ADAM BRAND
Across more than two decades in song, soulful country songsmith Adam Brand has made a close study of love in its every facet. With glorious new single ‘Still the One’, Adam delivers an irresistible reflection on sustaining connection in the face of adversity.
“These two people have been through a crazy, difficult time–”, Adam says of the couple at the heart of ‘Still the One’, “–just like every relationship does. Just like we, as a country and world, are going through right now. But no matter what happened in the past or what will happen, they’re saying, you’re still the one. We’ll stick together through thick and thin.”
It’s a timely message of hope, confirming Adam’s gift for unearthing
those shared experiences that bind people from all walks of life together:
from connecting over the wobbly table at a café to weathering the pang
of physical separation.
“Even though it’s a love song between two people, there are so many
relationships that are under duress at the moment,” Adam reflects.
“There’s a lot of separation in the world because of borders. I hope
everyone has somebody they can look in the eye and say, whatever
happens, no matter what comes our way, we’re sticking through this.”
Combining irresistible pop production, a dancefloor-ready beat, and Adam’s own earthy brand of heartland country soul, ‘Still the One’ finds Adam exploring new vistas in sound.
Since bursting onto the scene with his celebrated self-titled debut album in 1998, Adam Brand has taken home 12 CMAA Golden Guitar Awards and netted six ARIA Award nominations. Across 15 studio albums, Adam has celebrated three platinum and five gold album certifications. Confirming Adam’s incomparable power as a fan favourite performer Australia wide, the world-beating artist has taken out seven CMC Oz Artist of the Year Awards – more than any other artist in the awards’ history.
Starting with the high-octane Built for Speed in 2002, Adam has enjoyed an unbroken string of No.1-charting ARIA Country Albums. 2020’s Speed of Life took out the No.6 spot on the overall ARIA Albums Chart, marking Adam’s sixth studio album to make the Top 10. As dozens of No.1 hit singles confirm, Adam ranks among the most successful Australian artists of all time.
A heartfelt love song for troubled times, ‘Still the One’ is Adam Brand at his insightful, articulate best. It’s a healing balm, and a joyous celebration of constancy and resilience.
TRAVIS COLLINS
Reigning CMAA Male Artist of the Year Travis Collins has long led the charge in the Australian country music fold with his soulful voice, earthy sound, and unique gift for piloting both sophisticated, heartfelt ballads and supercharged country-rock floor-fillers.
Since bursting onto the scene with Start the Car in 2005, Collins has fast established
himself as a leading light in Australian song. Nine studio albums later and Collins is a
regular mainstage fixture at Australia’s peak country music festivals from Tamworth
Country Music Festival to CMC Rocks, and routinely plays to sold-out crowds across
the country.
Cementing Collins’ star, fourth album Wired (2015) took out the No.1 spot on the ARIA
Country Albums Chart and boasted No.1 hits “Boots On” and the sweltering “Curves”,
while follow-up record Hard Light (2016) peaked at No.2 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart.
The CMC Male Artist of the Year for 2017 and 2018, Collins staged a CMAA Awards sweep in 2017 on the back of Hard Light, which saw him take home Golden Guitars for Male Vocalist of the Year, APRA AMCOS Song of the Year, and Single of the Year. Hard Light also netted Collins three No.1 hits including the stirring “Call Me Crazy”.
Our Backyard (2017) with Amber Lawrence secured a further three Golden Guitar wins for Collins, while Brave & The Broken (2018) was nominated for the ARIA Award for Best Country Album. That album cracked the top 20 of the ARIA Albums Chart, landed at No.3 on the iTunes Australian Albums Chart, and spawned a string of No.1 hits. Brave & The Broken also showcased Collins’ unique depth as a songwriter as well as an accomplished guitarist and vocalist as never before, with Collins either writing or co-writing every song on the album.
Subsequent outing Wreck Me (2020) marked a personal milestone for Collins, taking out the No.1 spot on the ARIA Country Albums Chart, debuting in the Top 10 of the ARIA Albums Chart, and landing at No.4 on the iTunes Australian Albums Chart. Wreck Me also landed Collins his second ARIA Awards nomination for Best Country Album, and spawned the earthy Wreck Me: Acoustic Sessions.
The triple CMAA Male Artist of the Year and CMA Global Artist Award-winner has toured alongside US megastars Tim McGraw and Luke Combs, and recorded with Nashville’s best and brightest, including super-producer Luke Wooten (Dierks Bentley/Brad Paisley).
Recent years have seen Collins expanding his sound, songs, and live show still further, promising even bigger, better, and brighter things ahead – both onstage and in the studio.
CASEY BARNES
Casey Barnes is undeniably one of the hottest acts in Australian country music right
now - from cross-over airplay success to awards (he has won the Gold Coast Music
Awards ‘Artist of the Year’ back-to-back in 2020 & 2021) to charts, streams and sold-out
shows. Rolling Stone Magazine (AU) made the following assessment, “While the last
two years have been bleak for most, Barnes was able to turn musical lemons into
lemonade … a masterful piece of country pop/rock, “Come Turn Me On” is exactly
the sort of song that the phrase “crossover hit” was made to describe.”
‘Light It Up’ is the follow up to the hugely successful album ‘Town of A Million Dreams’ which was released in March 2020 – debuting at #1 on the ARIA Australian Country Album chart and #16 on the All-Genre ARIA Album chart and achieving nominations for ARIA Country Album of the Year, an APRA for Country Work of the Year and four x 2021 Golden Guitar Award nominations. ‘Town Of A Million Dreams’ has spent over 80 weeks on the ARIA Australian Country Album chart to date and Casey’s catalogue has amassed over 30 million combined streams, making him one of the highest streamed artists in Australian country music today.
Produced by Melbourne based production team MSquared (Michael Delozrenzis and Michael Paynter), ‘Light It Up’ is Casey’s latest offering and features ten new original songs, all co-written by Casey with MSquared and Nashville based singer/songwriters Kaci Brown and Sam Gray.
Executive Director of Chugg Music, Michael Chugg AM, commented, “Casey’s rise over the last two years has been impressive, with mainstream radio now coming on board and a growing fanbase in international markets. ‘Light It Up’ will be his biggest album and tour yet and the Chugg Music team are proud to be taking Casey’s music to the world.”
AMBER LAWRENCE
Amber Lawrence is a 5 times Golden Guitar winning Australian singer-songwriter who captures the nation’s attention and heart with her uplifting songs of self-belief, love, family and ordinary Australians.
Whilst many musicians and artists stagnated through 2020 due to the effects of Covid-19
shutdowns, Amber’s creativity thrived and she launched her ARIA number 2 charting DVD
– Amber Lawrence Live, collaborated on three separate releases, including the successful
re-imagination of True Blue alongside Aleyce Simmonds, Dianna Corcoran and Kirsty Lee Akers,
(winning the Golden Guitar in the 2021 CMAA Golden Guitar Awards) and to finish the year,
she release her third children’s Album ‘The Kid’s Gone Country 2’, which became a number
2 ARIA charting Country Album!
In 2019 Amber Lawrence launched her 6th studio album, Spark – nominated for CMAA Album
of the Year, Female Artist of the Year and Contemporary Album of the Year. It was also the second highest selling country album for 2019 (behind Lee Kernaghan).
In 2018 just took home 3 of the most prestigious Golden Guitar awards at the CMAA Golden Guitar Awards!! APRA Song of the Year, Single of the Year and Vocal Collaboration of the year, for the song ‘Our Backyard’, a collaboration with Travis Collins.
A former Qantas Airways employee, and Chartered Accountant, Amber risked it all in 2008 to pursue a career in music. The risk paid off in 2015 when Amber was awarded the iconic and prestigious ‘Female Artist of the Year’ award for her song ‘Superhero’, at the 2015 CMAA Golden Guitar awards – the highest accolade for country music in Australia. This was quickly followed up with the Country Music Channel 2015 ‘Female Artist of the Year’ Award. This was the first time in history that an artist has won both awards in one year.
2017 was an extremely busy year for Amber. She was asked by the American Australian Association to perform in New York to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea. Amber performed the anthemic song ‘100 Year Handshake’ in front of dignitaries and celebrities including President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Ambassador Joe Hockey, John Travolta and hundreds more. Amber wrote and recorded the commemorative song ‘100 Year Handshake’ for the event, which, as of March 2019 has been released as a single and video clip.
Amber was also extremely honored to receive an Australia Day Bronze Achievement Award for her contribution to War Veterans and their families, via her work with RSL DefenceCare.
Not one to sit around with spare time, Amber has released two children’s albums in the past few years – the first ‘The Kid’s Gone Country’, was quickly followed up by her acclaimed Christmas release ‘Aussie Aussie Christmas’. These albums have filled a huge gap in the Australian country music market, and have seen Amber perform her ‘Kid’s Gone Country’ show Australia wide.
Amber is also a mentor to young artists in the Australian Music industry and has provided free entertainment and mentoring in over 300 schools Australia wide, as part of her ‘Be Your Own Superhero’ program. Amber has a strong connection and affiliation with children, with her first children’s album “The Kid’s Gone Country” released with a number 1 iTunes hit (“My Big Mack Truck”), in May 2016.
Amber is the face of iHeartRadio Australia Country, hosting the show each week, a guest presenter on Channel 9’s ‘Getaway’ and the co-host of the CMC Music Awards in 2017 – live on Foxtel, and the 2019 Golden Guitar Awards. of courswinner
GRETTA ZILLER
First impressions aren’t always right. If you’ve been foolish enough to nail down the sound
of acclaimed songwriter Gretta Ziller, then prepare to have the rug pulled out from under you.
Queen of Boomtown, her stunning debut record, defies categorisation and demands repeated
listens.
Ziller’s sound may bear the hallmarks of classic Americana music but its essence is far more
diverse. The Melbourne songstress’ roots span jazz, blues, rock, pop and classical, and that
eclectic musical upbringing is reflected in the varied tracks on this new collection.
“I didn’t want to make an album that sounded like anything in the Americana scene right now,” says Ziller. “I wanted my album to reflect the soundtrack of my childhood, yet sonically and lyrically sound like who I am now. I really wanted to push the boundaries of what country music, or Americana, alt-country – whatever you want to call it – can sound like. I didn’t want to fit neat and tidy into the country music box.”
Ziller brought together an impressive array of musicians to perform on Queen of Boomtown, the recordings featuring members of Saskwatch, The Cat Empire, and the bands of Angus & Julia Stone, Passenger and Dan Sultan. Accomplished songwriter Jen Mize provides backing vocals while Henry Wagons appears as a guest on ‘Round and Round’.
Recorded at Woodstock Studios, Balaclava, the album was produced by New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Paul Ruske. “Working with Paul was the most amazing experience,” Ziller recalls. “Not only is he such a beautiful person and talented musician, but he understood me and what I wanted with this record.”
Ziller and Ruske’s combined desire to break the country mould paid off. There’s certainly some classic country influence in the gorgeous production of ‘Jude’ and ‘Go On’, but that vanishes quickly on the rock stomper ‘Let it Go’ or the sparse, aching piano ballad ‘This is Gonna Hurt’ and the sultry ‘Whisky Shivers’. Written over an almost six-year period, this collection covers vast emotional territory.
No matter the mood, Ziller demonstrates an assured sense of melody, building on the promise of ear-catching 2014 EP Hell’s Half Acre. ‘Round and Round’ feels like an instant classic, echoing of the great duets from Cash and Carter to Cave and Harvey.
For Ziller, the songs are often inspired by emotions rather than common trials and autobiographical tribulations. “I approach my songwriting a little bit like a bower bird,” the songwriter explains. “I am a collector of ideas and thoughts. The Notes app in my phone is full of one liners and song ideas. I don’t write specifically about every day stuff in my life, I tend to take an idea or emotion about something that is relevant or emotionally attractive to me and roll with it.”
Queen of Boomtown is threaded with a gentle fatalism, each song conveying an acceptance of the way things are and an openness to shifting circumstance. “I draw on the emotion of needing change a lot when I write, I’m a person that likes and craves change,” Ziller explains. “‘Let It Go’ is about being who you are in the moment and not holding onto worries, ‘Slaughterhouse Blues’ is all about wanting something different, ‘Alright With Me’ is about accepting that someone loves you for how wonderfully imperfect you are, and ‘This Is Gonna Hurt’ is about the pain and regret of a breakup.”
While the album title might appear to be big-noting, one listen to title track ‘Queen of Boomtown’ and its self-deprecating context becomes apparent. Ziller’s radiant tune paints a picture of isolation, standing tall in a metaphorically abandoned town. “Picking this song as the title was tough for me because at first glance it may come across as me thinking I’m the ‘top of the pile’,” Ziller explains. “But, in fact, the song is the opposite. I guess that’s what I wanted my album to sound like … people may think it’s going to be like my EP – maybe more country – but it’s not. First impressions aren’t always right.”
ELLA & SIENNA
ELLA & SIENNA ARE 19 AND 15 YEAR OLD SISTERS FROM THE ADELAIDE HILLS, WITH ELLA ON VOCALS & GUITAR, AND SIENNA ON VOCALS & BASS.
PREPARE TO BE BLOWN AWAY BY THE DYNAMIC VOCALS, INCREDIBLE HARMONIES AND FUN VIBE CREATED BY THESE EMERGING ARTISTS. THEIR ORIGINAL MUSIC BRINGS A UNIQUE BLEND OF MODERN COUNTRY, POP AND ROCK, AND THEIR ACOUSTIC COVERS INCLUDE SOME OF THE MOST WELL-KNOWN SONGS BY SOME OF THE GREATEST ARTISTS.ELLA & SIENNA HAVE FEATURED ON TV AND RADIO AND OVER THE PAST 18 MONTHS THEY HAVE HAD SOME AMAZING SUCCESS INCLUDING; WINNING THE EKKA COUNTRY MUSIC SHOWDOWN, 2ND IN BATTLE OF THE YOUNG STARS, AND 2ND IN BEST OF THE BUSKERS AT THE TAMWORTH COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL, TOP 3 GRAND FINALISTS AT THE GYMPIE MUSIC MUSTER TALENT SEARCH, WINNERS OF AGSA BATTLE OF THE BANDS AND WINS AND AWARDS AT THE BURRA COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL