Australians Travel To Nashville For June Festivities

This June, a contingent of Australia's hottest Country artists will take part in the 2007 CMA Music Festival. These talented Aussies include: Morgan Evans, Adam Harvey, Briana Lee, Travis Collins, Troy Kemp, Mark O'Shea, and Beccy Cole.

The success these artists have achieved in Australia has earned them the opportunity to take part in this year's CMA Global Events. While in Nashville, several will collaborate with writers and producers to record songs for release in their home territories. CMA Music Festival will give these international artists an opportunity to reach American fans and to network with the Nashville music industry.

Rob Potts, of Australia's Entertainment Edge booking agency and events company ,and a CMA Board Member states, "It’s fantastic to see these Aussie artists performing at the CMA Music Festival. CMA’s support of Global Country Music is excellent." Potts will lead an Australian Delegation at the CMA Music Festival, which includes Telstra's Greg Swain; Peter "Skip" Beaumont-Edmonds of Cranium Management; Tim Daly of Country Music Channel Australia; Gayle Madill Editor of Country Update Magazine; Mary Olivieri of Venture Travel; Tim Holland the Label Manager of ABC Country; and Jen Carmody from Sony BMG.

The Australian artists will appear throughout the week at several different venues:

Morgan Evans and Travis Collins will perform at the CMA Global Artist Party on Monday, June 4th at The Stage on Lower Broadway at 6:15 PM, while Briana Lee, Troy Kemp, and Mark O'Shea will appear at the AristoMedia Global Acoustic Afternoon on Tuesday, June 5th at 2:30PM at Legends Corner.

Morgan Evans, as winner of the Telstra-Road To Tamworth talent competition, will appear with this years CMA Global Artist award winner Adam Harvey at the Greased Lightning® Riverfront Park on Saturday, June 9th as part of the Wide World of Country show.

Beccy Cole is not scheduled to perform, but will be leading a group of 70 Australians who will be attending the CMA Music Festival for the first time. Beccy is the hottest female Country Music artist in Australia. In January, Beccy’s hit single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)", earned her three Golden Guitars at Australia's most prestigious Country Music award show. All four of Beccy’s albums have been critically acclaimed and generated a string of hit singles. She has earned Gold Albums for Little Victories and Wild at Heart.

Several US-based Australians will perform on the festival stages. Catherine Britt will be performing on the Greased Lighting® Daytime Stages at Riverfront Park on Friday. On Thursday, Jedd Hughes will be appearing on the Chevy Plaza Stage and Kate Russell will be on the Crisco® Family Zone Stage.

Jeff Walker, President of AristoMedia and Chairman of the CMA Global Markets Committee comments, "It is wonderful to have such representation from Australia. The diversity of talent that these artists represent reflect very positive growth for country music in that territory. I am sure the Nashville community will roll out the red carpet for our visitors from down under."

"It is a pleasure to spotlight the success of the Australian Country Music industry by including several of their artists in CMA Music Festival activities," said Bobbi Boyce, CMA Director of International. "We look forward to welcoming them to Nashville in June."

Expatriate Australian and Nashville resident Mark Moffatt will serve as Music Coordinator for both the Global Artist Party and the AristoMedia Global Acoustic Afternoon.

Gibson Guitar and Diamond will Co-sponsor the CMA Global Artist Party while CMA and Diamond Coach sponsor the AristoMedia Global Acoustic Afternoon.


Artist Information:

Morgan Evans: Newcastle-based singer, songwriter and guitarist Morgan Evans has experienced nine years of relentless gigging, writing, and recording. This energetic and talented performer, at only 21, has made major waves in Australian Music with his 3-piece rock band SOLVER and as a solo performer. In January 2007, Morgan won the Telstra Road To Tamworth Competition ahead of 600 other contestants. This earned him a trip to Nashville to perform showcases and record his debut single for release in August. He will also make a music video to be aired on the Country Music Channel.

Travis Collins: Travis Collins was selected by the Commercial Radio Association of Australia to represent Country Music at their annual convention. At 22, Travis has already had two #1 hits on the Country Music Channel charts in Australia, with his single "I Was Wrong" and the title track of his debut album, Start the Car. His latest single, "Full Tank" was a Top 5 hit on The Country Tracks Charts. He recently became a winner at the Victorian and National Country Music Awards capturing the 2007 Trailblazers Heritage Award. He was also a 2007 Golden Guitar finalist for Male Artist of the Year and Instrumental of the Year.

Briana Lee: At age 19, Briana Lee has already achieved what many performers work a lifetime to accomplish. Recent winner of the Trans-Tasman Entertainer of the Year (May 2006), Briana took the prize from a field of Australian and New Zealand Country artists who themselves had won rigorous state and regional competitions. Briana, a singer/songwriter from Shepparton Victoria, composed her own winning tunes and is a songwriter whose lyrics and melodies are startlingly mature. Most recently Briana took the Songwriters award in the Telstra Road to Tamworth competition at the Tamworth Country Music Festival.

Troy Kemp: Accomplished singer/songwriter Troy Kemp is based out of Newcastle, NSW, Australia. Showcasing an acoustically driven catalog of Country rock songs, Troy Kemp has become popular among the Sydney Music Scene. Troy has been featured on various television programs and magazines in Australia. In 2006, Kemp qualified as one of the finalists in The Toyota Star Maker contest at The Tamworth Country Music Festival, an event that has been a launching pad for some of Australia's most successful artists.

Mark O'Shea: At age 18, Mark O'Shea released his debut album, None Of The Above. The album yielded a #1 hit in Australia with "World Weary Heart" along with a string of top five singles. The album led Mark to win 2 Golden Guitars (Australian Country Music's highest accolade) for Best New Talent and Video of the Year. Aside from his music, Mark has had several high profile acting roles. At age 22, he formed a band, ZINC, which relocated to LA where they wrote and recorded with hit producers Mark Hudson (Aerosmith and Ringo Star), Wally Gagel (Rolling Stones), and Eric Foster White (N'sync and Britney Spears). Mark co-wrote every track on the band's debut album, "MAKINGSENSEOFMADNESS." The album landed three singles in the ARIA charts, including the pop hit, "The Morning After." Mark is currently working on his new solo project.

Adam Harvey: Adam Harvey has won six Golden Guitars (in Tamworth), earned four Gold Records through ABC Music, toured the UK and Canada and is a regular visitor to Nashville. In January 2006, Adam was appointed Ambassador to The Telstra Road To Tamworth. He has spent a lot of time in support of this initiative, including traveling to Nashville for the 2006 CMA Music Festival along with former Telstra winners, Nick Kingswell (Grand Final Winner) and Kirsty Lee Akers (winner of the inaugural TRTT Songwriters Encouragement Award). Adam will once again accompany the winners as ambassador for the Telstra Road To Tamworth. 2007 will see Adam’s debut release for Sony BMG.


For more information, photos, or interview requests, please contact AristoMedia at (615) 269-7071 or publicity@aristomedia.com

For more information on CMA Music Festival, contact Scott Stem at CMA at (615) 244-2840