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Tamworth 2008 Country Music Festival
January Friday 18th - Sunday 27th Countdown will run from Friday 11th to Thursday 17th
CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia, - 26th January 2008 - Information Centre - 02 6767 5300
Click here for Info 2007 Festival

2007 Tamworth Camerata - 30th June - 5th July
For all inquiries - Tamworth Camerata Box 7068 NEMSC Tamworth 2348.
Administration 02 6765 4875 E-mail or Coordinator 0408 255908 E-mail
http://www.thepub.com.au/camerata/html/information.html

Slim Dusty Way proposal - ready to hit the road

2007 Tamworth Hats Off Festival - 5th July - 8th July

Tamworth serves up a feast
Tamworth, Tuesday 26 June 2007: Last night, Tamworth cleaned up at the ‘2007 Restaurant & Catering Awards NSW/ACT – Northern Division’. Securing five awards for different eateries spread across the city, Tamworth is now cemented as a culinary destination.

Some of Tamworth’s most well-respected restaurants added new awards to their respective, ever-growing collection at the presentation ceremony held in Kingscliffe. The Quality Hotel Powerhouse picked up the ‘Best Restaurant in a Hotel’ award for its fine-dining restaurant Monty’s, which is headed up by three-star Michelin chef Ben Davies. The restaurant, which was reopened in August of last year, has garnered much recognition and winning this award has confirmed the restaurant’s status as one of the best in NSW. Topping of the night for the Quality Hotel Powerhouse was 3rd Year Apprentice Neil Fischer who received the coveted ‘Restaurant Apprentice of the Year’ award.

Invited to take to the stage to address the guests, Graham Manvell (creator of sSs BBQ Barns) had to return to the stage with wife Marlene when their local Tamworth store took out the award for ‘Best Themed Restaurant’. The Tamworth entrepreneurs boasted two nominations for their sSs BBQ Barn stores; Tamworth and Coffs Harbour. Their win reaffirmed the industry and consumer recognition of the Tamworth grown franchise and reinforced plans to continue its expansion later in the year across Australia and New Zealand. Mr Manvell said, “a great night was had by all”.

The Marigold Inn Restaurant received the award for ‘Best Chinese Restaurant in the New England area’ on the back of their 2006 win in the same category; while Prontos Table picked up the award for ‘Best New Restaurant in the New England region’ proving their decision to expand the catering business into a restaurant has been a success.

Whilst they may not have walked away with a prize, a number of key local operators also received nods with nominations as finalists in the 2007 Restaurant & Catering Awards NSW/ACT – Northern Division including Dragon Palace Restaurant, Vespa’s Italian Restaurant, Ashby House Motor Inn (Ashby on Ebsworth) and the All Settlers Motor Inn (Gregory’s on Goonoo Goonoo).

“Tourism Tamworth would like to congratulate all of the nominated restaurants for taking part in these awards - this is a fantastic coup for Tamworth with some of our restaurants winning these prestigious awards,” said Ms Rebel Thomson, General Manager, Tourism Tamworth.

“Tamworth’s success at this year’s awards has reinforced its reputation as a regional city providing a high level of service and quality. We have a unique sophisticated yet rural atmosphere which is further enhanced by many of our local restaurant operators offering an array of local produce and wines much to the delight of patrons,” added Ms Thomson.

Tourism Tamworth encourages residents and visitors alike to get out and about in the city and taste the delights of the region on offer at any of the 50+ eateries across town. For further information about the recent 2007 Restaurant & Catering Awards NSW/ACT – Northern Division or general details about the Tamworth area, contact Tourism Tamworth on 02 6767 5300 or log-onto the website www.visittamworth.com.

Channel Seven’s smash entertainment program Australia’s Got Talent is back and searching for the hottest undiscovered talent in the country!
We’re looking for individuals and groups, circus acts, animal acts, novelty acts, ventriloquists, magicians, comedians, all kinds of dancers from ballet to belly, all styles of singers from yodelers to opera ... all ages ... weird, wacky and wonderful!

And there’s a quarter of million dollars prize money up for grabs.
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NSW Government helping Regional NSW Celebrate
Tamworth, June 18th 2006: Due to financial restrictions events, festivals, fairs and celebrations often have to sacrifice on different elements and what they would like to do. From large scale to small community, putting together and running an event is a costly exercise. The NSW government is offering assistance and lending a helping hand through the 2008 Regional Flagship Events Program which is now open for entries.

Tourism NSW is encouraging events organisers in regional NSW to submit expressions of interest for the 2008 Regional Flagship Events Program. NSW Minister for Tourism, Matt Brown announced that under this program annual one-off grants of $10,000 and funding of $60,000 over three years were available to assist organisers with marketing and promoting their event to a wider audience. Regional events starting between 1 January and 31 December 2008 are eligible for the grants. Events funded under this program in previous years have included the NSW Tourism Award-winning Hunter Valley Steamfest, and the highly successful Parkes Elvis Festival.

“Tourism Tamworth’s involvement in such large scale events as the annual Tamworth Country Music Festival, presented by Telstra and the mid-year Hats Off to Country Festival has given us a greater appreciation of the costs involved in delivering successful events to the Tamworth Region community. The 2007 Hats Off to Country festival is a direct beneficiary of the NSW Government Regional Flagship Events Program”, said Ms Rebel Thomson, Tourism Tamworth General Manager.

“We have community organised events almost every weekend in the Tamworth Region. From the Nundle Go for Gold Festival through to the Barraba Festival and all in between, we are a busy region and we recommend all local event organisers submit an application for the NSW Government program”, Ms Thomson added.

Similar in style to the NSW Government Regional Flagship Events Program is Tourism Tamworth’s own Event Support Program which has just opened its ROUND 2 submission call for 2007. The Tourism Tamworth Event Support Program is designed to assist Tamworth Region Events with in-kind Marketing support. The program is open to any re-occurring event in the Tamworth Region that wants to build the event to not only be financially sustainable but also improve the awareness of the event.

Round two of the 2007 Tourism Tamworth Event Support Program has just opened and will close at the end of July. Any local event organisers that would like any additional information should contact Tourism Tamworth’s Marketing Manager, David Woodward by email d.woodward@tamworth.nsw.gov.au requesting an information pack and application form.

Information on the NSW Government 2008 Regional Flagship Events Program is available at www.tourism.nsw.gov.au/ corporate or from the Regional Flagship Event Coordinator on (02) 9931 1506.

For any additional information about events in the Tamworth Region or the Tourism Tamworth Event Support Program, please contact Tourism Tamworth on 02 6767 5300 or log onto www.visittamworth.com

Tamworth on the Monopoly board!
Tamworth, Tuesday 5th June 2007:

January 2007 was more than just fighting for a parking space during the annual Festival in Tamworth, the city and visitors were also in the fight for a place on the prestigious Australian specific Monopoly board… and we won!

Today, Parker Bros (the manufacturer and owner of Monopoly) announced the winning towns and regions that secured a place on the June 10th release Australian “Here and Now” Monopoly board with Tamworth taking out one of the three positions allocated to NSW.

With 400,000 votes cast for NSW cities, Tamworth held a resounding 18.1 percent of the vote equalling just over 72,000 unique votes cast by individuals wanting to see Australia’s Country Music Capital represented on the board game. Enjoyed by thousands across the world for decades, the new version of Australian Monopoly is set to introduce Tamworth into households and become part of the memories for generations to come.

Beating Australia’s largest city [Sydney] for the remaining two coveted NSW destinations on the board are Broken Hill and The Snowy Mountains. Other prominent locations that are celebrating the success of securing a place on the new Australian Monopoly board include The Sunshine Coast, Hobart, Melbourne, Barossa, Perth, Kakadu and Lake Burley Griffin just to name a few. The full results can be found at www.monopoly.com.au .

The Monopoly website states: “The new edition will resemble present-day Australia as the properties now include landmarks from 22 great regions from around our country and the property spaces have been re-appraised to include modern-day property values.”

“In addition to the updated tokens and properties, the game's money will be in higher denominations and the Chance and Community Chest cards will include scenarios relevant to today”.

“What a fantastic achievement for Tamworth to be counted among the many famous places that have been listed on the board across the world,” said Mr David Woodward, Marketing Manager, Tourism Tamworth. “Securing the place on the board is thanks to the great efforts of the local community who really got behind the campaign to take out a place; it’s a great win for the city and its residents”.

“With more than 250million monopoly sets sold across the world, it remains one of the most popular, most widely played, and best-selling board games ever. With Tamworth now included on the Australian specific Monopoly board, the city’s reputation as the Country Music Capital of Australia as well as being a major regional centre in NSW will be exposed to a huge new audience”, added Mr Woodward.

For more information about the Australian Monopoly Promotion or any other events and activities in the Tamworth region, contact Tourism Tamworth on 02 6767 5300 or log-on to the website www.visittamworth.com .

Highest Bid will take on ultimate holiday
Tamworth, Wednesday 30 May 2007: Tourism Tamworth is offering the local community and business houses a fantastic, unique opportunity to see towns across Eastern Australia on the ultimate holiday experience whilst supporting a truly worthy cause.

Running from Monday 4th June through until 11.59am (midday) Friday 8th June, Radio 2TM/FM 92.9 has come on board as a supporter of the event and will be running an on-air auction for one seat in the Tourism Tamworth rally car that will be taking part in the 2007 Great Escape Car Rally; a major fundraising initiative of Cystic Fibrosis Australia.

How often do you get the chance to ride in a modified 1964 Gold painted EH Holden that screams “Tamworth” with its rooftop speakers set inside an oversized Golden Guitar playing country music?

Adding to the once in a lifetime experience will be the number of country music artists meeting up with the group along the way and taking part in various legs of the journey; already confirmed is local favourite Felicity Urquhart and a swag of others yet to be announced.

Departing Tamworth on Monday 3 September, the bash will take the 45-odd rally cars travelling in convoy “off the beaten track” on-route to Charleville, Longreach, Eungella, Airlie Beach (and the Whitsundays) and Reedy Creek Winery (Tenterfield) before finally concluding in Ballina on Thursday 13 September - 10-days of non-stop action, fun and memories!

The winning bidder of the auction will be provided with all accommodation and meals along the way for the full 10-day journey. Travelling just over 4,000kms on the rally, the winner can expect the unexpected on this unpredictable journey and treated to something a little different while having a whole lot of fun to raise money for a great cause.

The seat is not the only part of the car Tourism Tamworth is fundraising money for; Tourism Tamworth is also seeking sponsorship from local businesses for both the bonnet and the boot of the car which will feature the business logo/s of the successful sponsors. Similarly, should the winner of the seat auction be a local business, they will also be able to have their logo placed on the car.

Don’t miss your chance to take this ultimate holiday experience while raising money for Cystic Fibrosis Australia…with tax time just around the corner, this could be the best chance to off-load some of the budget that has not yet been spent!

For further information about the 2007 Great Escape Car Rally or about Tourism Tamworth’s associated fundraising activities, please contact Tourism Tamworth on 02 6767 5300 or check out the website www.visittamworth.com

Wests’ Diggers in contention for eight ClubsNSW awards
Tamworth’s newly refurbished Wests’ Diggers Club is a finalist in an impressive eight categories of the ClubsNSW Awards for Excellence, due to be announced in Sydney on June 1.

Diggers is a contender for Best Feature Bar, Outstanding Human Resource Management, Best ClubTAB, Best Club Entertainment, Best Club Restaurant, Best Club Gaming Venue, Outstanding Community Service and the prestigious Club of the Year Award.

Wests Entertainment Group CEO Rod Laing said he was delighted at the outcome of these finalist nominations, considering Wests’ Diggers was up against clubs from city and country, all over the state.

“Diggers is a relatively new club, although it has been established for a number of years as its former identity, the Tamworth RSL Club,” Mr Laing said.

“To be nominated in a massive eight categories in those prestigious awards is quite an achievement. I just hope we can follow that up with some wins – and that would be the icing on the cake.

“It’s a real testament to the foresight of the board, and to the members who voted for the amalgamation of the two clubs. When we go to Sydney on June 1, I would be delighted to accept even one award for Diggers – more than that would be outstanding.”

Wests’ Diggers was redeveloped over a seven month period, at a cost of $6 million. It was officially opened by New England Federal MP Tony Windsor in November 2005 after a week-long series of soft launches to showcase various aspects of the new club.

One of the highlights of the Diggers’ launch was the appearance of guest of honour, Australian country music pioneer Smoky Dawson, who was on hand to see “his” restaurant – Smoky’s Bar & Grill, opened to the public.

Invited guests on that evening included leading Australian country music stars Gina Jeffreys, Beccy Cole, Adam Harvey, Adam Brand, Sunny Cowgirls and Aleyce Simmonds.

One of the club’s favourite VIP patrons is Channel Ten weatherman Tim Bailey, who was on hand to help launch the new venue on his nationally televised weather program.

Every Thursday Night Avoca Beach Hotel 8 pm $12 Cover charge Bookings: 02 4382 3899

Lost Dogs is Bill Chambers, Kasey Chambers, Shane Nicholson, Mick Albeck (fiddle) and Chris Haigh (bass)
playing songs from all their favorite songwriters including Fred Eaglesmith, Neil Young, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Buddy Miller and John Prine. "The Lost Dog Sessions" Kasey Chambers, Shane Nicholson, Bill Chambers, Chris Haigh, Mick Albeck Plus a different special guest every week

AUSTRALIAN COLLEGE OF COUNTRY MUSIC
Applications for the 2008 CMAA Australian College of Country Music will open at the end of March.
The CMAA is encouraging applications from instrumentalists as well as singers, songwriters and performers.
The purpose of the College is the delivery of a specialist country music professional development course with an emphasis on practical creative performance skills. The College is widely recognised and prides itself on developing the needs of each individual student.

Applications will close on the 29th June 2007 and can be downloaded on the CMAA website www.country.com.au . Enquiries are to be directed to Cath Grippo at the office on (02) 6766 1577.

Chris Callaghan from the Outback Idol Band (previously from The Goodies Show) has a new partner Pauline Hanson. He has all ready dedicated a song for her and she is thrilled. We wish Chris and Pauline all the best

Click here for photos of Chris and his band

AUSSIE ENTERTAINERS BRING SONGS OF HOME TO MIDDLE EAST DIGGERS
The sixth morale-boosting “Tour de Force” concert tour for Australia’s soldiers, sailors, airmen and women in the Middle East will depart tomorrow. This “Tour de Force” will be giving concerts for Australian and Coalition troops. A video compile is expected to be distributed to TV media by midday 25 December 2006 with still images will be available on the defence website.

The performers are:
• The McClymont Sisters (the headline act) — the three sisters, Brooke, Samantha and Mollie, have taken the country music scene by storm and were recently added to the Gympie Muster line-up at the insistence of Lee Kernaghan. The three sisters are from Grafton NSW.
• Alan Caswell — the Dee Why-based country artist who wrote the theme for the cult TV series “Prisoner”. Alan has also been awarded five Golden Guitars at Tamworth, plus two gold singles, one platinum and two gold albums for his song-writing and production work. He also works with kids in juvenile detention, teaching them how music and song-writing can change their lives for the better.
• Adrian Ross — described as Australia’s premier didgeridoo player. Formerly from Deniliquin, Adrian is now based on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
• Tom Gleeson — the former Sydneysider is now Melbourne-based, and has appeared on ‘Skithouse’, ‘The Glasshouse’ and Channel Nine’s ‘Big Question’. After his return from the Middle East, Tom will be heavily involved in the Adelaide Fringe Festival and Melbourne’s Comedy Festival.
As usual, these Australian performers are donating their time and talent free of charge — a long-established tradition that pre-dates the Vietnam War. The performers will be supported by the Royal Australian Air Force Air Command Band from RAAF Laverton, VIC.

Some 1400 Australian Defence personnel remain in the Middle East to help post-Saddam Iraq get back on its feet. Known as Operation Catalyst, it is the Australian Government's contribution to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Iraq.

Media Contact: For interviews with performers or any other information about the Tour, please contact Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Holcroft on 0407 558 488
Media contact:
Defence Media Liaison (02) 6265 3343 or 0408 498 664

For a free subscription to Defence Direct, the Minister for Defence's monthly e-newsletter, please follow this link:
http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/defencedirect/spt/subscribe.html

Good Companion Now owned by the Pub Family
It will open again late in December, and during the 2007 Tamworth Festival there will be no live
music there at all. It's a designated music-free zone - will just be a great place to chill out
away from the music; have a drink or a meal in peace and quiet.

From WA Groove Magazine
Chris Gibbs, the marketing officer at Joondalup Music Centre regarding performance opportunities for West Australian artists which he asked us to pass on. Chris writes…

“I am currently seeking interest from artists who would like to perform on Saturday afternoons at the new Joondalup Music Centre as part of an initiative to raise awareness of WA talent.

Performances are from 2pm-3pm on Saturdays, production supplied, artists must provide their own instruments. These opportunities are suited mostly to solo artists or duos, but I will consider other formats.
This is a paid performance opportunity.”
So if you’re interested please contact Chris directly via his email address, which is chris@joondalupmusic.com.au
And if your in the market for a brand new Martin Acoustic Guitar remember you can win one courtesy of Groove The West Australian Music Magazine and Kosmic by simply going to the Groove Website at www.groovemagazine.com.au clicking on the competition link and filling out the online entry form or you can fill out the entry form in the latest issue of Groove detach it and post to Kosmic Sound, 94 Hector St. Osborne Park 6017.
Paul McCarthy
Groove The West Australian Music Magazine
http://www.groovemagazine.com.au

Hats Off gains funding from State Government
Tamworth, 31 October 2006:

Planning for the 2007 Hats Off to Country is already off to a fantastic start with Tourism NSW announcing today that they will provide $10,000 additional funding for the event as part of its 2007 Regional Flagship Events program.
The monies will be awarded to Tourism Tamworth as the primary marketing and promotion body for the event and will be allocated to activities as directed by the Hats Off steering committee. It is anticipated the funding will be utilised for the advertising campaign (web, print, radio and television), research, media launch event and media coverage throughout the Festival to capture the event for records and future promotional use.
“This is a great start to planning and preparations for the 2007 Hats Off Festival; on the back of a successful 2006 event, the additional funding will ensure that the event continues to grow and get bigger and better each year,” said Ms Rebel Thomson, General Manager, Tourism Tamworth.
The 2007 Hats Off to Country Festival will be held from Thursday 5 – Sunday 8 July 2007 and will showcase some of the finest emerging talent in the country music industry. A number of events are already confirmed for the Festival including Camerata Graduation Concert and CCMA Junior Winter Talent Quest plus the inaugural Grand National Champion of Champions (GNCC).
The GNCC is a new event for the country music industry representing the next level of competition for country music amateur performers with winners from State based ‘champs’ (held the previous year) invited to compete at this new National competition.
The additional funding allocated in the Tourism NSW 2007 Regional Flagship Events program would also be utilised to further promote the GNCC as one of the primary events held over the four-day Festival.
“The annual Hats Off to Country Festival has become a key event on the country music calendar and continues to reinforce the Tamworth branding as the Country Music Capital of Australia,” said Ms Thomson.
For further information about the 2007 Hats Off to Country Festival or the Tourism NSW funding contribution, please contact Tourism Tamworth on 02 6767 5300 or log-on the website www.visittamworth.com .

2006 Mildura Country Music Awards

FELICITY URQUHART

Big winner at the Telstra Country Wide Southern Stars the 10th Australian Independent Country Music Awards.
APRA/AMCOS Independent Country Music

Single of the Year,

Female Vocalist with The Flood

Album of the Year with My Life.

Felicity who won the Independent Female Vocalist award in 2004.
TRAVIS SINCLAIR -

Male Vocalist -A Heavenly Body,

CAMILLE TE NAHU & STUIE FRENCH -

Independent Group/Duo of the Year with their chart-topper Wives Don’t Like Old Girlfriends.
DEAN PERRETT -Heritage Track of the Year for Would Clancy Be Welcome?

LEE FORSTER Rising Star award winner in Male section - The Way He Rolls His Swag

VICTORIA BAILLIE Rising Star award winner Female section - Lord Don’t Take Me Yet.

PAUL COSTA

Independent Artist of the Year – an award determined by a separate panel and judged on the artist’s full range of activities during the year including recording, performing, promotion and profile.

Since releasing his Walkin’ In These Shoes album in 2005, Paul has achieved major success including Top 10 chart singles, a Golden Guitar nomination and several other awards. His brand new album Restoration, again produced by ROD McCORMACK and released in August, is already attracting major attention.
OLIVE BICE

received the Barry Thornton Service Award for her tireless efforts. Olive has been at the last 18 Mildura Country Music Festivals and hosts the daily showcase at the Mildura City Mall.

The awards are held annually at the Mildura Country Music Festival.
For further information, contact the Awards Co-ordinator John Arnold on 0418 303206.

Tamworth First Stop - Then go South

The Today Show, Australian Womens's Weekly Magazine and the Commonwealth Bank have united to "Hit the Road" to send a 40ft. rig (huge truck) around to the rural areas of Australia for 12 months to 100 different country towns. Bringing the Today Show, The Australian Womens's Weekly Magazine and the Commonwealth Bank to them. They will be starting on the 24th January 2007 at Tamworth.

Country Music Bulletin to take over Peoples’ Choice Awards
Written By Bob Kirchner Country Music Bulletin
The Independent Country Music Bulletin will present the long-running Australian Country Music Peoples’ Choice Awards from 2007. Announcing the change, President of the Australian Country Music Listeners’ Association (ACMLA) Smoky Sheldrick said the Association had passed the Awards over to the Bulletin to ensure their continuity as close as possible to the traditions which had been built up over the last seven years.

The announcement came shortly after Smoky and his wife Paula announced they would be discontinuing all functions of the ACMLA due to Smoky’s on-going health problems. "As from the 31st of August 2006, the ACMLA will cease all operations," Paula said. "It is with deep regret and long deliberation that we have been forced to make this decision mainly due to Smoky’s health problems which have been declining now for the past 18 months. We feel we can no longer continue in the capacity of maintaining the ACMLA and personal life.

"We would like to thank all of our members some who have been with us from the beginning," she said. "We would also like to thank all the DJs and radio stations on our mail list for helping us help promote the country music artists. Without you, the music would not be heard." Managing Editor of the Country Music Bulletin Bob Kirchner said he was delighted Smoky and Paula had agreed to pass the Peoples’ Choice Awards on to the Bulletin, "to take up the baton, so to speak," he said.

"We are committed to maintaining the great tradition established by Smoky and Paula over the years and look forward to further developing the Awards through the Bulletin and the on line news website for the benefit of the Australian country music industry." Processes for the continuing Peoples’ Choice Awards, including consideration of voting already undertaken, are currently under review with announcements due to be made shortly.

2006 APRA MUSIC AWARDS - WINNERS
Song Of the Year Catch My Disease - Ben Lee
Songwriter of the Year Bernard Fanning
Ted Albert Award For Outstanding Services To Australian Music Bill Armstrong
Breakthrough Songwriter Wolfmother
Most Performed Australian Work Catch My Disease - Ben Lee
Most Performed Foreign Work Lonely No More - Rob Thomas
Most Performed Australian Work Overseas Are You Gonna Be My Girl - Jet
Most Performed Jazz Work Mosquito - The Necks
Most Performed Country Work Pony - Kasey Chambers
Most Performed Dance Work Way To Go - Rogue Traders
Most Performed Urban Work Oh Oh - Guy Sebastian
Most Performed Blues and Roots Work Somethings Gotta Give - The John Butler Trio
http://www.apra.com.au/awards/default.asp

Aussie women win at MerleFest USA

28th April 2006 was a great day for Australian country music.
Audrey Auld Mezera won the MerleFest. "country music" category in the songwriting contest,
Megan Laurie came in second.

Click here Photos and more info - Audrey Auld Mazera and Megan Laurie capture top spots in MerleFest Songwriting Contest

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VITAL ENTERTAINMENT SOLUTIONS –
A NEW FORCE

This month sees the launch of a new and “Vital” force in the Australian Music Industry.
After taking into account the ongoing staff rationalization and uncertainty of future mergers of the major record companies, Vital Entertainment Solutions has been formed by four long-standing industry executives with a wealth of experience in the music business and who have also been successful in their own individual fields.
Directors of Vital are – Meryl Gross, Peter Hebbes, Gill Robert and Jim White.
Vital plans to work with a select number of local artists in a business management capacity and facilitate the release of international and local product by artists who are keen to develop the Australian market working with a focused strategic team.

Vital is a complete entertainment services company specializing in music business management, CD/DVD/Video production and placement, distribution, digital rights management, tour and product promotion, marketing, career development, music publishing and event organization -representing artists’ careers in whatever way they require.

Vital’s initial clients include Australians Steve Forde and the Flange who are about to release a new album recorded in Nashville, Canadian Corb Lund, who successfully toured Australia earlier this year delighting audiences with his unconventional style of roots-country, former South Australian of the Year for Arts and Music, singer-songwriter John Wibberley, and Jake Nickolai, a brilliant young guitarist signed to ABC Music.

Vital Entertainment Solutions has also announced a distribution deal with Hot/Didgeridoo, one of Australia’s long established and leading independent record distributors.

“We are delighted to be distributed by a company that has a similar outlook to Vital and which is run by an energetic, efficient and dedicated staff” said Vital spokesman, Jim White. “Our aim is to run a small and focused operation and maximize our opportunities working with local and international partners. We are particularly excited to launch the company with the broad mix of exceptional talent that Steve, Corb, John and Jake bring to Vital”.

NASHVILLE NOD TO SYDNEY SCRIBE

Local writer and photojournalist BOB HOWE has won "The Charlie Lamb Award
for Excellence in Country Music Journalism". This international honour is
awarded annually to two journalists. Bob has been recognised in the category
that recognises a career, lifetime, or body of country music journalism
work. Visit www.bobhowe.com/writer/ for a more detailed look at Bob's career
that spans "Four Decades of Country Music Journalism".

The story begins in the mid-seventies when a teenage Bob could be found
introducing the delights of Slim Dusty and Merle Haggard to readers of RAM
(Rock Australia Magazine). It continues through the eighties and nineties as
Bob reports from around the globe for many magazines, while travelling as a
professional musician. Coming up to the present time it finds COWBOYS IN
CYBERSPACE as the cornerstone of Bob Howe's Country Music journalism. Now in
its seventh year, COWBOYS IN CYBERSPACE is read nationally in Capital News
magazine and on the Web (www.shownet.com.au) by fans not only in Australia,
New Zealand, the USA, the UK and all of Europe, but also Mexico, Russia,
Japan, India and Iran!

The fourth annual Charlie Lamb Awards will be presented during the
International Country Music Conference at Belmont University in Nashville on
Friday, 28 May 2004 (Memorial Day weekend). On the following day, Bob will
be the featured luncheon speaker at the conference and will present a
multimedia discussion of the current state of Australian country music.

Bob will be in Nashville from May 24 to 31 and then attending
The First World Guitar Congress from June 2 at Towson University -
Baltimore, Maryland
7 days of seminars, master classes and concerts featuring all styles of
music, and including country music legends such as dobro king Jerry Douglas,
flat-picking master Tony Rice, and the one-and-only Albert Lee.

Bob arrives back in Sydney on June 10th.
=============================
For more information, contact:
Bob Howe (02) 9365-3357 or 0412 414-750
bob@shownet.com.au http://www.shownet.com.au

Nick Erby is back on Radio with the Super Network on Saturday and Sunday nights from 6pm. The super network from 2SM goes to Tamworth, Armidale, Parkes, HunterValley, Gold Coast and more

Sydney 2SM 1269am Newcastle 2HD 1143am

Tamworth 2TM 1287AM Toowoomba 4WK 1359AM

Darling Downs 4WK 963AM Gympie 4GY 558AM

Tweed Coast Radio 97 972AM Gold Coast Radio 97 104.1FM

Lismore 2LM 900AM Grafton 2GF 1206AM

Taree 2RE 1557AM Mudgee 2MG 1449AM

Parkes 2PK 1404AM Dubbo 2DU 1251AM

Cobar 2DU 972AM Gunnedah 2MO 1080AM

Moree 2VM 1530AM Walgett 2VM 106.7FM

Goondiwindi 2VM 89.5FM Inverell 2NZ 1188AM

Armidale 2AD 1143AM

Tex Morton¹s first recordings preserved

Seventy one years after they were cut, the fabled first records ever made by the father of Australian country music Tex Morton have surfaced again and have been placed in the care of the national screen and sound archive in Canberra.

It is believed the three priceless, 7², aluminium discs, said to be the first country music discs made outside America, were originally recorded by Tex in Wellington, NZ, in 1932 when the young singer was not yet 16 years old.

For decades they were stored in New Zealand until Tex brought them back with him after a trip in the late Œ70s. Following his death in 1983, Tex¹s wife Kath Morton placed the three Speak-A-Phone discs in storage for safe keeping.

For collectors and serious Tex Morton historians, the discs acquired an almost legendary status. Because no one had seen them for so long, some experts even disputed their existence.

Recognising their enormous importance to Australasian musical history, Kath Morton decided the discs should be placed in the care of ScreenSound Australia, the national screen and sound archive in the nation¹s capital.

With the assistance of friend and country music industry veteran Max Ellis, an approach was made to ScreenSound through former country music broadcaster Nick Weare, now of the archive¹s Collection Development Department.

Kath Morton formally handed over the three discs to the Acting Director of ScreenSound Australia Mary Durkin in Canberra recently.

ScreenSound, which has specialised audio facilities and extensive expertise in handling old recordings of all types, is at present transcribing the records on to CD. The Speak-A-Phone discs, a proprietary recording system of the era, used fibre needles and appear to be in excellent condition.

From titles scratched on the discs, it is believed they contain four songs, The Insult, The End of The Hobo¹s Trail, Mexican Yodel and Last Round Up. However, until the content is transcribed by ScreenSound¹s audio experts, Tex Morton fans will have to wait to know whether these priceless original song recordings are of sufficient audio and vocal quality to be of broadcast standard.

After transcription of the content is completed, at least one of these highly significant Australian country music relics will be placed on display in Tamworth, Australia¹s Country Music Capital.
For more information: Max Ellis, tel. 0438 667 314.
PLEASE NOTE: a picture of ScreenSound¹s Acting Director Mary Durkin, Kath Morton and Max Ellis holding the three historic disks, is available from mxls@optusnet.com.au at no charge.

COUNTRY MUSIC ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA
PO Box 298 Tamworth NSW 2340
Email <info@countrymusic.asn.au >
AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY ON-LINE
http://www.country.com.au

RUM ENTERTAINMENT QUENCHES THIRST…..
Rebecca McCarthy (nee Urquhart) has established her own agency – RUM Entertainment. The former Warner Music Australia employee says the business will be specialising in country music, encompassing all facets of artist services, bookings, promotion & music consultancy.

Rebecca’s experience within the many different aspects of the music industry & media, will help her have an impact with venues and local media, providing artists for public, private & corporate functions.

“I started my career in the entertainment business for the love & passion of it nearly 15 years ago.

I’ve been wanting to start my own business to quench not only my thirst for country music, but to expose and give the public a taste of what country music has to offer,” Rebecca states.

She currently represents identities such as: Cliff Guy (TV Presenter), Michael Bryers, The Baileys, Clint Crighton, Gemma Doyle, The Byrnes Sisters, Sam Smyth (Poet) & the Andre Dimitri Band (contemporary).

“Being able to work with people I believe in, representing & promoting Australian artists, makes me want to help contribute to their success.”

Rebecca is contactable on PH (02) 4285 1461 (M) 0439 730 460 or email rumentertainment@bigpond.com