LIVE SHOWS MONTHLY! Check out our Gig Guide for more info
LIVE SHOWS MONTHLY! Check out our Gig Guide for more info
Any examination of The Black Sorrows comes down to one person, Joe Camilleri frontman and the brains behind the band. Recently awarded “living legend” status by Rolling Stone, Joe’s career spans an astonishing 50+ years. As a singer, songwriter, saxophonist and producer Joe Camilleri is considered one of the most genuinely talented figures in Australian music still at the top of his game.
Songs such as So Young, Hit And Run, Shape I’m In, Hold On To Me, Harley and Rose, Chained To The Wheel , Never Let Me Go and the Chosen Ones have become radio staples. As leader of two of Australia’s most successful bands, Jo Jo Zep and The Falcons and The Black Sorrows, Joe’s music has become part of Australian music culture. Joe was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 2007. Over the years other greats have admired Camilleri’s songwriting. Elvis Costello and John Denver are just two who have recorded cover versions of Joe’s music.
Camilleri launched The Black Sorrows, a loose band of like-minded musicians, in 1984 following the demise of his seminal band Jo Jo Zep and The Falcons the year before. From humble beginnings playing inner-city cafes around Melbourne and selling albums from the boot of a car, Camilleri transformed The Black Sorrows into one of the most sophisticated ensembles in the country. The independently released album Dear Children, represented a turning point once CBS/Sony stepped in with a world-wide deal. When radio picked up the classic track, Mystified, The Black Sorrows really took flight releasing multi-platinum sellers Hold On To Me, Harley & Rose and The Chosen Ones. The Black Sorrows have won the ARIA for Best Band, played sell-out shows across Europe and sold more than two million albums worldwide.
Hamish and Lachlan Davidson grew up in the rural Victorian town of Yinnar. Raised in a musical family, the brothers began playing music and performing from a young age. With eight albums under their belt, they have built the reputation of being one of Australia's hottest Bluegrass acts – multi instrumentalists on banjo, fiddle, mandolin, dobro – and great entertainers with an enormous respect for the traditions of the genre. The have also written the majority of their repertoire - 68 of the 101 tracks they have commercially released are original songs.
With five Australian Country Music Awards (Golden Guitars) to their name and a handful of Australian Bluegrass Championship titles, the Davidson Brothers are favourites at folk and country festivals nation-wide, taking the music they love to a whole new generation of music lovers. Troy Cassar-Daley describes them as being “the best young bluegrass pickers we have seen for a long while in Australia and a very exciting live act.”
Their latest album All You Need is Music was recorded in Nashville Tennessee. Half the album (Side A) is accoustic and the other half (Side B) is electric, showcasing a wide variety of the music they love to play. Twelve of the thirteen songs were written by Hamish and Lachlan.
Children of the 1980s, they have toured extensively throughout Australia, Europe and America, which includes representing Australia at the IBMA World of Bluegrass in the USA (2004, 2009, 2014, 2018) and headlining at the European World of Bluegrass in The Netherlands. They have had the honour of being invited to perform back to back with Ralph Stanley, performing at Bill Monroe's childhood home in Kentucky, and presenting at the 2010 International Bluegrass Awards in Nashvillie's historic Ryman Auditorium.
The brothers have performed and recorded with many music industry veterans. It is a lengthy list, but includes Joe Camilleri (Black Sorrows), Andrew Farriss (INXS), Troy Cassar-Daley, Lee Kernaghan, Melinda Schneider, Tommy Emmanuel, Kasey Chambers and Dan Sultan. They were featured on The Man From Snowy River soundtrack in their teens, and have appeared on many national television programs including Spicks & Specks and Good Morning Australia.
Both Hamish and Lachlan are graduates of the Australian Country Music College. In 2003 they won the State Final and were Runner Up in the Grand Final of the National University Band Competition, which also saw Hamish win Best Overall Musician. At the Australian Bluegrass Championships, Lachlan took out the Mandolin Championship three years in a row from 2008 – 2010, with Hamish winning the Fiddle Championship in 2000, then later, the Banjo Championship in 2009. Together, they were selected as finalists in the Most Outstanding Musicians category of the 2010 Melbourne Prize for Music.
From making their first formal recording in 1998, to being inducted by the Australian Country Music Hall of Fame into their prestigious Hands of Fame in 2017, the Davidson Brothers have already achieved a lot, but as Hamish says, "We feel like we are just warming up."
A product of Queensland's Northern sugar cane fields, hot summers and cyclones, the Vixens of Fall are a reflection of their homeland. Sweet, hot and a little bit crazy! Originally from Cairns, now North Brisbane, Queensland based; the three sassy sisters Nina, Wren and Lulu established their grasp on the world and soon discovered their love and passion of country music and continue to make strides in the Australian Country music scene.
These three ladies have such a sassy disposition about them that you can’t help but be enchanted by the glowing smiles that draw you in and dance you through their playful but heartfelt songs. Songs that quite obviously come from a place of passion and experience and aim to connect deeply with their audience.
Good is our way to help break the chain. Once this happens, we no longer will be living in our history, we will be creating a future,” band member Pagan Newman explains.
For the first time the Melbourne-based four-piece worked with ARIA award and Toyota Golden Guitar winners MSquared who produced and mixed the song.
Pretty Doesn’t Make You Good is Darlinghurst’s third single release since their self-titled ARIA #1 debut album. Cementing themselves as one of the hottest new acts in country music, the Melbourne-based four-piece have secured four #1 singles on the Countrytown Hot 50 airplay chart, a Top 40 spot on the US Music Row Country Radio Chart and a highly coveted Golden Guitar award for New Talent of the Year in 2022.
Darlinghurst have played to massive crowds at Gympie Music Muster, Deni Ute Muster, Savannah In The Round, Country Rocks Festival, Groundwater Country Music Festival and CMC Rocks QLD.
Stars got together in Adelaide around '74 '75 , all coming from around the same neighbourhood and basically fallin together through a love of similar music taste, ie. Free, Deep Purple etc
After a short while supporting bands from interstate, Dingoes, LRB etc and starting to write their own songs , Beeb Birtles of LRB recommended Stars to Michael Gudinski of Mushroom Records who promptly signed them instigating a move to Melbourne.
Stars friend Andy Durant joined the band with a collection of his own songs which formulated their sound from Rock Boogie to more Country Rock and the first album was released going gold.
After the release of Stars second album "Land Of Fortune" a live album "1157" and 3 years of constant touring a decision was made to end Stars and sadly shortly after Andy died from a melanoma .
In 1980 the star studded "Andrew Durant Memorial Concert" was staged at the Palais Theatre in St Kilda, featuring the members of Stars, Renee Geyer, Jimmy Barnes, Ian Moss, Don Walker, Richard Clapton and many more of the cream of Australian artists who are still recording and playing to this day, a live recording of the show was released to much acclaim and promptly went gold.
After over 35 years Stars returned with the original line up featuring Mick Pealing on vocals and guitar, Mal Eastick on guitar, Roger McLachlan on bass and Glyn Dowding who was replaced by Erik Chess early 2019 on drums and featuring Nick Charles on guitar.
A new Album “Boundary Rider” is released in 2018 mainly written by Mick & Nick with 3 early Stars songs recorded in the studio for the first time.
2020 brings a brand new album “One More Circle Round The Sun” featuring new songs written by Mick Pealing and Nick Charles.
Early 2023 brought about the retirement from Stars, founder of the band Mal Eastick who was replaced by Australian blues guitarist Geoff Achison along with legendary pedal steel player Ed Bates. A new single ( One More Try) was released around this time.
With this six piece lineup audiences can expect the music from Stars’ 3 studio albums "Paradise", “Land Of Fortune" 2018’s “Boundary Rider”, “The Andrew Durant Memorial Concert" and “One More Circle Round The Sun”
Working with one of Australia’s finest producers Brendan Radford, Lance released his first solo album in 2012 titled ‘The Album’. Lance has been back in the studio with Brendan working on his new songs alongside some of Australia’s finest musicians including Lawrie Minson, James Gillard, Michel Rose, Vaughan Jones, Mick Albeck and the late Glen Hannah.
With his music featuring high on various country charts Lance has toured Australia wide supporting and headlining many events, festivals and gigs. His main stage performances include The Gympie Music Muster and Airlie Beach Music Festival. He has headlined Noonamah Rodeo, Central Queensland Bikes, Bulls, Buggies & Bands, Julia Creek Dirt n Dust and Bowen Fishing Classic just to name a few. He supported Ross Wilson and Brian Cadd and has featured alongside Joe Camilleri and The Black Sorrows, The Radiators, Dragon, James Blundell and many more.
Lance has announced his return to music will be made at the ‘Gympie Music Muster 2019’. A swag of new songs is set to be released throughout the year and his focus is now on getting back on the big stages and airwaves. A new film clip is in the making for what is set to be a hit song. The media attention surrounding this clip has caused a stir already with Channel 7 News doing a feature story across Australia reaching millions.
Kirsty Lee Akers is one of Australia’s most unique and authentic recording artists. A rare talent who is proud of her First Nations heritage, she is a woman of the Wonnarua Nation (Hunter Valley – Australia). Akers describes herself as a fusion of country and Americana, with pop stylings. She has embraced a global musical culture and now spends her time between Australia and a hard-earned international touring schedule in North America and Europe. Although she spends time overseas during the year, Australia will always be her spiritual home....
Kaitlyn Thomas has emerged as an artist inhabiting the world of the music and artists she grew up listening to. She is a strong independent female singer and songwriter of the finest order. Kaitlyn is imbued with the spirit, style and sassy attitude of those who came before and she carries on a proud tradition.
Born and raised in rural Victoria, Kaitlyn’s love for music came at a very early age. Soaking up the music that was being played around her while growing up, they inspired her to begin writing her own songs at the age of 8. And she hasn’t looked back since. Just developed and expanded her pallet.
Kaitlyn Thomas is a graduate of both the junior and senior CMAA Academy of Country Music and was awarded Australian Youth Songwriter of the Year in 2012 and again in 2018. Personal highlights also include performing at Nashville’s famous Bluebird Café and Honky Tonk Central in 2016 and receiving an endorsement from Maton Guitars.
She has been developing her craft under the guidance of some amazing producers and mentors for many years and has worked with some of the best in the business including supporting artists such as Casey Donovan, Beccy Cole, Darlinghurst and Andrew Swift. Kaitlyn also had the pleasure of touring with Carter & Carter on their Taste of Tamworth Tour and working with musicians of the calibre of guitarist, Brett Garsed, who is best known for his work with John Farnham and US rock group, Nelson.
The family that plays together, stays together... and in the nutty world of The Pigs, family (and beer, and bluegrass) is all that matters... and did I mention… you’re family too. In these troubling times you can count on The Pigs... They have not blurred their backgrounds, stockpiled dunny paper or learned anything remotely.
T-Bone, Stretch, Cousin Shamus, Cousin Bert & Cousin Montz last name PIG, like to have fun and their music speaks to that… but also pokes much deeper... life, love, heartache, Robot Goats even. Expect to be shocked by their dress & hear their many hits – even that one about Moisturiser. Not sure yet? Ask a friend or look ‘em up.
The band members are never satisfied with their own instruments and continually swap over and change positions on stage – you won’t know where to look or who to watch! Each member is their own character to love and you'll see Goat Girl running through the crowd rattling the bones, Goat Boy playing 3 instruments at once - drums with his feet, banjo in hand and harmonica on a brace, and the Giddy Goat dances up a storm (whilst playing fiddle flat out)… but one of their biggest compliments from fans of all ages, is that they love the history lesson woven throughout the show and they all walk away feeling more knowledgeable on music and its’ roots.
Julian James has been around Melbourne’s live music scene since before he was allowed to drink in bars. The sound of his band ‘Julian James and The Moonshine State' mixes a love of moonshine-drinking finger picking country with the southern swamp wail of a back porch fiddle. Julian has released four well-received albums to date, all of which he’s road tested on frequent laps of our wide brown land.
Festival Julian James and the Moonshine state bring a high energy, Americana Hill Country sound, featuring whiskey drenched Fiddle, Bass and Drums.
Anna Scionti (pronounced Shon-tee) is a singer-songwriter, guitarist and bottleneck slide player who mixes it up on cigar box guitar, resonator, lap steel and six-string guitar.
The music Scionti makes is her own style steeped in blues, roots and rock. While absorbing influences from her favourite inspirational artists, Scionti walks her own creative path. Driving guitars and honey-soaked, gravel-infused vocals draw you deep in to her world of emotionally charged, electrified rhythmic tunes.
Having lost both her parents as a teenager, Scionti turned to music as an outlet. Her original songs tell stories of love, loss, and longing and are uninhibited, raw and unapologetic in their honesty. They are songs from the heart.
JUNKBOX RACKET is Scionti’s latest album giving you a reason to get up and dance!
When left alone with a bunch of guitars out comes a collection of songs that are rebellious and raw. Recorded in 2020 JUNKBOX RACKET includes ten songs played on six uniquely crafted hand-made cigar box guitars and Anna’s 1960’s Gibson melody maker!
Scionti’s other releases include: 2019 album ‘Orphan Diary’ and her 2017 self-titled EP. ‘Orphan Diary’ debuted at No.4 on the Australian Blues & Roots Airplay Charts, spent seven months in the top 20, and was a nominee for ‘Best Blues Album’ at the 2019 Music Victoria Awards.
Having shared the stage with some of Australia’s finest blues players, Scionti is a regular on the Blues Train and at festivals some of which include: Blues On Broadbeach (QLD), Thredbo Blues Festival (NSW), Australian Blues Music Festival (NSW), National Folk Festival (ACT), Gympie Music Muster (QLD), Port Fairy Folk Festival (VIC), Echuca Winter Blues Festival (VIC), Bendigo Blues & Roots Music Festival (VIC), Marysville Jazz & Blues Festival (VIC), Wangaratta Festival of Jazz & Blues (VIC), Boolarra Folk Festival (VIC) and St Kilda Blues Festival (VIC)
Andrew Farrell (The Wizard) ) - is a famous Australian pianist, singer, songwriter. He is widely acknowledged as a versatile virtuoso pianist with great and unique technical and improvisation skills. His wide range of skills include performing as an Australian jazz pianist, classical pianist and boogie woogie
Over the years this phenomenally gifted artist has developed a stunningly unique piano style, where he often combines classical elements with jazz, boogie-woogie and blues. He then synthesizes these into a very personal and engaging musical composition. Andrew cleverly quotes from other songs and makes them a natural part of his improvisation. These performances are always dramatic, joyous and pyrotechnic.
The Wizard regularly plays anywhere from Tasmania to Queensland and New Zealand, so check out the gig guides on this website to discover for yourself why so many follow the Wizard down his yellow brick road.
Don't miss Andrew Farrell's (the Wizard) show, for you never know what musical wizardry you will witness!
When Slim Dusty’s Travelling Country Band played their last full show with Slim in 2002, the band members all went their separate ways.
Front man Pete Denahy said he was very much looking forward to getting back on stage with the band. “This will be like putting on an old comfortable pair of boots. (I) can’t wait to be playing the boss’s great old songs again,” he said. “I never thought we’d be playing these songs again in these venues!”
Rod Coe – bass; Slim’s longtime producer and a man who has seen more of Slim inside a studio than anyone.
Mike Kerin – fiddle; Slim’s longest serving fiddle player – over 25 years in the band.
Jeff Mercer – lead guitar; Slim’s right hand man on stage, keeping “the sound” alive.
Doug Gallacher – drums; also the long-time drummer with the Midday Show Band on Ch9
Pete Denahy – guitar and vocals; Slim’s last band member who played as a musician and support artist.
Rex Miller is a mature re-emerging Country artist covering the songs of some the Texas legends ie Kris Kristofferson, Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell, Delbert McClinton, Townes Van Zandt etc plus others ie John Prine. Their songs have an appeal to young and old alike and their music has set the pattern and popularity for the popular Alternate Country genre.
Rex plays play a unique collection of songs that have not been over- done in the entertainment world.
In the last couple of years Rex has played at Tamworth CMF and was recognized by Glenn A Baker as one of the best unknowns he's heard at Tamworth 2013.
In 2014 Rex was a senior finalist in the Capital Country Talent Quest as well as performing at Mudgeeraba Muster, the Broadbeach Country Music festival, Busking on the streets of the Tamworth and Country music clubs from Ballina to Brisbane.
The Eagles Story – Australia’s Premier Eagles Experience
The legend that is The Eagles now lives on through The Eagles Story.
For more than 10 years, The Eagles Story has taken audiences around Australia, on a journey to relive the amazing music of The Eagles. Through their scintillating harmonies, that recreates to perfection the vocal arrangements created by the band, to the purity of the musicianship; The Eagles Story takes this tribute to a new level, rarely seen.
In a musical landscape littered with close enough is good enough, the commitment to replicating the true west coast, Eagles sound, live on stage by the five members of The Eagles Story is never ending. The respect for the original by members, Pete McCarthy, Gary Young, Steve Wells, Paul Gales and Norm McNaughton, is the driving force that continues to ensure that each in their own right continue to take it to the limit. Hit after hit comes flooding from the stage as musical memories are re lived in this not to be missed salute to a legendary treasure..
The story of The Eagles lives on through The Eagles Story!
Jared Healy is an up and coming alternative country music singer and guitarist with stylistic influences from Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton, Charles Wesley Godwin and Amigo the Devil complimented by his upbringing in classic rock and blues. Recently, he has been all over his home state of Victoria to pubs and clubs, as well as music festivals like Bendigo Blues and Roots solo and with his band mates in the Revelators. His bold, vibrant sound of modern and unconventional country will be on his own EP coming in 2024.
He’s released 3 ARIA #1 albums and garnered 3 CMAA Golden Guitar awards – most recently Male
Artist of the Year 2023. Accolades have come thick and fast for lovable troubadour, Andrew Swift,
since his foray into Country music some years ago.
As Swift stood on the Toyota Star Maker stage in 2017, before thousands of Tamworth festivalgoers
and surrounded by his fellow top 10 finalists, he waited nervously for one name to be read the
victor... It wasn’t his. But that balmy January night kickstarted the singer-songwriter’s illustrious
career.
Adorned in tattoos, sporting a bushy beard and ball cap, he looks like someone who might be
passionate about craft beer or 18-hour smoked brisket. But don’t let that rough exterior fool you.
He’s not a BBQ pitmaster - although he can whip up some mean nachos – he’s a bonafide Country
songsmith... and a real sweetheart.
He describes his music as “a gateway drug to Country music”, much like the Tamworth Country
Music Festival was for him when he first arrived from Melbourne; a former pop-punk guitarist
who’d been told he had “a bit of a Country vibe”. The undeniable sense of community between
artists had him hooked. “Everybody knew each other and was so supportive. I hadn’t seen anything
like that before,” he reminisces. “I fell in love with it and haven’t looked back.”
A year later his ARIA #1 debut album, ‘Call Out For The Cavalry’, cemented him as one of Australia’s
most discerning storytellers. Its tales of Runaway Trains and Reckless Desires earned him a
whopping 4 Golden Guitar nominations in 2019 – not bad for an upstart – from which he took
home gongs for Alt Country Album of the Year and New Talent of the Year.
His sophomore effort, ‘The Art of Letting Go’, came three years later, after a signing with ABC and a
whirlwind of touring alongside some of the genre’s biggest names - The Wolfe Brothers, Catherine
Britt and Shannon Noll, to name a few. As a former seller and repairer of caravans – “I worked all
sorts of jobs to support my musical dreams,” he chuckles – he was almost too keen to pack his life
into a retro teardrop and hit the road.
The new record debuted again at #1 on the ARIA Australian Country chart and became the 5th
highest selling Australian Country Music album in 2021. Hits like ‘Head Full of Honey’ and ‘Say The
Word’ spun light-hearted stories of courtship and calamity through a sonic lens that pushed the
boundaries of the genre.
In 2021 Swift was invited to host the Golden Guitar Awards alongside Catherine Britt and at the
recent 2023 awards, took out the title of Male Artist of the Year - following two massive sold out
shows during the Tamworth Country Music Festival.
Swift’s forthcoming album, ‘Lightning Strikes and Neon Nights’ - slated for release on April 28, 2023
- is his most daring yet. Produced by the incomparable Matt Fell (Troy Cassar-Daley, Fanny
Lumsden), it mixes Swift’s signature grit with retro soundscapes and contemporary rhythms.
Nostalgic tales of ‘Young Lovers’, reminiscing on ‘The Good Old Days’ are what Swift refers to as
“the lightning strikes”. While songs that detail Country music’s wilder side, like ‘Cheap Liquor’ and
‘Smoke ‘em If You Got ‘em’ light up like neon nights.
Described as “... an Australian songwriting heavyweight - with a powerfully evocative voice to
match” by Country Update, Swift is undoubtedly a force to reckoned with. Fitting to his image. But
remember there’s much more to this man than meets the eye.
Despite his meteoric ascent he’s immensely passionate about helping those following in his
footsteps. “If they can learn from my mistakes, I’m always happy to help,” he smiles. It’s this same
compassion that earned him the mantle of official ambassador for Gundagai’s Dog on the
Tuckerbox.
Swift is truly both sides of the coin; a wayward vagabond and a sweetheart. His songs brood on gut-
wrenching heartache and revel in limitless joy. A master performer and one hell of a guy.
In recent years Bobby’s original songs have brought him great success in international songwriting competitions and an invitation to Nashville, all expenses paid. A number of his songs have featured on the big screen including in a 2018 feature film made in Ireland.
In Tamworth 2019 Bobby will delight with his traditional-style country originals as well as some popular standards accompanied by the sensational Band of Renown: Damian Cafarella (Lachlan Bryan and the Wildes, Bill Chambers, Kevin Bennett, Shane Nicholson), Adrian Scott (Air Supply, Little River Band), Craig Hadlow (Mary Wilson, The Platters), Nigel Thompson (Bluestone, The New Dream) and Lauren Elizabeth (Joe Camilleri, Cooking on Three Burners).
The video of the first single off the album, Too Many Beers, filmed at Bobby’s local country pub, is currently being played on Foxtel’s Country Music Channel.
Bobby has featured at major sporting events including Melbourne Cup, AFL Grand Final and Australian Open Tennis Final. International performances include Australia Day celebrations in the Middle East, opening the Singapore St.Regis Hotel plus many corporate and private events in China, Asia, US, France, and was top-billing artist in a private 5-day luxury Mediterranean cruise celebrating a 50th birthday.
Bobby and his Band of Renown country music performances are very popular in Melbourne and country Victoria and they are very excited to be participating in the ultimate country music festival.
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