Doug Campbell Managing Director of Telstra
Country Wide
Telstra Technology to assist fans
and Media
Telstra advanced technology will provide
unparalleled access to the 2005 Telstra Country Music Festival
for country music fans and the media when it is staged in Tamworth
between January 14th - 23rd.
Millions of country music fans will have
front row seats at the Telstra Road to Tamworth finals series
on January 17th and 18th plus the Fender Super Jam concert on January
21st when they are screened live from Tamworth at
www.telstra.com/countrywide/countrymusic
Additionally, Telstra Country Wide's
dedicated country music site will provide fans with the latest news
from the Festival plus access to an impressive library of performances
from the biggest names in Australian country music.
Telstra Country Wide Group Managing Director,
Mr. Doug Campbell, said the dedicated country music website was a
tremendous success at the 2004 Festival and its popularity was
destined to increase in 2005.
"Data from the 2004 Telstra Country Music
Festival reveals a substantial increase in website hits. The
international popularity of the Festival is also shown by the number
of hits we receive from users located outside Australia," said Mr.
Campbell .
The 2005 Festival will also see the Telstra
BigPond Mobile Media Centre in operation for Festival
Media
The 25 metre 40-tonne B-double transporter
Telstra BigPond Mobile Media Centre is a satellite-linked facility
which is hauled by a prime mover.
It features some of the most advance
satellite broadband communications available in Australia including an
automated self-pointing satellite dish and a satellite modem.
The satellite dish deploys and aligns itself with a simple flick of a
switch.
Mr. Campbell said the Centre is a practical
demonstration of cutting-edge broadband and satellite communications
technology.
"The Centre has been successfully used by
media throughout Australia during the V8 Supercars motor racing
series.
James Treloar Mayor of Tamworth Regional
Council
Tamworth Regional Council
The 2005 Telstra Country Music Festival in
Tamworth has added a new high tech tune to its management and
operational line-up for next year.
The January event - a virtual city-wide
mardi-gras of music and partying - is still being fine tuned for next
year but there are some exciting new advances for fans.
Tamworth mayor James Treloar says the
festival is a celebration of the best of Australian spirit, of
enjoyment and good clean fun, where visitors can chill out, tune in,
sing out and go all out.
"It's a family festival, and the emphasis is
on fun. We go into party mode and so does everyone who comes.
It's more than a hoedown, it's a giant city mardi-gras," Mr Treloar
said.
Fans will see some significant new festival
advances.
The 2005 festival runs from January 14th to
23rd, matching interstate school holidays. New awards dates were
announced by organisers in May, bringing the Golden Guitars to the
first weekend of the festival, rather than the final weekend.
Mr Treloar says that new programming may
attract more fans earlier into the festival - allowing for less of the
final festival weekend crush, but effectively spreading out the
festival calendar and giving fans more for their visit.
He paid tribute to sponsors Telstra, saying
the telco was a dedicated country music fan who was giving the city
opportunities to increase its capital and it's economic wealth through
the festival involvement.
The home of the Golden Guitar awards
extravaganza has improved seating and box office sales which allow
fans to choose where they want to sit to see the stars.
And new seating bays allow organisers to put more country music
backsides on seats in the TREC auditorium.
Visitors planning to come to the 2005
festival will find it easier to stay in Tamworth too.
They can now go online to book accommodation
and search for various different types of Tamworth hospitality
outlets, from home hosting, house rentals and farm stays to B and B's,
motels, hotels, caravan parks and camping grounds.
Tamworth Regional Council launched its portal
website this year with a specialist country music section and
extensive tourist and business services that allows computer users to
browse for Tamworth information in one central spot, without using
outside search engines and having to negotiate different websites.
That portal website also launched an online
ticket sales service in November and festival visitors can book
tickets to more than 20 different country music concerts now.
More shows will come online with sales between now and January.
Find it at www.tamworth.nsw.gov.au
And visitors will find improved facilities
and city services when they get here, and for those who can't come -
but want to share in the excitement- they'll be able to click on their
computer to watch live shots of festival fun.
Although many concerts haven't yet been
finalised, there look like being more than 2500 advertised events,
involving more than 800 artists at some 120 venues.
Stellar stars will play the festival, including Kasey Chambers, Adam
Brand, Gina Jeffreys, Lee Kernaghan, Adam Harvey, Melinda Schneider,
John Williamson, Troy Cassar-Daley, Graeme Connors, The Waifs and
Missy Higgins.
More than 50,000 fans visit Tamworth for the
festival each year and up to 10 000 of them can descend on caravan
parks and more than 18 temporary camping sites, set up in school yards
and sporting grounds. Estimates suggest the economic benefit
from the festival is much more than $40million.
Tamworth Regional Council, which spends more
than $700,000 to run the festival each year, will introduce more
user-friendly facilities, improved traffic routes, cleaner grounds,
more mobile and portable toilet and shower blocks for campers, more
rubbish bins, advanced crowd safety controls, and new emergency
evacuation plans for January.
A series of festival 2004 post-mortems,
involving business and retail, the sponsor Telstra, media, police and
other emergency services, hospitality suppliers, and basically anyone
interested in the running of the festival, has provided feedback and
opinion into the strategic planning for the 2005 Telstra Country Music
Festival.
Mr. Treloar said the consultation sessions
were invaluable for festival management each year. Aerial
mapping and an infrastructure audit during the 2005 festival will give
town planners and festival organisers an updated idea of the festival
issues to allow better forward planning.
Channel Seven's {Sunrise} Grant Denyer
MC with Gina Jeffreys
Country Music Star, Gina Jeffreys, said today
the nationwide interest in the Telstra Road to Tamworth talent
competition, and the quality of performances throughout the heats,
would ensure the on-going development and success of the country music
genre.
Speaking at the launch of the 2005
Telstra Country Music Festival in Sydney, Jeffreys said the
Telstra Road to Tamworth competition is uncovering an exciting
new generation of country music stars and helping launch their
careers.
Thirty-two heats have already been
conducted at venues around Australia, with the remaining two heats
to be held in Goulburn on December 5th and at Charleville on
December 16th.
The Telstra Road to Tamworth
competition has been a spectacular success attracting over 770
entrants.
"The Telstra Road to
Tamworth competition spreads across the length and breadth of
Australia to provide aspiring and talented singers the opportunity
to be discovered," said Jeffreys, the Telstra Road to
Tamworth ambassador.
"I know first hand the importance of
these talent competitions, as my own career was launched over 10
years ago when I won a talent quest" she added.
Jeffreys said the package of prizes
for the ultimate Telstra
Road to Tamworth winner, including a trip to Nashville
to record and produce a single through BMG Australia, was
unprecedented in country music.
The prizes include:
*A single recordedand produced in
Nashville through BMG Australia including international airfare
and accommodation.
*A performance on the Riverstage at
CMA Music Festival/Fanfair
*Publicity of their performance in
Nashville by leading PR company AristoMedia.
*Two Gold pass tickets to CMA Music
Festival/ Fanfair 2005
* One year membership of the CMA
America.
*A video clip produced by and played
on the Country Music Channel shown on Austar and Foxtel pay
television.
* Two paid professional live
performance organised through leading Country Music agency, Allied
Artists.
*A Maton EM325C acoustic guitar,
including case, with fitted AP5 professional pre-amp.
*A paid performance at FanFest during the
2005 Telstra Country Music Festival in Tamworth.
* A scholarship to either the CMAA College of
Country Music Tamworth or the Camerata in 2006.
The 34 heat winners will compete in two final
heats at West Tamworth League Club on January 17th with the top eight
performers qualifying for the Grand Final to be held at West Tamworth
League Club on January 18th.
Telstra Country Wide Managing Director, Mr.
Doug Campbell said the Telstra
Road to Tamworth competition creates opportunities for talented,
aspiring singers to realise their musical dreams.
"This competition demonstrates Telstra
Country Wide's commitment to people across Australia and supports
their hopes and aspirations no matter where they live," said Mr
Campbell.
The 32 heat winners to date are
Leah Briggs (Port Pirie, SA)
Nicholas Laing (Geelong, Vic)
Mollie McClymont (Grafton, NSW)
Briana Lee Brassil (Shepparton, Vic)
Peter Gervasoni (Melton, Vic)
Krystal Donnelly (Townsville, Qld)
Aleyce Simmonds (Armidale, NSW)
Tamara Bull (Rockhampton, Qld.)
Jacqueline Izod (Darwin, NT)
Claye Middleton (Maroochydore, Qld.)
Penelope Somerville
(Bendigo, Vic)
Lee Kirby (Kalgoorlie, WA )
Krystal Stone (Albany, WA)
Rob Coleman ( Bundaberg, Qld)
Warren Milera (Murray Bridge, SA)
Amos Roberts (Coffs Harbour, NSW)
Victoria Baille (Traralgon, Vic)
Paul Buckberry (Wollongong, NSW)
Jenna Brooks (Toowoomba, Qld)
Meegan Marmora (Orange, NSW
Rebecca Lee Nye
(Mildura, Vic)
Clancy Fisher (Horsham, Vic)
Caitlyn Patman (Geraldton, WA)
Sarah Barnett (Richmond, NSW)
Katie Brianna garfoot (Erina, NSW)
Kimberley Bowden (Mareeba, Qld)
Tom Coulson (Hobart, Tas)
Hailey Burgess (Wodonga, Vic)
Tameaka Fairfull (Gold Coast, QLD.)
Morgan Evans (Newcastle, NSW)
Gina Timms (Launceston, Tas.)
Megan Doherty (Cranbourne Vic)
Katie Brianna who won the Erina heat in the 2005
Telstra Road to Tamworth competition)
The Hon Sandra Nori MP
Minister for Tourism and Sport and Recreation
Minister for Women
Singing The praises of Tamworth $40
million earner
NSW Minister for Tourism, Sport and
Recreation Sandra Nori today sang the praises of Tamworth's Telstra
Country Music Festival - an event worth $40 million to the regional
economy.
Ms Nori joined Tamworth Mayor James Treloar,
Telstra Countrywide Group Managing Director Doug Campbell and
performers Gina Jeffreys and Katie Brianna to launch the Festival at
The Mint in Sydney.
Ms Nori said the Festival put not just
Tamworth - but Australia - on the world map as one of the premier
country music events.
"At the NSW Tourism Awards in Sydney earlier
this month, I gave the Country Music Festival a special
acknowledgement for its contribution to regional tourism," she said.
"There is no doubt that this festival is the
key to Tamworth's tourism industry," Ms Nori said.
"It has grown from a two-day event in 1973 to
a must-see-in-a-lifetime experience for country music fans in
Australia and throughout the world," she said
Ms Nori said the NSW Government was a strong
supporter of the tourism industry.
"Tourism plays such an important role in
building regional economies and creating jobs for young people," she
said.
In September, the NSW Government launched a
$1 million advertising campaign to attract more people to regional
parts of the State, including New England and the North -West .
"The audience reach of the Heart of
Country NSW campaign is about 9.3 million television viewers in
Sydney, Victoria, South East Queensland and regional NSW South Wales,"
Ms Nori said.
This year Telstra Country Music Festival -
between 13th and 24th January- is expected to attract more than 50,000
visitors.
"Tourism Tamworth has sold tickets on-line
for the first time this year and they tell me people have been buying
tickets from as far away as New York and New Zealand.
"Festival -goers will be spoilt by more than
2000 events at 130 venues around Tamworth," Ms Nori said.
More information about Tamworth and the New
England and North-West region is available at
www.visitnsw.com.au
Grant Denyer MC with Lee Kernaghan
Cheryl Hayes General Manager CMAA
CMAA gets set for another big
January in Tamworth
The 2005 Telstra Tamworth Country Music
Festival calendar is already locked away promising a ten day schedule
of live performances, showcases and concerts by the cream of
Australia's country music fraternity. And what better way
to start the Festival in 2005 than with the pinnacle of Australian
Country Music Events - the 33rd Annual Toyota Golden Guitar Awards -
country music's night of nights.
The Awards, kick starting the Festival on
Saturday night 15th of January, is sure to excite with a star studded
list of performers including the who's who of Australian country music
with Lee Kernaghan, Sara Storer, Kasey Chambers, Adam Harvey and
Catherine Britt ready to entertain.
The 33rd annual Golden Guitar Awards
continues Toyota's long and successful association with Australian
Country Music where performers and artists vie to receive a coveted
Golden Guitar - the highest accolade in Australian Country Music.
Behind the scenes, the voting of the Golden
Guitars is now being finalised, with an announcement of the finalists
expected in early December - can Sara Storers record haul of 7
Golden Guitars in 2004 be surpassed
Other highlights on the calendar for 2005
include the CMAA Australian College of Country Music Graduation
Concert and the Maton Golden Guitar New Talent showcase.
The college Graduation Concert is being held
on Friday 14th of January 2005. The Graduation concert
culminates a two week long intensive professional development program.
During this fortnight 21 highly talented individuals from across
Australia and New Zealand join together to learn from industry heavy
weights what is needed to succeed in the country music industry.
The graduates take what they
learn throughout these two weeks and produce
and deliver a graduation concert that is truly spectacular, Star
graduates of the College include Brendon Walmsley, Travis Collins and
Sara Storer.
The CMAA Continues it's tradition of exposing
new and emerging talent via the Maton Golden Guitar New Talent
showcase, being held on Thursday 20th. Finalists of the New
Talent section of the Golden Guitar Awards will come together in one
show fresh from their success at the Awards to entertain and present
the future of Australia's country music industry
The Telstra Tamworth Country Music Festival
is without doubt one of Australia's greatest events. Country
Music Capital becomes a forum where city meets country in a
celebration of culture, heritage and identity.
The final programme for 2005 will offer
around 2500 events staged in well over 100 different venues.
These venues range from a selection of clubs, pubs, church halls,
shopping centres and on the streets of Tamworth - Country Music
Capital. The entertainment presented will range from
listening to buskers as they entertain in the CBD area or taking your
seat in the 5,000capacity Tamworth Regional Entertainment Centre (TREC)
to witness who will take home Gold among the hardworking and talented
artists at the prestigious Toyota Golden Guitar Awards Concert.
Grant Denyer MC with Adam Harvey
Adam Harvey and Band
Nick Albeck
Stuey French and Adam Harvey
Simon Johnson on Bass
Rod Laing (Tamworth West League), Adam
Harvey and James Treloar (Mayor of Tamworth)
Katie Brianna
Simon Johnson, Grant Cardwell, Stuey French
with Joan Douglas (hotel licensee)
in Tamworth)
Katie Brianna (at the beginning of a big career in
Country Music who won the Erina heat in the 2005 Telstra Road to
Tamworth competition) with Lee Kernaghan one of Australia's top
country music stars.
Lee Kernaghan and Mike Bedford (Cool Country)
James Treloar (Mayor of Tamworth) with the
effervescent Anna Rose from "Tamworth Leader"
Lee Kernaghn, Melinda Schneider Katie
Brianna, Gina Jeffries and Adam Harvey
Rod McCormack mingling with friends
Telstra Country
Music Festival Fact Sheet
• Tamworth is known as the capital of country music in
Australia.
• The Festival is the breeding ground and Tamworth is the spiritual
home of Australia’s country music legends.
• The Festival was first staged in 1973 and has grown from a two-day
event to a 10-day extravaganza.
• Largest country music Festival in Australia and has now taken on
iconic status.
• The Festival generates $40 million for the local economy.
• The Festival attracts around 500,000 visitor days.
• The Festival involves 2,500 performances at 130 venues.
• The Festival attracts visitors from over 20 countries.
• 500 Tamworth families participate in Home Hosting during the
Festival.
• Over 10,000 campers use temporary camping sites in addition to
existing caravan and camping sites.
• The Festival site
www.telstra.com/countrywide/countrymusic received over
220,000 “hits” during the 2003 Festival.
• The website attracted “hits” from New Zealand, USA, Canada, Europe,
Asia, Latin America and Asia.
• The Festival is regarded alongside Nashville and the Calgary County
Stampede as among the world’s foremost country music events.
• Independent analysis revealed over $19 million in media editorial
exposure was generated for the 2004 Festival – the largest ever on
record.
Print out and have
the memories
Tamworth
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