Category: Tamworth Country Radio Network

After the success of the Islands in the Stream 2013 tour dates, award-winning country artist Amber Lawrence and label-mate, X-Factor 2012 runner-up, Jason Owen are extending the tour through to 2014. With most of the shows selling out and their duet single – of the same name – climbing up the charts, the two talented performers have already started adding 2014 dates to the tour. The tour, which kicked off in June 2013 and was to initially finish at the end of November, is now being extended into April 2014 and beyond.

Amber and Jason’s youthful interpretation of the Islands in the Stream by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton is the perfect inspiration behind their joint national tour.  It also marked the release of Jason’s debut album Life Is A Highway which debuted at #5 on the ARIA Album chart and #1 on the i-Tunes Country Chart first week out.

It’s both their love of country music and the audiences that have brought them together while both coming from different “islands in the stream”.  Amber hails from Sydney and Jason grew up in small town of 12 called Albert in regional NSW. This two-hour show will feature Jason and Amber performing with their touring band, their own hits and songs as well as special duets throughout the show.

Amber is known as one of the hardest working artists in the industry and it has certainly been paying off with 13 single releases all of which have been Top 5 radio favourites including seven #1’s.  She has more than 10 awards to her name including the Tamworth Telstra Horizon Award at the 2011 Golden Guitars and was nominated in the Female Artist of the Year category at this year’s Golden Guitars.  Amber will perform some of her fan favourites such as Wrecking Ball, Good Girls, Don’t Do Lonely Well, Women Like Me and from her latest album “3”, Everybody’s A Mess, Man Across the Street and Try.  Throughout the tour Amber will continue to promote her 3^rd album which saw her fourth single Pretty Little Liar released in August.

At 19 years of age, Life Is A Highway marks the start of a new journey for Jason, who has moved from his small country town to Sydney and is now ready to embrace a full-time career as a recording and performing artist.  Life Is A Highway features songs such as Always On My Mind, Against The Wind, If Tomorrow Never Comes, and Sweet Home Alabama to name a few.  The album’s collection of songs – which are eclectic in genre – are all connected by the beauty of Jason’s unique voice, and fans will now be able to experience it live.

ISLANDS IN THE STREAM 2014 DATES

Thursday 2^nd January 2014

CEX Coffs Harbour NSW

www.cex.com.au | 02 6652 3888

Friday 3^rd January 2014

Ballina RSL NSW

www.ballinarsl.com.au | 02 6686 2544

Thursday 23^rd January 2014

West Tamworth Leagues Club, TAMWORTH NSW

www.wtlc.com.au

Friday 21^st February 2014

Muswellbrook RSL, MUSWELLBROOK NSW

www.muswellbrookrsl.com.au | (02) 6543 1700

Saturday 22^nd February 2014

Katoomba RSL, KATOOMBA NSW

www.katoombarsl.com.au | 1300 438 849

Friday 21^st March 2014

Club Sapphire, MERIMBULA NSW

www.clubsapphire.com.au | (02) 6495 1306

Saturday 22^nd March 2014

St Georges Basin Country Club, ST GEORGES BASIN NSW

www.basincountryclub.com.au | (02) 4443 0666

Friday 4^th April 2014

Hahndorf Old Mill SA

www.hahndorfoldmill.com  | 08 8388 7888

Saturday 5^th April 2014

Vine Inn Barossa SA

www.vineinn.com.au | 08 8562 2133

Friday 11^th April 2014

Inverell RSL, INVERELL NSW

www.inverellrsl.com.au | (02) 6722 3966

Saturday 12^th April 2014

Warwick RSL, WARWICK QLD

www.warwickrsl.com.au | (07) 4661 1229

Friday 4^th May 2014

Gunnedah Services & Bowling Club, GUNNEDAH NSW

www.gunnedahservicesclub.com.au | (02) 6742 0400

Saturday 5^th May 2014

Armidale Ex-Services, ARMIDALE NSW

www.armidaleservices.com.au | (02) 6776 0800

The 15^th Anniversary celebration of the Deniliquin Ute Muster ended last night with country music superstar, Alan Jackson, capping off two days of music, family, fun and country spirit.

The festivities kicked off on Friday morning when gates opened at 6.00am letting the first of the weekend’s 20,000 attendees onto the site.

“This year’s festival was enormously successful with mother nature turning on beautiful sunny days and balmy nights for us” said Kathie Heyman, Deni Ute Muster General Manager.

“It’s been 15 years since the local community banded together for the first Deni Ute Muster and we’ve gone from strength to strength when a lot of other festival events are struggling to find an audience.  It’s a huge honour for community and business to see so many families returning each year to play on the plains”.

“We’d also like to acknowledge our Strategic Partners Destination NSW. Event Partners, Deniliquin Council and Conargo Council. Major sponsors: Holden, Bundaberg Rum, Decentralised Demountables, Country Waste Systems, IGA and our official partners, XXXX Gold, Coates Hire and Viking.  We couldn’t continue growing the event without their support and we tip our hats to them all”. 

Friday night’s opening concert was headlined by Grinspoon with Sunny Cowgirls, Russell Morris, Adam Brand and Corb Lund getting the crowd up dancing into the night.

Saturday night was headlined by international superstar Alan Jackson who had the crowd in raptures throughout his set, particularly as he sang his hit Where I Come From with vision of the Muster and township splashed on the screen behind him. Also on the line up on the balmy spring night was Kaylee Bell, Morgan Evans and Australia’s favourite country songstress, Kasey Chambers.

The Deni Ute Muster once again broke two of its own world records over the weekend.  First up was the World Record Blue Singlet Count with 3,924 musterers donning blue singlets breaking the previous record of 3,500 set in 2010.

And of course it wouldn’t be a ute muster without the utes!  2013 was also a record breaking year with 9,736 utes on sites breaking the previous record set back in 2010.

Alan Hamilton from Townsville (Qld) won Deniliquin Ute Muster Ute of the Year with his Holden Maloo.  Bob Waldner from Lavington (NSW) once again walked away with a win in the Holden Barrel Race and also took out the inaugural Driver’s Choice Award as voted by his fellow contestants. The Narva Go to Wo was won by Blair Achammer with his Nissan Navara.

In the driving competitions, The Australian National Circle Work Championships, sponsored by GME, was won by Jason Stanley from Cairns (Qld) who impressed the judges with his Holden VE SS-V and driving performance.  Second was Michael Bekins from Emerald (Vic), and third placed was Luke Campbell from Parkes (NSW).

This year’s Holden Grunt Off male team winners, with a time of 9:63, were team Slootz and the female team winners were Can Rouse with a time of 11:97 seconds.

Rob Potts Entertainment Edge, Chugg Entertainment and Foxtel’s Country Music Channel (CMC) are thrilled to announce that American superstar TOBY KEITH will be making his first ever concert appearances in Australia in 2014, bringing his Hammer Down Under Tour to Australia for a series of massive arena concerts next March. Keith will also headline the 2014 CMC Rocks the Hunter festival at the Hope Estate in NSW’s beautiful Hunter Valley.

Joining Keith on the tour will be special guest international stars ELI YOUNG BAND (USA) and KELLIE PICKLER (USA).

CEO of Entertainment Edge, Rob Potts said, “The Outlaws of country music have always been huge with Aussie fans. No surprise this country started out as a convict settlement. So we know why the fans are so excited about Toby’s first ever tour here. They love his larrikin outlaw attitude and the fact that he doesn’t take himself too seriously. We’re super excited to have him touring in March and know the fans will go wild when he rolls out his incredible catalogue of hits. It’s also terrific to welcome back Eli Young Band and to have Kellie Pickler on her first visit down under”  

Executive Chairman of Chugg Entertainment, Michael Chugg said, “Toby Keith is one of the biggest artists in modern country music. We’ve been hearing about his rowdy, rockin’ live show in this country for many years. One of the biggest songwriters in any genre, Aussie audiences have really connected with his irreverent humour. We still think “he’s as good as he once was”- and with three international heavyweights on one bill, this is going to be the country tour of the year –  my mate Jimmy Buffett said he is not to be missed!”

Singer/songwriter TOBY KEITH is one of the most consistently successful artists in country music history, with over 35 million album sales and 31 US No. 1 singles in two decades of recording, including Should’ve Been A Cowboy, How Do You Like Me Now?!, Beer For My Horses, I Love This Bar, As Good As I Once Was and Red Solo Cup. Winner of multiple CMA, ACM and American Music Awards, the Billboard Country Artist of the Decade is renowned throughout the globe for his swaggering party songs, soulful ballads and rowdy, high-energy live performances.  Toby will also be performing songs from his new album, Drinks After Work, which will be released in Australia on 1 November, 2013.

The ELI YOUNG BAND honed their skills as an Eagles-esque live force in the Texas Red Dirt scene, building up an enviable fan following, before breaking into the mainstream country scene with their album, Level, in 2005. The Southern quartet blew us away in 2012 on their first trip down under and they’ve since moved into an even higher gear, with hits including the monster smash Crazy Girl, Even If It Breaks Your Heart and their latest release, Drunk Last Night.

Since rocketing to fame on American Idol, KELLIE PICKLER has been charming the public with her inimitable twang, cheeky charisma and powerful country pipes. Her hits include Red High Heels, I Wonder, Don’t You Know You’re Beautiful and Best Days of Your Life, and she has run the gamut from soul-baring vulnerability to girl power anthems and she constantly reaches for more honest, powerful and dynamic ways to tell her story. The CMT Music Award winner and ACM and CMA nominee, Pickler has also triumphed on television, as the 2013 winner of the US Dancing with the Stars.

LADY OF THE LAND – A TRIBUTE TO JOY McKEAN LUKE O’SHEA RELEASES FIRST SINGLE FROM NEW ALBUM

Long before two likely lads from the country came along and stole the hearts of Joy and Heather McKean, the sisters were superstars. Hosting their very own Melody Trail radio show on 2KY every Saturday night for over eleven years, the girls bravely followed the ‘stars in their eyes and the songs in their hearts’ blazing a trail, that went on to establish the very corner stones of the Australian Country Music Industry.

As was the time, with love and marriage, when Reg Lindsay and David Gordon Kirkpatrick locked into their passion and vision of the world – both women put themselves and their careers behind their men. As expressed in my song “The Drover’s Wife”, I’ve long been fascinated by the strength and resourcefulness of the Australian woman; pioneering women that had multi-functioning tasks as tough and as integral to that of the pioneering man.

Joy McKean is one such woman and after reading her book, I’ve Been There (& Back Again), I was incredibly inspired to ‘sing her up’. Using her words and utilising the titles of some of her original songs I’ve attempted to tell her story in a cryptic, poetic way that will hopefully take the listener a few times around to figure it all out.
As I do with all my songs, I played “Lady of the Land” to my wife in a very early and raw format, and she made me swear that if I ever had the opportunity play the song to Joy live, I should. As the universe conspires, I ended up having the chance a few short weeks later, in the beautiful Tamworth Town Hall during the 2013 Roll of Renown concert. I was understandably nervous for a few reasons; I was about to sing a song that I felt was still evolving, I was also singing as Joy, using her words and her song titles telling her story, back at her. What if I got it wrong? What if she hated it?
Anyway, it was a sold out show, but as far as I was concerned, there was only one woman there. Afterwards, Max Ellis came up and asked me to wait around after the show, for Joy had asked to meet me. Thankfully, she enjoyed the song and was touched by the sentiment but also, as expected, asked for a copy of the lyrics. After explaining a few of the more cryptic lines and expressing my intentions with the song, Joy gave me her complete blessing and has also allowed rare archives of her personal and musical journey to be used in a powerful video to marry the song visually.
Joy McKean; writer of some of Slim Dusty’s biggest hits, winner of the very first Golden Guitar, manager, agent, promoter, multi-instrumentalist, author, co-driver, offsider, cook, mother, grandmother, matriarch and still to this day – a powerhouse in the establishment of the Slim Dusty Centre. Enough about the fella, I want Joy McKean’s story to be told, and I strongly urge all who wish to be astounded and inspired to purchase and read her book I’ve Been There (& Back Again) – and true to Joy’s nature it’s the one that features Slim on the front cover. – Luke O’Shea

The Coleman Brothers are gearing up for the release of their new music video for “Back on the Farm,” making its official debut in September. The video was filmed in the Colemans’ home state of Texas, and is a reflection of family, friends and life on the road.

Directed by Michael Walters of HD Texas Video Productions, “Back on the Farm” will include several special people in the lives of brothers Greg and Denny Coleman, including their parents, as well as good friend and Texas legend Larry Butler. The single is the third release from The Coleman Brothers’ second studio album, Keepin’ It Reel.

“All the footage in this video was done here at home on our friends’ properties, and it’s just the real deal,” notes Greg Coleman. “There was no faking involved with the making of this video. We took it right back to our roots … keepin’ it real,” he adds with laughter.

Just two weeks after being leaked to country radio, “Back on the Farm” has already charted on Music Row, this week coming in at No. 68. The song will officially impact radio following Labor Day.

Previous singles from Keepin’ It Reel include “Ghost Town” and “Lonely in the Lonestar State,” which respectively hit No. 23 and No. 27 on the Music Row chart. The tunes were the highest charting independent songs on the elite chart during that time.

The Coleman Brothers is comprised of brothers Denny and Greg Coleman, as well as Don Hutchko. The band formed in 2009 and have released two studio albums. For more information on the Coleman Brothers, visit their official website at www.thecolemanbrothers.com.