2013 TAMWORTH COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL GIG TO SHOWCASE NEW MATERIAL

The Apprentices, a collaboration between four fast-rising young female country singers mentored by Rod McCormack and Gina Jeffreys, are set to perform their first-ever headline show at the 2013 Tamworth Country Music Festival. The gig, at West Diggers on Wednesday, January 23, will find The Apprentices performing old favourites along with tracks off their 2011 self-titled debut album and exciting new numbers from their forthcoming follow-up, Light A Match.

The Apprentices are not a band, per se. They are four talented women who are solo singer-songwriters in their own right. Makaylie Foodey, Georgia White, Kaylah Anne and Hannah Smith were first brought together a couple of years ago. Carefully assisted by their mentors, each girl was invited to contribute three songs to the 12 song debut album. The resulting mix of originals and carefully chosen covers attracted rave reviews and did much to kick-start the careers of these four voices of tomorrow.

In 2012 The Apprentices appeared at Tamworth, supporting The McClymonts. In 2013, it’s time for them to fill the room in their own right. “It’s very exciting, and very nerve-racking,” says Makaylie Foodey, 20, who lives in the Hunter Valley. “I’ve been going to Tamworth since I was very little. I’d go to all the big shows and be in the front row – and now it’s our turn.”

In more ways than one, the Tamworth show will demonstrate just how much Makaylie, Georgia, Kaylah and Hannah have learned from their apprenticeships. Not only can they hold a stage – and hold an audience spellbound – they have also matured considerably as songwriters. “Writing for the new album probably began about a year ago,” says Makaylie. “I made sure I did some writing every week. In the end I wrote eight songs, from which we picked three.”

“I wrote about a million songs!” says Hannah Smith, 20. “You have to write lots before you pick the three you really like.” Hannah, from the NSW Central Coast, is excited that Light A Match contains only originals – many of them co-writes with Rod and Gina. “There’s no safety net this time,” she says. “It’s going to be really good. My three songs are called Losing Faith, Ghost Of You, and Blood Is Thicker Than Water. The last one is about revenge – I mean Revenge, the TV show. I’m a huge fan.”

Light A Match finds all four girls performing their own songs. For the Tamworth show, however, The Apprentices move into a more co-operative mode, with at times all four of them sharing the stage. “For the show we’ll be performing our favourite songs – the songs we’ve grown up with, as well as our own songs from the old and the new albums,” explains Makaylie. “We do some of the songs together, because that’s a lot of fun, and we also do our own songs by ourselves. We’ve all got quite different styles, so it’s quite a bit of work to get the show together – and we’ve all got quite different favourite songs, too!”

With 2013 kicking off with the big Tamworth show and the new album on the horizon, it’s looking like a hell of a year for The Apprentices. “After Tamworth I hope we’re going to do a few more shows,” says Hannah. “I’m looking forward to doing promotion for Light A Match – it’s an awesome album, and we’re all really excited about it!” Makaylie is also looking forward to touring in support of the album. “And then I hope we’ll all be off doing our own albums,” she says of the future. “We’re not a band, after all, and The Apprentices idea has always been about taking a step up in our own careers.”

Wednesday 23^rd January 2013 | 7pm

West Diggers, Tamworth NSW

www.wtlc.com.au | (02) 6756 7588

Tickets: $20 [adult] | $12 [children under 12]