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 23rd January 2013 | 7pm
West Diggers, Tamworth NSW
www.wtlc.com.au | (02) 6756 7588
Tickets: $20 [adult] | $12 [children under 12]
After recently making the final 15 of the 34th Toyota Star Maker Competition held during the 41st Tamworth Country Music Festival in 2013, BEN RANSOM has announced the release of his debut album SLOW BURN on January 18 at the TCMF. Ben says, “This album has my blood sweat and tears in it. 99% awesomeness, 1% shit…it may not be perfection, but its close”.
SLOW BURN features Ben’s new single TRUCK STOP HONEY, which has been all go on Australian country playlists. TRUCK STOP HONEY is the third singe from SLOW BURN which also includes the hits BOURBON & SUNSETS and the summer anthem LONG HOT DAYS. Ben is understandably eager about this release and declared, “I am actually quite emotional about releasing the album as its something I have dreamed about and strived for over the past twenty years. The only thing I’ve ever wanted to be is a performer. I love the feeling that belting out a tune gives me, knowing that I am in some small way bringing happiness to those around me. I love these songs, but this is simply the beginning…the best is still to come”.
Golden Guitar winning Producer Matt Fell along with Glen Hannah produced SLOW BURN. Ben says, "It was an honour and privilege to work along side some of the best musician/producers in Australia and watch them breathe life into these songs". He adds, “The feeling of creating something that goes on the permanent record and being able to entrust that to artists such as Matt and Glen is a feeling of accomplishment and elevation”. Matt played bass and keys on the album and Glen guitar. Joining Matt. Glen and Ben (guitar) in the studio was Josh Shuberth (drums), Jeff Pope (Pedal Steele) and Amy James (Vocals & BV)
BEN RANSOM, reflects all that is great about Australian music, with tracks translating perfectly from recording to live performance. He continuously delivers a smoking hot and energetic live show. See Ben’s Tamworth Country Music Festival TOUR DATES HERE. Ben reckons he cant wait to get to Tamworth and show everyone what he has and he will be giving it everything.
Ben Ransom is also featured as the newest Blog article from Mandy Magro... follow her blog and read her interview here Ben Ransom - Mandy Magro
[video]http://youtu.be/8oY-fgRjJI0[/video]
The Tamworth Country Music Festival continues to grow in popularity with country music fans all over the world. In 2012 it is estimated that over 50,000 attended the festival! It Kicks off at the Bicentennial Stage. and the festival is a sea of happy crowds, booths, tents, caravans, folding chairs, cowboy hats, boots and a lot of good spirit.
In 2002, the Tamworth Regional Council extended the event by adding a “countdown period” of one week before the Festival proper, to give people more time to enjoy this unique country music experience. The Festival now has more than 2,500 individual events including concerts, bush poetry, record launches, seminars, and exhibits. At the new Equine Centre, rodeos and bull riding have become part of the festivities. The festival permeates every aspect of life in Tamworth. From the Tamworth Regional Entertainment Centre to clubs, theaters, halls and parks, one can take his pick of every sort of country music, much of it for free. Country music artists of all shapes, sizes and looks are all over the Festival, some fantastic, others terrible, but fun to watch nonetheless. There are solo artists, groups, bands, young ones, oldies, the reserved ones and the out-and-out performers, each one with his own music to share. An aboriginal country rock band could be performing not far from an old yodeler and, a bit farther on, a teenage crooner with a flashy guitar, all from different parts of this huge continent. While the Festival is going on, Tamworth closes three city blocks to traffic, and lining up the entire length are buskers, or street performers, many of whom have become familiar faces through the years.
There are many other shows to see, like the Toyota Star Maker, a talent search, which was the launching pad to stardom of artists like Lee Kernaghan, Keith Urban and Beccy Cole. From the 75 year old War Memorial Town Hall, where the Buttercup Open House is held, to the pubs and clubs it's 10 days of endless music.
The Festival is not devoid of its social responsibilities. The Queensland Regional Council used the 2011 event to prime a flood relief fund with $10,000, soliciting contributions from the large crowd of attendees. During the evening, the biggest names in country music joined together to re-record the classic Beatles track “Help”. The recording was released as a digital download with all proceeds of the sale going to the Queensland Premier's Flood Relief Fund.
Activities are already heating up for the 2013 Festival which will be held on January 18 - 27. This will be the 41st year that the event will be staged. The Festival will start at 6:30 p.m. at the Bicentennial Park with the official ceremony and the raising of the Country Music flag.
Once again, more than anything else, the Tamworth Country Music Festival will stand out as the perfect showcase of the hospitality, camaraderie and exuberant spirit that uniquely characterizes the Australian.
Adam's one of our Hot Music stars and Mandy Magro gets the low-down from him in her latest interview for her Country Music series.....
Hello my lovelies! Have I got some fun for you today! Gee whizz, I'm that excited I'm finding it hard to sit still as I type!!! But I promise to focus, or at least give it my best shot to try and focus :)
My wonderful guest today is a man that has a heart bigger than the Aussie outback, a smile so cheeky it will make you wish you knew what was going on inside his creative mind and a voice so addictive and seductively husky it makes women go weak at the knees . He can dance like a superstar, drive a race car like a pro and when the tough gets going he is more than happy to lend a hand, like he is doing right now with the Salvation Army. Ohhh, swoon, what a man! Yes, it is the one and only, Adam Brand!
.....Read the complete interview on Mandy's Blog
One of the best voices around today belongs to Lyn Bowtell a singer-songwriter from South East Queensland and Toyota Star Maker Winner. She has also won two Golden Guitars, and numerous other awards. Most recently she has been nominated for two further Golden Guitars in the 2013 Awards for Best Female Artist and Best Alternative album.
Her album Secret Songs shows of her lyrical and musical abilities and the latest track from Secret Songs is ‘In This Song’ a beautiful tune written about her late father whom she loved dearly. It is happy song that has been written about personal loss. Listen out for 'In This Song' on your local radio station. LynBowtell
Interviews [EMAIL=This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.]This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.[/EMAIL]
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