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Tamworth 2005 Festival Summary
Male Vocalist Adam Harvey
Female Vocalist Kasey Chambers
33rd Toyota Golden Guitar Award
Winners are:
Male Vocalist of the Year: Adam Harvey
Female Vocalist of the Year: Kasey Chambers
Album of the Year: Melinda Schneider: 'Family Tree' Produced by
Graham Thompson
Single of the Year: Kasey Chambers - 'Like a River'
New Talent of the Year: Jedd Hughes
Top Selling Album of the Year: Kasey Chambers - 'Wayward Angel'
Video Clip of the Year: Slim Dusty - 'Get Along' Directed by
Molotov Productions
Vocal Group of the Year: Bella
Vocal Collaboration of the Year: Tracy Coster & Anne Kirkpatrick -
'Back to the Saltbush Plains'
Bush Ballad of the Year: Jeff Brown - 'Where the Yellow Kapocks
Bloom' Written by Wave Jackson
Heritage Song of the Year: Lee Kernaghan & Colin Buchanan - 'Missin'
Slim'
Instrumental of the Year: Tommy Emmanuel - 'Tall Fiddler'
APRA Song of the Year: 'Real People'
Melinda Schneider and Michael Carr
Tracy Coster and Anne
Kirkpatrick -
'Back To The Saltbush
Plains' - Winner Golden Guitar for
Vocal
Collaboration of the Year.
Golden Guitar for Tracy Coster & Anne
Kirkpatrick
Samantha McClymont wins Toyota
Star Maker 2005
Eighteen-year-old Samantha McClymont from Grafton, NSW, has
taken out the 2005 Toyota Star Maker Quest in Tamworth, Australia’s
Country Music Capital.
Samantha won the crown from nine competing grand finalists selected
during the day from the top 20 finalists invited to Tamworth to vie
for the title yesterday (Monday, January 17).
A sell-out audience in the Toyota Country Theatre at Tamworth’s
Regional Entertainment Centre witnessed the grand final where, in
addition to Samantha, James Anderssen, Mellissa Baker, Danielle Blakey,
Darren Colston, Kristy Cox, Kylee Ellis, Brenda Hall, Jason-Lee and
Amber Lawrence performed for their chance to win Australia’s most
prestigious country music talent search.
Accepting her prize, Samantha, who turns 19 on Saturday, said she was
very thankful for the opportunity.
Samantha has an impressive record of achievement to date including
winning the Toyota National Country Music Muster Talent Search at
Gympie when she was just 13 years of age, the youngest ever to do so.
Some of her other notable accomplishments... performing as a soloist
in the national TV campaign Teach The Children Well... recording as a
featured artist on the Qantas Spirit of Australia CD... and working
with Jimmy Little on his album Down The Road.
Samantha wins a prize package providing a substantial career boost
including a big budget recording session at Ramrod Studios, production
and distribution of a CD through the ABC Music label of the two tracks
recorded; a video clip of one of the songs; media promotion throughout
the year; guaranteed performance bookings and the use of a Toyota car
and fuel card for 12 months.
In addition to the talent search itself, another major milestone was
acknowledged last night, the 10th year of Star Maker sponsorship by
Toyota.
To mark the occasion, Rural Press Events General Manager and Star
Maker Executive Producer Barry Harley made a special presentation to
Chris Williams representing Toyota.
Outgoing Toyota Star Maker title holder Travis Collins performed
admirably during the night to round out the evening’s entertainment.
Road To Tamworth Winner
Jim Beam Jazzer Quest Winner
 
JAZZER talent QUEST RE-LAUNCHED IN FINE STYLE
Special moments occurred daily at the re-launched Jim Beam
Jazzer (talent) Quest at The Pub at the 2005 Tamworth Country Music
Festival. Once people found the quest, relocated from the central
business district to The Pub on Gunnedah Rd, heats filled quickly, and
audiences were thoroughly entertained.
Quest co-ordinator since 1995 - Greg Williams, said standout
performances were many during each of the seven daily heats, resulting
in a high quality talent showcase for the grand final – and a highly
entertaining wild card heat on Grand Final eve.
“The wild card section on the Thursday was a successful innovation and
very well received by the audience and contestants,” Greg Williams
said. “It allowed for some of those contestants you couldn’t possibly
leave out, to get another shot at the Grand Final and the big prize
pool. That Thursday’s wild card heat was almost on par with the Grand
Final. As it was, four went through from the wild card heat. I don’t
know if we’ll have the luxury of doing that every year though, due to
heavy demand from contestants for heat places.”
Click here Kirsty Lee Akers Artist page
One junior competitor in particular, 16 year-old Kirsty Lee Akers,
from near Kurri Kurri, NSW was thrilled to get the offer from Greg
Williams, inviting her to take part in the Thursday wild card heat, as
she was named Junior Winner after Friday’s Grand Final. Already a
Tamworth Camerata 2004 graduate, as a result of this win, she has now
won Axiom Entertainment Agency’s scholarship to Camerata 2005. One of
the richest talent quests on the circuit, the 2005 Jim Beam Jazzer
Quest awarded $800 to the junior winner, along with the Axiom Camerata
scholarship and an Ashton acoustic-electric guitar, arranged by Cheapa
Music, Tamworth.
In second place in the Junior section was Daisy May Wegner, from
Mackay, Qld., while Jacko from Mullumbimby, NSW in third place, won
everyone’s hearts, firstly with his acceptance speech, and then for
his honesty, returning his prize envelope which inadvertently had the
open third place getter’s prize money – double the junior’s amount.
“I’ve never won $300 before,” announced tiny Jacko, hidden under a hat
almost larger than himself – the first of the six prize winners
introduced to the stage. “I’ve never played in a pub before, and I’ve
never played with another band before, that wasn’t my own band – back
in Mullumbimby.”
Returning to the stage to report his “overpayment” to officials, Jacko
certainly won everyone’s hearts for his honesty as well as his good
humour and natural appeal. Second and third Junior place getters
received $500 and $300.
Cameron Clayton
The Open section winner, Cameron Clayton, from New Zealand, is
no stranger to Tamworth, having competed successfully in previous
years quests during January and July in the Australian Country Music
Capital. Now the senior Gore (NZ) Gold Guitar winner, Cameron is a
graduate of the inaugural Tamworth Camerata 2002 – the annual youth
Country Music school staged midyear, preceding the Hats Off to Country
Festival.
His winner’s package included $1000 cash from Jim Beam, a recording
package eat Lindsay Butler Studios, Tamworth, co-sponsored by Jim
Beam, with the track commercially released to Australian radio on the
LBS Country Collection CD. Cameron’s excess baggage bill was boosted
thanks to his final winner’s gift – a fabulous Ashton
acoustic-electric guitar, arranged by Cheapa Music, Tamworth..
For Tamworth’s Ben Hazell, the open section became a real quinella
when he was named runner-up and then returned to the stage to collect
third prize with his duo partner, fellow NSW Talent Development
Project graduate Jessica Smith, of Sydney – a first time competitor in
Tamworth. Second and third Open section place getters received $800
and $600.
All contestants had the option of utilising the Jim Beam Jazzer Quest
band throughout the quest, composed of wonderful musicians Les Scott
on guitar, Brett Tomlin on bass, and sharing drumming duties, Terry
Phillpot and Doug Gallacher.
Entry fees collected from contestants amounting to $500+ has been
donated to the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute in Melbourne, where
the quest’s namesake was treated for many years for non-Hodgkins
lymphoma.
This donation tradition has continued for many years of this talent
quest.
FELICITY URQUHART
awarded
Female Vocalist Of The Year
At both the
2005 TIARA Awards
&
2005 ACMLA’S People’s Choice Awards
ROYDEN DONOHUE
has been named
2005 TIARA Awards
Male Vocalist Of The Year
(announced during the Tamworth Country Music Festival)
[Royden Donohue & Felicity Urquhart
with TIARA Awards]
His single ‘We’re Gone’ currently
#16 on the Country Tracks Top 30
Have a listen and see why this young man is a star of the future
www.roydendonohue.com
Newcomer Royden Donohue has debuted at on the Top 30 Country Chart
this week
& scored the following FINALIST nominations for his brand new single
'We're Gone' (produced by Rod McCormack)
2005 TIARA Awards for – Male Vocal
2005 Victorian & National CM Awards – Male Vocal / Hawking Brothers
Best New Talent /
Smoky Dawson Best Independent Release
Top 10 Finalist in the 2005 CMAA Golden Guitar Awards - New Talent Of
The Year
Receiving 3 nominations in the upcoming Victorian & National CM Awards
has made this year a remarkable one for Royden - with only more to
come in 2005
Check out where you can catch Royden live by clicking onto:
www.roydendonohue.com
For further information or interviews contact:
Rebecca Urquhart McCarthy
RUM Entertainment
Ph/fax 02 4285 1461 (m) 0439 730 460
rumentertainment@bigpond.com
Click here Artist Report
Page
More Info coming Soon
At its Board meeting held on Wednesday 19 January in
Tamworth, the Board of the Country Music Association of Australia
decided that the date of the 2006 CMAA Country Music Awards of
Australia, sponsored by Toyota, will be held on the 28th January 2006
to coincide with the last weekend of the 2006 Tamworth Country Music
Festival.
Print out and have
the memories
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