ZFM Country

The first offering from The Pleasures (Catherine Britt and Lachlan Bryan’s new outfit) is “The Beginning of the End”. Americana twang meets dirty rock n roll on this sassy single with its themes of mischief and recklessness – the perfect antidote for these austere times. Britt and Bryan’s perfectly matched vocals holler over a stomping, swaggering band, leaving us in no doubt that The Pleasures have come out swinging!

A 70s-psychedelia inspired music video accompanies the single, and it’s filled with the energy and intensity you can expect at The Pleasures’ upcoming live shows.

While Catherine and Lachlan already have established careers, this collaboration which began with a late-night sms exchange, quickly ascended into a feverish fortnight of writing and recording. The project represents a significant stylistic shift for both artists. Their debut album is already in the can and is set for release later in 2022.

“Lachlan and I have always clicked in life and in song” explains Catherine, “and we’ve always had an unspoken understanding and respect for one another. These songs came so easy – they flowed out of us like a raging stream. I just want more honest, real music in the world, and I couldn’t think of a better person to make it with!”

“I don’t think know anyone else who feels and understands country music the way Catherine does”, says Lachlan. “She sounds authentic because she is authentic. When she opens her mouth and sings you can hear the neon lights buzzing, you can taste the tequila and you can barely see for the cloud of smoke. It’s all that stuff that people try and fake – they try and put in on – but it’s like she was just born with it”.

“The Beginning of the End” is out January 21 2022 through Beverley Hillbilly Records/MGM Distribution

Jason Owen jumps straight into 2022 with a brand new single titled ‘Sing Australia’ , showcasing his powerhouse vocals, and shining a spotlight on our incredible country, Australia, its people, and true Aussie spirit.

Jason is now one of Australia’s most popular country artists, having entertained audiences around the country including the Tamworth Country Music Festival, CMC Rocks the Hunter, the ACE Awards and the Sony Foundation’s Wharf4Ward event raising funds for youth cancer care.

Bursting onto the Australian music scene in 2012 as runner-up of X-Factor, Jason Owen is one of Australia’s most popular young country music stars. Jason’s debut album ‘Life Is A Highway’ reached number one on the ARIA Country Chart and number five on the Australian Top 20 All Genre ARIA Chart. He has since released ‘Friday Night’ featuring his first original hit ‘Damn Right’; ‘Proud’, his first all-originals album celebrating his First Nations background; ‘Jason Owen Sings John Denver: The 20th Anniversary’; and ‘Jason Owen Sings John Denver: The Acoustic Sessions’ which debuted at Number one on the ARIA Country Music Charts. He has been nominated for five major music awards including Golden Guitars and CMC Awards.

Having grown up in the tiny town of Albert, NSW, as the only child in a town of just twelve people, in 2019 Jason founded his own charity, Doin’ It For Rural Aussie Kids, supporting regional and isolated children. “Doin It for Rural Aussie Kids was established in 2019 to help rural and isolated children affected by issues such as bushfires, drought, floods, COVID-19 fallout, and economic impacts” Jason said. “Each year we embark on a road trip across multiple states to hand deliver toys, groceries, and funds to kids whose families have been doing it tough”.

For his efforts he won the prestigious 2021 NSW/ACT Young Achiever Award for Community Service and the People’s Choice Award, and was also the most nominated entrant in the 2021 competition.

Jason has also participated in numerous appeals including Telethon Drought, Telethon Children’s Hospital, Cancer Golf Day, Kids Cancer Golf Day, donated two show profits to Burrumbuttock Hay Runners, donated song profits to Sir Ivan Bushfire Appeal and supported charities and businesses in towns toured.

Coming fresh off their recent hit Where Is The Love, Key Loch are bringing us another passionate single! Come Home To Me is a worthy successor to their emotional last single, and the beautiful tones of Avery May Parker’s voice combined with the smooth drums and gentle guitar will make you feel right at home.

Key Loch are Damien Reilly and Justin Gross. They are the founders of the 90’s power Aussie Rock Band Southpaw, which you can learn more about at www.southpawmuzik.com. They bring together a production history between them of 50 years of song writing and playing live music in Australia. And this time, the duo are featuring a third member to their killer ensemble, that being Avery May Parker! A sweet and soulful performance in every lyric, Avery’s voice and Key Loch’s expert playing guarantee that every time you listen to Come Home To Me, it’ll hit you right where it counts.

This track is an emotional story about a husband that has been sent off to war, with his wife pining for his return. “Come home to me”, come back alive, come back safe. It’s a heartfelt scenario that cuts deep and pulls no punches. Avery once again knocked it out of the park with her vocals, and alongside Damien and Justin’s incredible production, we think this one is bound to be a massive hit!

The cozy chord progressions and delicate lyrics will transport you homely times, to nostalgic times you once fondly lived through, and to happy times that are yet to come, or perhaps never will come and are bound to your imagination. The future is a mystery, however the passion presented in this song is a constant one that cannot be altered, merely moulded to suit your idyllic preference. Key Loch are making a name for themselves in the music world with hits like this, and it’s only a matter of time before that name becomes a household one!

Music is the great communicator that can conjure up every emotion. It can make you laugh, cry, or take you right back to a certain time and place with just a melody or lyric. From the teenager who is losing herself in a song to escape a bad situation at home, to the guy who is strumming his guitar trying to get a girl to take notice of him, The Viper Creek Band’s new single ‘The Power of Music’ is bound to strike a chord in us all.

“It can make a blind man see, make a sinner sing hallelujah”.

Since early 2011, The Viper Creek Band have been delivering an exciting new sound to Australian country music.

2014 seen the release of their debut album, ‘Kickin’ Up Dust’, which claimed the number two spot on the ARIA Australian Country Album Chart.

Their nominations for Group Or Duo Of The Year in 2015, 2016, 2017, and the coveted Oz Artist Of The Year in 2016 through the fan voted Country Music Channel Awards, leaves little doubt The Viper Creek Band have a well-established, loyal following.

In 2016, the band released their highly anticipated second album, ‘Just Press Play’, which Country Update Magazine referred to as “The soundtrack to the best night out, of the best summer, of your life”. The album debuted in the ARIA top five and spawned four top ten singles.

In 2018, vocalist Damien Baguley joined Adam Brand on his record breaking ‘Milestones Tour’. He also won a Country Music Channel Award with his side project Tailgate Drive, with Troy Kemp.

The album ‘Beautiful Destruction’ was released in early 2019 and includes the number one single ‘Green Light’ and fan favourite track, ‘Australian Girls’. The album debuted at number one on the ARIA Australian Country Album Chart.

The Viper Creek Band were finalists in Group Or Duo Of The Year at the 2020 Golden Guitars.

‘People Drinkin’ Beer’ and the brand new single, ‘The Power Of Music’, are the first of a bunch of new tracks to be released as the band celebrate ten years of making music.

‘A Bit More Aussie’ is a fun, up-tempo song for people who love Australia, filled with kangaroos, meat pies, kids running through sprinklers, outback sunsets, old Akubra hats and a Holden ute held together with fencing wire and a prayer. ‘A Bit More Aussie Fun’ is this summer’s feel-good song, with an infectious sing along chorus that every Aussie can relate to.

Benn Gunn plays his own brand of hard rocking music he calls ‘Aussie Heartland Rock’. It’s music from a true blue Aussie battler, for true blue Aussie battlers, with its roots in pub and country rock. If you love Australia, you’ll love Benn Gunn.

Benn spent his childhood travelling, like many great countrymen before him. From Dubbo to Forbes, and down to Bowral, his formative years brought long journeys, dusty plains and heartfelt music. For as long as he can remember, Ben has been preforming. As a young boy, he wanted nothing more than to sing and play guitar like heroes, Garth Brooks, Jimmy Barnes and John Foggerty.

“I had to teach myself to play right handed cause I could not find a left handed guitar!” Benn states. But for a kid on the road, learning to play didn’t come easy. Self-taught from a young age, it came down to personal commitment. Carving up his own style of Aussie heartland rock, entertaining became where Benn felt the most at home.

From humble beginnings, Benn has carved out his own niche place in the Australian music industry. With a swag of nominations and awards, and a long list of charting singles, including two #1 hits, he is seasoned as both an in demand live act and as a recording artist.

His awards include Best New Talent in the 2011 Australian Independent Country Music Awards, Best New Artist in the National Category of the Victorian Country Music Awards and the 2014 MO Award for Slim Dusty Country Act of the Year.

After the success of Benn’s debut album, with four charting singles, Benn launched his second album with American hit songwriter Jason Patrick Mathews and highly acclaimed producer Bart Busch. The first single ‘Girls Like Guys With Trucks’ reached #1 on the National Country Radio Singles Chart and created an amazing buzz within the industry.

The title track off his third album ‘Only In Australia’ hit #1 just a few weeks after release and then went on to break a record for the longest run in the Country Radio Singles Chart. Benn credits the success of the song to the huge number of DJs who continued to play ‘Only In Australia’ month after month. He says “It’s the DJs who support Aussie home grown music and the loyal fans who come to shows who keep our local music industry alive.”

Benn has developed a huge following on social media, with his viral Facebook videos amassing millions of views.

A multiple JUNO & CCMA Award winning entertainer, Dallas Smith is one of the most celebrated artists in Canadian Country music history, amassing 18 Canadian gold-certified single, 3 Canadian gold-certified albums, and 4 Canadian platinum-certified singles, including “Timeless”, “Drop”, and ” Trippin’ Point & Wastin Gas”.

Smith is the first and only Canadian Country artist to have 11 #1 singles , and the first to have 22 consecutive Top 10 singles. He has received 35 CCMA Award Nominations, and 11 CCMA wins, along with 5 Juno Award Nominations and 2 JUNO wins. His CCMA Award wins include, Album of The Year, Male Artist of The Year, Single of The Year, and he is reigning CCMA Entertainer of the year, two years running.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Dallas to premiere his new single “Hide From A Broken Heart” exclusively on the 2021 CCMA Awards (11/29

• 2022 National headlining tour to be announced 11/22, in tandem with “Hide From A Broken Heart” single announce + pre-add/pre-save launch.

• 11 career country #1 singles and half a BILLION combined streams to date

• 5 CCMA Nominations (2021), including: Entertainer of the Year, Single of the Year, Fan’s

Choice, Album of the Year & Male Artist of the Year.

• 35 career CCNA Nominations and 11 CCMA wins, including: Entertainer of the Year (2020/2019), Top Selling Country Album (2020/2017), Male Artist of the Year (2019), Album of the Year (2017), and Single of the Year (2017).

• 5 JUNO Award Nominations & 2 JUNO Award wins, including the award for JUNO Country Album of the Year (Lifted).

• 3 Gold albums, 1B Gold singles and 4 Platinum singles (Music Canada)

• Dallas co-hosted the 2019 Canadian Country Music Awards with Billy Ray Cyrus.

• #1 Most Played solo Canadian Country artist of 2020 (MediaBase)

• The only Canadian Artist to have 22 consecutive Top 10 singles

• The most #1 songs by a Canadian Country artist ever, in the NielsenBDS era, surpassing Shania Twain.

• Past festival tour dates include Faster Horses, Watershed, Big Valley Jamboree, Country Thunder, Boots & Hearts, Calgary Stampede, Cavendish Music Fest

• Most recent headlining tour was “Friends Don’t Let Friends Tour Alone” (Fall 2019) with Dean Brody and MacKenzie Porter.

• 500,000 concert tickets sold as a country artist.

• Smith is the creator of the charitable organization, Lifted, which is a non-profit committed to ensuring mental health services are accessible to anyone in need.

SARA STORER AND JAMES BLUNDELL COLLABORATE FOR THE FIRST TIME ON A REMARKABLE NEW SONG

Today marks a very special release of a new single Sweet Dreams Way Out West from Sara Storer and James Blundell.

Written by Storer, the song title is a combination of two titles that will be familiar to fans. Says Storer of the inspiration behind the song, “Like me, James has a love of Australia, its characters and places. So, as I was preparing for when James and I team up to share the stage in Tamworth next year, I thought let’s give the audience a new song and let’s release it as a duet. The idea sounded great…now to write a song! After a few failed attempts I tried combining a song title from both our back catalogues. How would ‘Sweet Dreams Way Out West’ sound? It sounded like a good love song to me, and away my imagination went.”

It is remarkable to think, but this is the first time Storer and Blundell have collaborated on a song together. “I have been a fan of Sara’s since her debut album, Chasing Buffalo,” says Blundell. “She is one of our greatest songwriters. I love the fact that she is authentic and sings in her own voice. Through the years I have often thought about writing or recording with Sara so when she contacted me with her idea for a song I was on board straight away. I love the song with its romantic theme and infectious melody, and I am really looking forward to performing it on stage with her.”

Storer and Blundell are putting on a concert at the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January under the title of Sweet Dreams Way Out West celebrating the iconic songs of both award-winning artists. More tour dates are being planned for March-April 2022.

Further information about Sara Storer

Well known for her ability to tell an authentic story with the landscape and characters of Australia as inspiration, Sara has penned and recorded some of country music’s most loved and enduring songs. Tracks such as Buffalo Bill, Back Outback, Man Trap, Raining on the Plains, Beautiful Circle, Sweet Dreams, Come On Rain, and Raindance have kept audiences flocking to Sara’s shows for more than 20 years.

Further information about James Blundell

Although it was the hit single Way Out West that bought James to national prominence, it’s his amazing catalogue of original compositions that best tells the story of his musical journey since the release of his self-titled debut album in 1989. A prolific songwriter, James has released 14 albums during his career to date with hits and album favourites that include Kimberley Moon, The Blue Heeler, Hand It Down, This Road, Rain on a Tin Roof, Mysterious Ways, Ring Around The Moon and so many more. Acknowledged by many as the artist who single-handedly shaped modern Australian country music, James is more relevant today than ever.

A redefined version of the late Reg Lindsay’s classic 1978 Golden Guitar winning song for Male Artist of the Year, ‘Silence On The Line’ takes the version that Reg recorded, and more than three decades later, presents a superb collaboration of the original. New production and technical wizardry adds Jodie Crosby’s vocal as the long-suffering wife answering the phone call from her rodeoing husband, and offers something different for fans of both artists.

Reg Lindsay OAM

At the age of 21, Reg won the Tim McNamara Talent Quest in Sydney NSW, with the first prize bring a recording contract with the Rodeo Label. In 1955 Reg was invited on tour with Canadian singer Wilf Carter, before touring with his own show, including radio and recordings.

In 1965, Reg hosted the Country & Western Hour in Adelaide. A couple of years later, in 1968, he made his first trip to Nashville where he performed at the Grand Ole Opry, where he was presented with an Honorary Citizenship of Tennessee. His biggest hit was ‘Armstrong’ written by John Stewart. A film clip of the song is in the time capsule at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston.

In 1977 Reg hosted Country Homestead in Brisbane and continued touring, recording and doing his radio shows whilst traveling to the US promoting Australia while touring the States. He was a multi award winning artist, with gold and silver records, Logies, Golden Guitars, and many other citations.

Reg Lindsay was an international entertainer, recognised by CMA Nashville for continuous outstanding contribution to the Country Music Industry. Sadly, Reg passed away on August 5th 2008.

Jodie Crosby

Jodie Crosby is one half of the Golden Guitar winning and inaugural CMAA Independent Entertainers Of The Year, The Crosby Sisters. Jodie has also notched up a career as a solo artist, including #1 releases in both Australia and Europe.

The Crosby Sisters appeared as support acts for the likes of Charley Pride, Dr Hook and almost every big Australian star, and were the last independent act to tour with the Slim Dusty Show.

A long-time fan of Reg Lindsay, and having appeared on a number of shows with him in the past, Jodie jumped at the chance to be involved in the ‘Silence On The Line’ project. Her voice and tonality are the perfect match for Reg’s voice as the pair give new life to this classic country song.

Nashville based, Alabamian country artist Jackson Capps released his angsty yet nostalgic breakup song, “LAX” on August 6 2021, with his Australian Radio Premiere the same day.

That feeling of a first-love-lost is explored in “LAX” as it paints the picture of a long anticipated departure from LA after a bittersweet breakup. While country sensibilities are clearly evident with Capps’ classic tone, fiddle and slide guitar, “LAX” also channels the sounds of America with influences of Bruce Springsteen meets Ryan Adams, and melancholy Don Henley vibes.

“LAX” was co-written by Capps, Alex Tomlins and J.W. Faria, co-produced by Capps, Alex Tomlins and Jed Smith, performed by Capps’ Nashville live band, mixed by GRAMMY-award winner Brandon Bell, and mastered by Daniel Bacigalupi of Infrasonic Studios.

While many artists have been inspired by country music from a young age, Capps additionally had an once-in-a-lifetime experience at the age of 12 when Marty Stuart invited Capps on the Grand Ole Opry stage to perform with him. Determined to pursue his dream, he graduated high-school early to relocate to Nashville and has spent the last 3 years consistently writing and honing his live performance skills, performing 4-5 times a week with his six-piece band. In 2020 Capps released two singles with “Yesterday’s Makeup” charting at #83 on the Australian iTunes Country Charts.

Jackson’s single, “LAX” is now available to stream or download on all platforms.

Coming fresh off their recent hit Where Is The Love, Key Loch are bringing us another passionate single! Come Home To Me is a worthy successor to their emotional last single, and the beautiful tones of Avery May Parker’s voice combined with the smooth drums and gentle guitar will make you feel right at home.

Key Loch are Damien Reilly and Justin Gross. They are the founders of the 90’s power Aussie Rock Band Southpaw, which you can learn more about at www.southpawmuzik.com . They bring together a production history between them of 50 years of song writing and playing live music in Australia. And this time, the duo are featuring a third member to their killer ensemble, that being Avery May Parker! A sweet and soulful performance in every lyric, Avery’s voice and Key Loch’s expert playing guarantee that every time you listen to Come Home To Me, it’ll hit you right where it counts.

This track is an emotional story about a husband that has been sent off to war, with his wife pining for his return. “Come home to me”, come back alive, come back safe. It’s a heartfelt scenario that cuts deep and pulls no punches. Avery once again knocked it out of the park with her vocals, and alongside Damien and Justin’s incredible production, we think this one is bound to be a massive hit!

The cozy chord progressions and delicate lyrics will transport you homely times, to nostalgic times you once fondly lived through, and to happy times that are yet to come, or perhaps never will come and are bound to your imagination. The future is a mystery, however the passion presented in this song is a constant, one that cannot be altered, merely moulded to suit your idyllic preference. Key Loch are making a name for themselves in the music world with hits like this, and it’s only a matter of time before that name becomes a household one!