The 2010 Americana Music Festival and Conference welcomed its first-ever lineup of Australian acts to this year’s event, garnering positive reviews from fans and industry attendees alike.
This year’s conference, held in mid-September, featured a number of events specifically geared towards spotlighting Aussie superstars Troy Cassar-Daley, Tommy Emmanuel and Sara Storer, as well as up-and-coming stars and winners of the 2010 Telstra Road to Tamworth contest, Luke Webb and Tenielle Musulin. The two young singer-songwriters are the first Australian acts to come to the AMA Conference as part of a newly created "musical ambassador" exchange program between the Americana Music Association and Australia’s Telstra Road To Tamworth competition.
"The exchange of talent between Australia and America is an important step in bringing this music to an even more diverse spectrum of listeners," says AMA Executive Director Jed Hilly. "The Aussies were very well-received at our conference and showcases last week, and we’re looking forward to a long tradition of exchanging music and ideas with our friends Down Under. This year was a great success."
The week’s worth of Aussie activities, sponsored by Sounds Australia, kicked off with an intimate evening of performances at Nashville’s legendary Bluebird Café. 8 Ball Aitken, Greg Arnold, Cassar-Daley, Storer, and Musulin and Webb (performing as a duo) treated the attentive crowd to more than two hours of stripped-down Australian roots music.
Australia’s music scene was the focus of the "What’s Up Down Under?" panel, as a host of industry experts discussed the current state of Americana music and its similarities to the Country music genre in Australia. Panelists included artist Corb Lund, Tommy Emmanuel manager, Gina Mendello, Grammy-nominated producer Mark Moffatt, Sounds Australia executive and Bushwackers founder Dobe Newton and A&R pro for Australia’s Mushroom Music Publishing, Bill Page. AristoMedia’s Jeff Walker was on hand to moderate the session.
Downtown venue and honkytonk landmark, The Second Fiddle, hosted an Aussie luncheon for Americana conference attendees. In addition to Cassar-Daley, Storer, Musulin and Webb, Tommy Emmanuel wowed the packed house with his world-class acoustic guitar skills. Following the Americana Honors and Awards ceremony Thursday night, Emmanuel performed a showcase set to another enthusiastic audience at The Rutledge.
"Watching Tommy Emmanuel, you realize that you are watching one of the greatest masters of our time on guitar," said 650AM WSM Program Director Joe Limardi, who interviewed Emmanuel on the legendary radio station and hosted the showcases at The Rutledge Thursday night. "A generation ago, there was Chet Atkins doing amazing things on a guitar; today the world has Tommy Emmanuel entertaining a whole new generation. It was really amazing to see all the people in the audience with their mouths dropped open. The crowd loved it."
Storer’s showcase took place Friday night at Nashville’s revered bluegrass venue, The Station Inn, and Cassar-Daley impressed a packed crowd on Saturday night at The Rutledge, including CMT’s Craig Shelburne, who listed the performance on CMT.com as one of his "Ten Favorite Americana Music Festival Moments."
"One of my Australian friends says that Troy Cassar-Daley may be the top Country star [in Australia] right now, and I can see why," wrote Shelburne. "His 45-minute set sounded like he drew from a Greatest Hits collection, because every song struck me as a potential single in the U.S. His stories were brief and engaging, but his original songs, which are rooted in classic Country, stuck with me all night."
Sounds Australia Americana Manager Dobe Newton summed up the success of the Australian artists’ debut at this year’s Americana Music Festival and Conference.
"Sounds Australia's first 'official' involvement in the AMA conference was everything we'd hoped for," said Newton. "Our showcase artists got a great reception and made lots of new friends, as did the Telstra Road To Tamworth winners and the other Aussie artists who appeared at our special shows at The Bluebird Café and The Second Fiddle. We can’t wait to get back next year!"
To learn more about the Americana Music Association, visit www.AmericanaMusic.org. To learn more about Sounds Australia, visit www.apra-amcos.com.au/musiccreators/soundsaustralia.aspx.
