POWERHOUSE VOCALIST JESS HOLLAND RETURNS TO TAMWORTH FOR 2014 FESTIVAL SPECIAL SHOWS TO PREVIEW HER FORTHCOMING 2ND ALBUM. Two years after the release of her debut album, Jess Holland is gearing up to preview tracks from her highly anticipated second long player at the 2014 Tamworth Country Music Festival. After spending most of 2013 penning and recording the new releases, Jess can’t wait to get on stage and share the songs with music fans, and what better place to showcase a country album than Tamworth? The first single from the album – Fine Lines – hits radio airwaves at the beginning of December, a perfect prelude to the festival.
“The Tamworth vibe is always electric,” says Jess. “I leave on a high after each performance. You always have the opportunity to meet so many new people and have a lot of fun along the way. I’ll be playing songs from my debut album as well as a few taste testers from my forthcoming album. I also love to include songs that have really influenced my career – artists such as Johnny Cash, Janis Joplin and Dolly Parton.”
Jess Holland’s ‘ballsy country rock’ has kept her busy and on the road for most of 2013. She’s also going to be joined by her trio The Hickory Sisters featuring Allison Forbes and Gretta Ziller for one special show. The trio debuted at the 2013 festival and pay homage to great female country stars such as Patsy Cline and Tammy Wynette to name a few.
Jess says she looks forward to starting off her year at Tamworth Country Music Festival every year. She especially looks forward to returning to the venues, which are some of her favourite in Australia to play at. “I love performing at these venues because they are intimate with a fun and relaxed vibe, so you can really involve the audience,” she says. “Tamworth is the perfect opportunity to provide my audiences with a little taste tester of the new album. It’s always a little nerve wracking playing new material that no one has heard, but I am so proud of these tracks and can’t wait to see how they go.”
The new single – Fine Lines – is a great introduction to an album which will show a new and more mature side of Jess Holland. The album Whole Lot To Say is due for release in March 2014. The new album release follows up on what has been a massive 2013 for Jess.
“This year has been extremely busy for me.” Jess explains “I released a third single, Cigarettes & Whiskey, [a follow up to My Kinda Town and Iddy Biddy Pride] from my debut album and followed this up with a QLD tour”. The 2011 Voice of Urban Country Award-winner has spent 2013 doing what every decent musician does – touring and performing. Whether it was big festivals, country races, the local pub or the ‘back of Bourke’, Jess Holland loves nothing more than taking her music to her fans. Of the back of her singles, Jess left the band in Mudgee and headed off to some of the most remote pubs on the map too. “Small places don’t have the same opportunities to hear live music – yet that’s where the true country fans live,” she says. With this ethos in mind, she’ll be continuing to tour to regional areas throughout 2014.
Ensuring she connects with the land, and the ‘true country fans’, is very important to Jess. “Until recently I was performing part time and working part time as an agronomist, but now I’m a full-time musician,” she says. “Actually, it wasn’t all that big a change – as an agronomist I spent most of my time on farms, on the land, and it’s the land that inspires me as a country musician.” Country music is also in her blood. Her grandfather was a founding member of well-known bush outfit The Stringybark Band, so it’s no surprise that Jess felt a resonance with music. As a three-year-old, Jess taught herself to play the piano, and by the age of nine she was performing in musical groups in her home town. She has toured through central, western and northern New South Wales in support of the likes of Luke Dickens, Uncle Bobs Jug Band and Adam Kilpatrick. She’s also a two-time Toyota Star Maker finalist and has been earning acclaim from fans and critics alike. Earning the title of 2011 Voice of Urban Country was a great stepping-stone forward, the first of many accolades that have befallen this talented musician.
Jess Holland’s new single Fine Lines will be released to radio on 6 December 2013. The forthcoming new album Whole Lot To Say is due for release on 28 March 2014.
2014 TAMWORTH COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL DATES
Friday 17th January 2014 | 12pm-3pm
Tudor Hotel [Upstairs Bar], TAMWORTH NSW
Saturday 18th January 2014 | 3.30pm-6.30pm
Tudor Hotel [Back Bar], TAMWORTH NSW
The Hickory Sisters
Sunday 19th January 2014 | 5.30pm-8pm
Tudor Hotel [Front Bar], TAMWORTH NSW
Tuesday 21st January 2014 | 5.30pm-9pm
Tudor Hotel [Front Bar], TAMWORTH NSW
Thursday 23rd January 2014 | 6pm-8pm
Quirindi RSL, QUIRINDI NSW
(02) 6746 1566
Friday 24th January 2014 | 12pm-3pm
Tudor Hotel [Back Bar], TAMWORTH NSW
For more information, please visit www.jessholland.com.au
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