BLOG: CMAA Junior Academy of Country Music celebrates

July 5, 2017Leave a comment

WEDNESDAY may be hump day in the rest of the world, but at the CMAA Junior Academy of Country Music, every day is a party and we’re on the downhill run to our amazing graduation concert at 7pm on Friday night at Calrossy Anglican School.

Everywhere you turn at the academy, there is music. There are small groups going over the songs they will perform that they may have written together, there is the band rehearsing their songs and learning charts and there are full-on rehearsals happening in the hall in preparation for one of the biggest nights of the students’ careers so far.

With rehearsals for the grad concert in full swing, the tension and nerves are almost palpable no matter where you go on campus, but it all makes for an amazing experience. This is all mixed with media interviews and today another four students appeared on radio with Jon Wolfe and Jodie Crosby. Continue reading →

BLOG: CMAA Junior Academy of Country getting to pointy end

July 5, 2017July 5, 2017Leave a comment

I’m a day late with this update, sorry. Day 4, Tuesday, was the biggest day at academy thus far. I can’t believe we’re halfway through already!

Tuesday brought with it more co-writing with Allan Caswell and Aleyce Simmonds as well as the group leaders and the students have been writing with their peers. I’m amazed at the calibre of the songs these young people are coming up with. I would find it very difficult to write a news story with someone else, let along pour my emotions or my story out into a song with someone else’s input. I am truly amazed by their talents. Continue reading →

BLOG: CMAA Junior Academy of Country Music talent astounds

July 3, 2017Leave a comment

DAY 3 dawned in below zero temperatures as is the case at this time of the year in Tamworth, but the talent and music coming out of this CMAA Junior Academy of Country Music is hot, hot, hot.

The biggest news on the block was former student Judah Kelly’s win on The Voice. There were massive celebrations here last night in the boarding house, with cups of tea as it’s a dry academy.

Today we had the company of Allison Forbes again, along with fellow Tamworth artist Aleyce Simmonds and Allan Caswell was back in the writer’s hot seat. Joining us to chat about media and country music magazines was Country Music Capital News manager Cheryl Byrnes. Continue reading →

BLOG: CMAA Junior Academy of Country Music Welcome

July 2, 2017July 2, 2017Leave a comment

THE students, parents, group leaders and support staff members have moved in and the CMAA Junior Academy of Country Music is up and running. Coming from as far away as Western Australia and Tasmania, the students are in for a treat during their eight-day intensive course.

Excitement was high as they all arrived in Tamworth on Friday night and Saturday moved into their rooms at Calrossy Anglican School on Saturday morning. The students and parents all got to know each other on Saturday afternoon as the students ran through songs for the show on Saturday night at The Pub.

Continue reading →

Bowen celebrates in Country Music Capital

June 20, 2017June 20, 2017Leave a comment

AUSTRALIAN actor and singer-songwriter Clare Bowen will head from one country music capital to another when she brings her tour to Tamworth in July.
Tamworth hosts the Nashville star on July 11 at Wests on her second tour, after selling out venues last year.
Continue reading →

Darren Coggan focused on The Wide Horizon

May 25, 2017May 25, 20171 Comment

By Rebecca Belt
THE Wide Horizon could well be one of the most highly anticipated albums on the Australian country music calendar for 2017.

Singer-songwriter Darren Coggan is back with a range of songs that blend to form a work that makes you want to slide it into your car stereo and hit the road. As well as celebrating the country we live in and a couple of songs that have defined Australian music, The Wide Horizon also celebrates Darren’s love for his wife and children.
“The album overall is a really very accurate representation and picture of who I am in my life,” Darren said.
“With Peace Train (the Cat Stevens show), I have travelled a lot and it’s opened my eyes to a new audience and new way of performance and reaching out to people. This album really represents those last few years.” Continue reading →

Paul Costa goes Off The Grid

February 16, 2017February 16, 2017Leave a comment

Off The Grid, the first single from multi-award winning artist Paul Costa’s much anticipated new album Whisper in the Crowd, hits the airwaves today, Friday, February 17.

single-cover Fans got a taste of Off The Grid at the 2017 Tamworth Country Music Festival and the reaction to the re-introduction of Paul Costa to the Australian country music industry has been outstanding.

“This song is unapologetically rocking, relevant and fun,” Costa said. “I want people to turn it up loud on their stereos when they want to escape the daily grind. We are spending more and more time on social media, and have forgotten how good it feels to be free from technology and “off the grid”…I dare people to try it!” Continue reading →

Get On Your Feet with Brand’s new album

February 9, 2017February 9, 2017Leave a comment

IT’S time to Get On Your Feet with Adam Brand back with a new album brimming with positivity. He got the party started at the Tamworth Country Music Festival where he kicked off his Wormall Civil Get On Your Feet tour. Today, February 10, though, fans get their hands on the album.
“I want the album to make you feel like dancing, jumping up on your seat, raising your glass in the air and waving your arms around,” Brand said.
“There is light and shade, though … and there’s a lot of fun stuff on there. There are different textures and flavours that you probably wouldn’t expect. The last thing I want is for people to listen and think that’s just another Brandy album.”

Photo: Andrew Hennell

The singer-songwriter said that he was constantly striving to push the bar even higher on his music with each album and enjoyed challenging himself with two female producers working on the album and taking his music in new directions.

In another break from tradition, Brand didn’t write any of the songs on the album, instead opting for songs written by others that he whittled down to 10 he couldn’t stop listening to.
“I approached the song search in a totally different way and started collecting songs for about 18 months before I went into the studio,” Brand said.
“I contacted songwriting friends and people I’ve written with in Nashville and everytime they sent me a song, I’d add it to my playlist and I would play them in the car. Songs I didn’t like got deleted and, by natural selection, I ended up with 10 songs that I wanted to keep pressing repeat on – that was my album. I thought how good that you can spend a year listening to songs and the 10 songs I loved the most, that’s your album.” Continue reading →

Sing around James Blundell’s Campfire

January 26, 2017Leave a comment

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.”
james-blundell-campfire-front-hires_2 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 14^th 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. james-blundell
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.

And the rain tumbles down

January 20, 2017Leave a comment

TAMWORTH is not known for it’s wet climate, but the weather gods made camping, outdoor concerts and street busking as uncomfortable as they could today as storms and rain streamed into town quicker than caravanners.

After working this morning, we braved the downpours and headed to Peel St to check out what the buskers had to offer this afternoon. However, there were only a few who decided to play in all weather conditions. Although there wasn’t a lot of music to be had at times, the city is full of people coming to soak up the country music atmosphere and we have it in droves.