for the sake of recording an album of songs I love,” he said. “We started talking about making a record for fun, not so much a career album; it was about people collaborating in the spirit of music.”
Blundell said the result was far beyond what they had envisaged.
“It’s the sort of album I would buy to listen to,” he said.
The album is full of tracks that Blundell loves to listen to including the first single, Money Changes Everything, as well as Take It Easy, Only 40 Miles To Saturday Night, Blowing In The Wind and Madonna’s True Blue.
Celebrating 30 years has also meant plenty of reminiscing on Blundell’s part.
“I remember getting the recording deal with EMI for three albums and I thought, ‘what the hell? How am I going to have enough songs for three albums?’ and this is my 14th release,” he said. “I’ve now been making my career from music for 30 years and I can’t imagine doing anything else. I now have the perfect balance.”
When he’s not making music, Blundell can be found working on his family property near Stanthorpe.
Career highlights have included supporting Kris Kristofferson and becoming close personal friends with Slim Dusty and Joy McKean.
“I loved the two periods of time I had the permanent bands together,” he said. “The Victor Chang concert in Central Park, the East Timor deployment for Interfet and all the defence tours were highlights.”
Catch him in Tamworth at 5pm today, January 26, and guest appearances and take a piece of him home next week with the release of Campfire.
Category: Festivals
No stopping Lyn Bowtell
By Rebecca Belt
MULTI-GOLDEN Guitar finalist Lyn Bowtell is the embodiment of the show must go on mantra. Not one to let anyone down, the singer-songwriter has been unwell since mid-December and hospitalised three times since but kept up all music commitments. She directed the CMAA Academy of Country Music for the first two weeks of January then threw herself into Tamworth Country Music Festival appearances and shows.
Last Sunday, though, she was again hospitalised, spending Sunday night and Monday in Tamworth Hospital.
“I was watching Toyota Star Maker, being the 20th year since I won, and supporting all the people who has entered,” Bowtell said.
“I sat down with the students from the academy and we got to half time and I stood up to get dinner the pain hit severely.”
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Country music meets bowls
THE Wednesday of the Tamworth Country Music Festival saw me juggle publicity commitments for artists and defence, do an interview as I returned to being a journalist, write stories and play lawn bowls for the country music team against the Tamworth Regional Council mayor’s team.
It is a different look at the festival for me this year, after more than a decade of writing about it, and I’m loving the new perspective.
I spent time with the talented Adam Brand who has a surprise for his fans with his new album, which comes out in a couple of weeks. It’s upbeat and fun and encompasses everything that Adam is about.
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Bennett, Bowtell and Urquhart hit the stage tonight
WHILE their country music mates were still rolling into Tamworth, two-thirds of Bennett, Bowtell and Urquhart were well and truly acclimatised to the city by the time festival arrived.
The trio hit the stage today, Wednesday, January 25, at Wests from 5pm in Blazes Showroom after Kevin Bennett and Lyn Bowtell have spent two weeks at the CMAA Academy of Country Music as group leader and director, respectively.
The way the three stars in their own right sing together is magical and this show is not to be missed.
Their album is up for five Golden Guitars and Bowtell is up for a further two with other projects.
“We don’t expect anything, so when you get something, it’s amazing,” Bennett said.
“We worked really hard on this album.”
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Peel St – a must-see experience
Troy Cassar-Daley and Keith Urban busking on Peel St for charity… I was there and about 15. Photo: Northern Daily Leader
TODAY, Tuesday, brought me a fairly quiet day in relation to shows and music. I spent most of the day in the CMAA office/ media centre writing and organising interviews, but I love that I can still enjoy the sounds of Peel St, or the Boulevard of Dreams.
Many people may think buskers are on Peel St because they can’t get a gig elsewhere, but that’s not always the case. For many, it is a starting point, but for others it is where they love getting in touch with their fans in the closest possible way – right at their level on the street at the mercy of the crowds. Continue reading
Fly, Doctor, Fly
TONIGHT’S blog post is dedicated to all those artists who take time out of their massive Tamworth Country Music Festival schedules to play at charity events for free. They expect nothing in return except the knowledge they are contributing to a worthy cause.
After a day on Peel Street and writing stories and press releases at the very warm media centre, I spent the evening at the Fly Doctor Fly fundraiser for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Tamworth’s own Brendan Nawrocki organised it after he and I both shaved our heads for the cause in October last year. He decided he could do more and he proved that in bucket loads tonight.
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Toyota Star Maker in photos
Inspirational Sunday
AS MUCH as I love the festival, today it stepped up a notch with a chat with the always lovely Luke O’Shea and the Toyota Star Maker Grand Final in Bicentennial Park.
Earlier today, I sat down to have a chat with Luke about his work with Defence Care as an ambassador with Amber Lawrence, and about his three finalist placings in the CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia. Australian country music is full of so many talented and intelligent singer-songwriters and Luke would have to be up there with the best of them. These artists are not afraid to shy away from the big issues in the world and the things that matter to them, personally, and affect everyone in the nation. They are a major inspiration to this little country journo.
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Family-friendly festival fun
TODAY was one of the best days at the Tamworth Country Music Festival I have had.
It began with the announcement of the Broadcasters Hall of Fame and Hands of Fame inductees at the Australian Country Music Hall of Fame. Brendon T.Moylan and Floreena Forbes were inducted into the Broadcasters Hall of Fame and Amber Lawrence, The Davidson Brothers, Ginger Cox and Gary Ellis.
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Matt Henry launches first album – Love Without Co-Dependency
By Rebecca Belt
THE Tamworth Country Music Festival is the ideal place to launch new product for artists, but for Matt Henry, this moment has been 20 years in the making.
Love Without Co-Dependency is an album that’s been 20 years in the making and was released on the first day of festival, January 20.
“It seems like it’s been a long time coming because I started recording with Shane (Nicholson) in December last year for two weeks then went back to him in May and recorded more,” Henry said. “I’ve been working on these songs for a couple of years.”
Henry said choosing the songs was a collaboration between Nicholson and himself as he wrote and sent him a bunch of songs and Nicholson chose the songs he believed were the strongest to formulate a sound and create the album.
“I was probably listening to a lot of Americana and bluegrass while I was writing, so there is more of that sound on the album,” Henry said. “In America, it’s been a really strong, solid sub-genre of its own for a long time and now, in Australia, it’s growing.”
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