Country Music Showdown Presented by Ringers Western

Location: XXXX Stockmen’s Bar & Grill
Time: 10:30am – 6pm

Now held on the Saturday 18 August, Ekka’s Country Music Showdown Presented by Ringers Western is a place for rising stars to showcase their talent and catch their big break! 

Budding music stars will have the chance to share in $10,000 worth of cash and prizes, that will help excel their Nashville dreams.

Artists aged 12 years and over will get the ultimate music experience, performing to Ekka crowds backed by Brisbane based live band Southwest.

Judging the competition will be Dan Biddle from the Country Music Association of Australia, Cecil Coleman from Native Tongue Music Publishing, Joel Edmondson from QMusic (Open class only) country music star Adam Brand (Junior class only), Johnno Keetels from Universal Music and Martine Cotton from Music Industry Inside Out.

A win in this competition means a boost to an artist’s music career, with last year’s junior winner Blake O’Connor recently touring Australia with country music couple Brooke McClymont and Adam Eckersley on their Highway Sky Tour and getting ready to release a self-titled EP later this year.

Top prizes include a Taramalin Sound Package and $1,500 cash prize for competitors in the open category (17 years and older) and Troy Cassar-Daley scholarship to the Tamworth Academy of Country Music 2019 for those in the junior competition (12 to 16 years).

Judge Profile #5 Adam Brand – Recording Artist (Junior Division Judge)

Adam Brand is one of Australia’s most popular and successful recording artists. In a career spanning twenty years he has sold more than 600,000 albums, won innumerable awards and built a large and loyal following.

He recorded a demo with Martin Jenner and drove solo across the Nullarbor in his XF Falcon ute to the Tamworth Country Music Festival where he busked on Peel Street, and snuck into a Troy Cassar Daley concert to hand out his demo to unsuspecting passers-by. From Tamworth he headed to Sydney, where he met Graham Thompson, then Creative Manager at Rondor Music, the publishing arm of A&M Records. Adam signed to Rondor and settled in Sydney where he was then offered a recording contract from Warren Fahey at Festival Records.

Adam Brand’s self-titled debut album was released by Festival Records on July 13, 1998. The first single from the album became an instant radio and CMT hit.

In 1999 at the CMAA Country Music Awards he won three Golden Guitars: New Talent of the Year, APRA Song of the Year (Last Man Standing) and Video of the Year. The debut album was followed in February 2000 with Good Friends. The singles were hits and the album won three more Golden Guitars.

Throughout his career he has produced twelve studio albums, five gold albums, three platinum albums, four ARIA nominations, seven CMC OZ Artist of the Year awards and twelve Golden Guitars to date, as well as appearing on numerous television shows and sold out tours.

He has also achieved an American record deal, touring with Taylor Swift and winning Dancing with the Stars.

Milestones…20 Years, marks the celebration of an outstanding career. It’s a collection of Adam’s greatest work to date plus two new songs: the reflective title track ‘Milestones’ and a foot-stomping party anthem ‘Party Down Under’.

Adam Brand’s highly anticipated greatest hits collection Milestones…20 Years is now available.