Month: August 2024

Damon Spigle Unveils New Single “Hey Girl”

Rising country artist Damon Spigle announces the release of his highly anticipated second single, “Hey Girl.” Following the success of his debut single, “Never Go Back Again,” this new track is expected to make a significant impact on the country music charts. Produced by renowned music producer Ken Royster at Direct Image Recording Studios in Nashville, “Hey Girl” combines compelling lyrics with engaging melodies that highlight Spigle’s growing talent.

As an independent artist, Damon Spigle has quickly gained recognition in the country music industry. “Hey Girl” is anticipated to further establish his presence and reputation in the genre.

Accompanying the single is a music video produced by Mark Allee of Allee Visuals Nashville and Bryan Wayne Perry of Perry Music Group. The video visually complements the song’s emotional depth and enhances Spigle’s artistic profile.

Originally from Kentucky, Damon balances his music career with his educational and athletic commitments. His expanding fanbase includes listeners from around the world, with thousands of people tuning in from the United States to New Zealand.

“Hey Girl” captures themes of heartbreak and new beginnings, with its chorus resonating with universal emotions:

“There’s nowhere else that I ever wanted to be,
I know that I barely even know your name,
But it ain’t like I can’t see the hurtin’ in you,
And hey girl, I feel the same.
It ain’t like I can’t see the damage that’s done,
When you turn and you’re walking away.”

Damon Spigle continues to build his career and audience, and “Hey Girl” is set to be an important addition to his growing body of work.

RISING COUNTRY STAR ABBIE FERRIS DROPS EMPOWERED PARTY ANTHEM ‘THAT AIN’T YOU’

Fresh from a whirlwind trip to Nashville where she performed seven shows in three weeks, South Australia via Central Coast country singer-songwriter Abbie Ferris has unleashed her new single ‘ That Ain’t You’, out today via Potts Entertainment/MGM.

A sassy, empowered party anthem driven by an irresistible drum groove and raunchy guitars, the song was written in Nashville with US writers CJ Monaghan and Ryan T Jacobs and produced by Abbie’s long-time collaborator, Golden Guitar nominee Michael Carpenter.

“I wanted to write a different kind of party song, about having fun on your own terms, knowing what you want – and what you don’t want,” says Abbie. “I really let my inner Shania come out on this one.”

Already a live favourite since she debuted the song at CMC Rocks QLD earlier this year, the song follows hot on the heels of ‘Shut Up and Kiss Me’, which hit the airwaves, and playlists across Australia and the USA, back in May. The two songs give fans a taste of Abbie’s upcoming EP, set for release later this year, written entirely in Nashville over two blockbuster visits in the last year.

From her hometown of Mallala, South Australia (population 600) to Music City USA and the biggest festival stages in Australia, Abbie’s musical journey has taken her around the world, driven by relentless hard work, passion for country music and determination to make her dreams come true and follow in the footsteps of her idols – Shania, Taylor, Lainey and more.

“I want to take my music everywhere and show the world that a small-town South Australian girl can grow up to be a woman who makes a big impact on people’s hearts in places I couldn’t have imagined when I was a kid. My parents raised me to trust my heart and do what feels right, and when I connect with people through a song – whether it’s in a co-write, in the studio, on a festival stage – it’s like I’m back riding a horse in a paddock where all you see is horizon, and everything else in life melts away. That’s what I’m always chasing with my music”.

Leading Aussie country singer/songwriter, Caitlyn Shadbolt , releases her stunningly beautiful new single, “Where The Lemons Grow”. A prolific songwriter, Caitlyn penned the track with the equally accomplished, Sarah Buckley (The Buckleys). This is the follow up to Caitlyn’s most recent single, “Country Music Never Made More Sense”, which impacted the National Country Airplay Chart Top 20.

As Caitlyn describes it, “Where The Lemons Grow is a song I penned with Sarah Buckley, about the bittersweet of life. It acknowledges the two sides of the coin. ‘Bees sting but the make good honey, birds sing when it ain’t all sunny’. Through hardship, you can find silver linings, and this song touches on that.”

The bees sting but they make good honey
The birds sing when it ain’t all sunny
Just like sunsets, it’s gone before you know
Well, the peaches are nice out in Georgia I’m told
But it only gets sweeter where the lemons grow

Caitlyn Shadbolt is one of Australia’s leading contemporary country artists and a sought-after songwriter. A finalist in the sixth season of The ‘X Factor’ Australia (2014), Caitlyn secured a recording deal with ABC MUSIC and released her debut album, “Songs On My Sleeve” (May 2017). Upon release, the album hit #1 on the ARIA Country Album chart. The first single, “My Break Up Anthem”, held the #1 National Country Airplay Chart for over 8 consecutive weeks and became the 2nd most played song on Country Radio (held out of the top spot by Sam Hunt’s monster hit “Body Like A Backroad”). Caitlyn was recognised for her achievements by winning the CMC Award for Best New Artist, along with a nomination for Female Artist of the Year.

Combining glistening modern alt-country with sentimental hues, the upbeat new single Make You Feel out today from Sydney country sensation Gavin Mac is an utterly effervescent glimpse into Mac’s impending debut full-length of the same name, with the album Make You Feel officially set for release on Thursday September 5.

A buoyant outing anchored by infectious melodics, lustrous instrumentation, and lashings of country charm, Gavin Mac’s new track Make You Feel saw the talented artist team up with Ben Butler on lead guitar, Melinda Jackson on backing vocals, and Josh Schuberth on drums, along with mastering courtesy of William Bowden. Simultaneously nostalgic and joyful, Make You Feel ultimately also reflects Mac’s driving artistic mission statement threading throughout his debut studio release, as he reveals, “Make You Feel was, first and foremost, my mantra when I was thinking about song selection and production. I felt that success, for me, was eliciting an emotion, taking the listener to a time or place, and opening them up to some kind of reflection. In today’s fast paced life, we’re always ‘more’ and ‘what’s next’. I’m as guilty of this as anyone.”

Serving as the title track for Gavin Mac’s forthcoming new album Make You Feel, Mac’s latest single opens proceedings into the 10 tracks lying in wait across his maiden full-length, flowing between sharp and driving empowerment (Live Your Life), swooning contemporary twangs (Getaway and How Much Better), airy countrified love songs (Angel In A Black T-Shirt), and poignant, heart-rending odes (Bushfire and Forever Changing You). Spanning influences ranging from John Mayer through to Chris Stapleton, Eric Clapton and Midland, Make Them Feel also boasts Mac’s time-travelling single Sideswiped, with the crisp tune first penned and demoed by Mac as a teenager before catching the attention of Sony Music Australia earlier in his career. “Although this collection of songs was written over a long time span,” shares Mac, “I tried to unite them by singing them, cleanly. By that I mean, not leaning into any style, just singing them straight. I also chose to work with a renowned country music producer to unite the songs through honest, earthy production techniques and instrumentation. My goal was to present a polished set of modern contemporary songs, that each incorporate a nostalgic cue, be it the narrative, instrumentation, or driven. In absence of these recordings being easily boxed into a popular genre or genre subset, my hope was to ‘make you feel’ something.”

Discovered at the age of 16 by Sony Music’s Denis Handlin and John Watson, Gavin Mac quickly gained the title of being Sony Music Australia’s youngest-ever Australian recording artist at the time. Evolving his music industry skills and knowledge in the years to follow, Mac worked alongside both international and iconic Australian artists, including previous work with Nickelback, Queens of the Stone Age, Linda & Vika Bull, and Alex Lloyd. And from managing A&R duties for Roadrunner Records to stepping back from the industry to raise his family, Mac kept his creative fires alive, co-founding the award-winning brand experience agency Urban, conceiving and delivering marketing campaigns for Electronic Arts, Airbnb, and Netflix.

With years away from music, a fortuitous 2019 road trip to the Tamworth Country Music festival provided the very kindling that would ultimately turn Mac’s gaze firmly back to his passions, songwriting and storytelling, with the Melbourne-hailing singer-songwriter emerging from his musical hiatus with gusto in 2023 balancing renewed purpose, perspective and the powerful drive that comes with unfinished business. In 2023, Mac released his debut solo singles Getaway, Live Your Life and Bushfire , amassing over 300K streams and counting, with 2024 also garnering Mac his first industry nod, taking home the Tamworth Music Association’s 2024 New Songwriter of the Year. Now poised to release his long-awaited debut album this September, Make You Feel may be Gavin Mac’s first official full-length release, but it’s been a labour of love many years in the making, with many incredible experiences also along the way. “Make You Feel is a debut album 30 years in the making,” says Mac. “Do I qualify for some kind of Guinness Book of Records nod?! It’s been a long time in making, but hopefully the first of many to come. I’m already well into my follow up album, which I’m planning to release a little quicker than the first. I take a quiet satisfaction in defying convention. It’s when you know you’re being different, brave and beating to your own drum. So, bring it on.”

“The album is like an old photo,” Mac concludes. “I’ve extracted my favourite photos and then digitized them for perpetuity. But not to dwell on the past, instead its presentation to the market blends old and new, to ensure it is true to its promise of delivering a ‘modern nostalgia’ experience. I feel the same as I’m sure any artist does when releasing a debut album: excited and nervous. Releasing music into the public domain is also cathartic for any artist. Regardless of how it is received, it’s liberating to hang your music in the public domain for people to hear and hopefully, enjoy in perpetuity.”

Zac Cross Band boasts “a sound that’s catching attention and making serious waves in the music scene” – Unfiltered & Undiscovered. Today the North Queensland 4-piece return with their punchy new single, ‘Matter of Time’.

Inspired by a real-life whirlwind romance, ‘Matter of Time’ meditates on the magic of fate. “The concept came about when me and my fiancé, Ashleigh, were travelling through New Zealand in 2019,” recalls Zac. “It was one of those take-it-in moments where you have to pinch yourself at how lucky you are to be sharing such an experience with this person.”

Dotted with the band’s hallmark sounds – stadium like drum grooves, crispy guitars and Zac’s gritty vocal – the headbanging track radiates good vibes. “The main message to take away from this song is to trust in fate, as hard as that may be. There are a thousand things that will get in your way, and a thousand hurdles that you will have to navigate, but at the end of the day, if it’s meant to be, it will be.”

When crafting the energetic single, the boys relied upon award-winning producer, Jared Adlam (Travis Collins, Adam Brand, Matt Cornell). True to the song’s message, the band quickly found that recording the track was meant to be.

“It was one of those songs that just came together so damn easy. Everything just fit, lined up and was honestly just so fun to make. I think halfway through the process we all looked at each other and were like ‘damn, this is it’.”

Effortlessly blending country, rock and pop, the 4-piece have crafted a sound that is familiar, yet unique. “It’s easily some of the best work we’ve done and one of the truest sounding tracks that represent our style of music.”

Currently in the midst of a QLD tour, the boys have adapted well to life on the road. They’ve supported giants like Dragon and The Wolfe Brothers, with performances alongside Jon Stevens and Lee Kernaghan slated for later in the year.

Not to mention, they’ve been tearing up the festival circuit; appearing at Country Fest Queensland, Country On Keppel and Big Beer Festival, to name a few. With plenty more to come – including Gympie Music Muster, Baralaba Bash, Goombungee Country and Wild As Country Party – the boys are at the top of their game.

“We are super excited to be playing a whole bunch of new festivals as well as venues in the back half of the year. It’s always good to play new places and we’re very much looking forward to sharing our music with a new audience. You can definitely bank on an energetic and action-packed show.”

Zac Cross Band have consistently delivered a slew of hits, from headbanging rock tracks to heartfelt, introspective ballads. The band have dialled in a sound that has captivated audiences around the country. With their star ever on the rise, it’s only a ‘matter of time’, before everybody’s talking about Zac Cross Band.