Artist Biographies

It’s more than a decade since Adam Brand burst into town to leave his indelible stamp on Australian country music. In that time he’s collected a dozen Golden Guitars — including two for Male Vocalist — and many other major awards. He’s seen three of his albums go platinum, two gold, and released two gold DVDs. He’s also enjoyed innumerable hit singles.

It sometimes seems like The Sunny Cowgirls have risen straight from the warm heart of Australia.

They radiate sunshine and that dry, laconic Aussie sense of humour. And Sunny Cowgirls Sophie and Celeste Clabburn are the first to admit that they need a little dirt under their fingernails to create their own very special brand of music.

“The songs we write come from a very real place – they’re always inspired by where we’ve been and the people we’ve met. If we stay away from the bush for too long, we find we just can’t write,” said Sophie.

JAMES BLUNDELL – PORTRAIT OF A MAN
November 2008

If you’re lucky enough to chat to singer/songwriter James Blundell on his home turf, the conversation is bound to be punctuated by the sounds of the bush or the farm, of dogs barking or Cockatoos squawking as they fly past. It’s taken him 22 years to get back to where he started in a sense, and that place is pretty well represented in the songs that make up his latest and ninth studio album, Portrait Of A Man.

'The Songs of a Showman's Daughter'

She may not be its actual subject but in the song (and indeed the album) Showman’s Daughter Anne Kirkpatrick tells us much about her life.

The title song was inspired by a tragedy that befell a friend, the daughter of one of her father’s old travelling showmen comrades, and in writing the song for and about her, Anne inevitably found herself very close to home, to one of her many homes. “Whenever I look back down along the track” she sings in wistful tone, “I can hear the spruikers loud and clear.”

Kirsty Lee Akers – Better Days

‘Better Days’, the much anticipated release from Australian singer-songwriter Kirsty Lee Akers, sees the petite and cheeky 20-year-old drawing influences from her musical heroes Dolly Parton and Leann Womack to produce a world class contemporary country album.

Pete is one of those blokes who was always around the pub, the session, the concert or the buffet with his fiddle in his hand, ready with a joke or a twisted one-liner.

'Regular Guy'

Rob's father used to pick guitar to help him face a day's work in the mines. As he played, his son watched, and soon it was Rob who was picking out tunes. And growing up in the Central Queensland town of Middlemount meant that Rob had little to do but hone his talents on the guitar. He taught himself complicated Chet Atkins solos one note at a time using the pause button on a cassette player. It may not have been an orthodox approach, but it worked. Rob was accepted into the Queensland Conservatorium of Music at the age of 17.

When Talia Wittmann won Toyota Star Maker in Tamworth this year she joined the ranks of some outstanding Australian talent...previous Star Maker winners include Keith Urban, Beccy Cole, Lee Kernaghan, Gina Jeffreys and James Blundell.

'Words Of Wisdom'

Jim Haynes reckons he¹s just an ordinary bloke who wants to make people laugh and feel good.

But this multi-talented character is far from ordinary. Over the course of his working life, he’s excelled at so many careers that even he’s lost count. He’s been a serious and humorous songwriter, performer, bush poet, author, comedian, raconteur, compere, after-dinner speaker, recording artist, bush band member, academic, sapphire dealer, nurse, roustabout and teacher - usually several of them at the same time.

PAUL COSTA - INTO THE FUTURE

FEBRUARY 2009

The rising star of PAUL COSTA has burned brightly since 2004 with the release of his debut solo album Walkin’ In These Shoes.

The ground breaking album was a fresh and exciting debut that saw Paul jump emphatically onto centre stage with a string of Top 10 radio singles and a host of awards and accolades.