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Jan - April 2008 HEADLINES:- Welcome to 2008!,.. it's absolutely zipping past, thanks for all the emails and letters and keeping in touch. The head and the heart have taken a bit of a battering of late, but it's said 'that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger' & stronger I shall be! Lots of nice news for you this month, so stay tuned! INDUCTION INTO THE AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY MUSIC 'HANDS OF FAME:- I was very surprised and honoured to be one of the 2008 Inductees to the Tamworth 'Hands of Fame' at the Tamworth Country Music Festival this year. It meant getting our hand 'immortalised' in concrete in the Hands of Fame Cornerstone at the 'Hands of Fame Park' on Australia Day along with five other inductees Mick Antonio, Kevin Knapp, Jim Muir, Wally Sparrow & Warren H Williams. I thought it was just nice enough to sing at the 'Roll of Renown' Concert,.. but as you can imagine the surprise induction was the icing on the cake. Due to having to do a late gig at the Illawarra Folk Festival the night before, I was forced to do an overnight drive from Wollongong to Tamworth to attend rehearsals etc (baby & all!,.. not that he minded, he slept all the way!), and after such an effort I must say this award was indeed heartwarming. MARTIN LOUIS WINS AUSTRALIAN BANJO CHAMPIONSHIP:- Our successful week at the Tamworth Country Music Festival continued with Martin (aka my hubby!) winning the Australian National Banjo Championship (for the third time!!) in a field that included the top players in Australia. The contest was judged by Australia's best Bluegrass musicians who also performed a blistering set of bluegrass before the judging. As the Championships were sponsored by Fender, the prize was a fantastic Acoustic Amplifier (of which William has delighted in playing with all the knobs!) 2007 IAMA PRIZE:- Another wonderful surprise this month for me was not a Win, but a 'Runner Up' position in the 'Country/Bluegrass' Section of the International Acoustic Music Awards', a competition that is run worldwide specifically for acoustic performers. The winner was well-known USA Artist Randy Kohrs, and unlike many competitions these days which are run for 'glory' and not much else, this one actually comes with a prize including cash, strings, a Management & Consulting Evaluation and other good stuff! The competition promotes excellence in Acoustic Music Performance and Artistry and judging is based on excellence in performance, production, songwriting or song choice etc and as well as the prize, I was named as a Top 10 Finalist in the 'Best Female Artist' Section. Not bad for a little known indie from downunder! NEW 'SINGLES' ALBUM RELEASED TO RAVE REVIEWS: - The latest album (a compilation album of many of my radio singles over the years) is out there and has gone down a 'storm'!,.. any Media personnel, Djs etc that haven't yet dared to add a Karen Lynne CD to their collection should contact me immediately and I'll organise it. 2ND MOST POPULAR NO.1 SINGLE IN UK/EUROPE:- ...And while I'm on the subject of 'Singles', I should let you know that Frank Ifield reports that the numbers have been crunched & my winning single 'Blue Mountain Rain' (released last year in UK & Europe in conjunction with my 'International Spur Award') officially stands as the Second most popular & played Number 1 single in 2007,.... not bad for a little Aussie bluegrass tune, hey! After an enjoyable night performing at the Canterbury Country show in Sydney to 'hand the batton on' to the 2008 winner, Kirsty Lee Ackers, it was a lovely piece of news to be told & made the long drive home all the nicer! SECOND 'DUET' ALBUM DUE FOR RELEASE JULY 2008 :- More good news from myself and long time duo partner Pat Drummond,.. we've actually done it!, Yes indeed, we have finally stopped talking about it and are about to release our second duet album 'Long Journey Home'. It's been many years since our first joint album 'Six Days in December' album hit the streets in 2000 and far too long to wait for a follow-up, but it's finally here. Most performers go through many different phases in their 'evolution' as artists and we both realise that circumstances in both of our lives have meant that we will not be able to tour like we have done in the past so instead of moping about it we think it's time to 'celebrate' our ten years singing & touring together and this album is just that. It contains many of the songs that we sing in our shows and whilst some songs are tracks from Pat's past solo albums, the duet versions of these songs are very different. We will of course be doing a little touring together to promote the new album, where we can manage it, so please don't miss us if we are visiting your town. If you'd like a copy to promote, play, review etc etc ORDER NOW!!! FIFTH 'CHANGES' SINGLE HITS RADIO:- April 2008 brings the release of the fifth & final Radio Single from my beautiful 'Changes' album, truly my best album to date, released in Australia on NFS 121. Its an original (co-written with Richard Porteous) and rather snappy little number called 'Blue Mountain Rain', to remind us all what good bluegrass music is about. Please give it a spin if you can, it's already been a certified Number 1 on the UK/Europe chart,.. let's see if Oz Radio can give me the same support! TAMWORTH 2008 & OTHER GIG NEWS:- Thanks for everyone who came to visit our shows in Tamworth,.. it is really important to support the indies at this festival as, let's face it, we do all the real hard work. More and more the major artists seem to just swan in and do their one big concert,.. and then with money bags under their hats, swan out again!,... not us,.. we are in for the long haul,.. we do gigs day in, day out, under not always the best conditions, sweltering in the heat and the rest, what would this festival be without the likes of artists such as us' Amazingly, the weather was unseasonally comfortable!',.. for the major part of the festival, the best weather I've experienced in 23 years! Sorry about the cancellation of our trip to WA & Nannup festival. It's a sad day indeed when an artist has to cancel a gig but losing some of our gigs made the costs simply well outweigh the fees, don't worry, we are trying to rearrange this trip for 2009 - any help with promoters, venues, organisers etc would be appreciated. Apologies for not making the 'Shoestring Christmas Event', as little William was sick (I must admit after watching the horrendous weather unfold that day, I wasn't so disappointed!) and also for not being to do a guest spot at the Bluegrass Championships as hoped, they just ran out of time. Please catch up with us if we are passing your town. TIDBITS & THANKS:- thanks to all those Djs who spun my little sad winter ballad 'The Healing Kind', it enjoyed many weeks wandering through the Top 30, so thanks for the support. Thanks to Pat Drummond, Andrew Clermont, Sam Smythe, Carter & Carter, Rod McCormack, Bruce Howat, Joan Douglas, Marilyn Morgan, Bill Arnett, Davidson Brothers, Cheryl Byrnes, Bob Howe for all the gigs, Val, Tracey and my Dad for the babysitting & Accommodation - we couldn't have got through Tamworth without you. Thanks to Festival Fm, Jill Cameron, Wayne Brennan, Louise Maher, Virginia Jones & Bonita Brown for all the interviews and assistance,.. again we couldn't do what we do without you. Thankyou Nicki Gillis for the shoes!! (don't ask!),...I've have a few Djs tell me their Radio Stations read out artist 'Gig Guides' regularly, please let me know if this happens at your station & where to send my gig guide details to. Also If your Radio Station welcomes Artist gig Posters to brighten up it's walls, just let me know and I'll send some! Thanks for all your emailed jokes, Picture funnies, Ecards etc, but please DON'T send me the fancy powerpoint presentations (.pps files) as I can't open them and they take up a lot of download time,.. anyway,.......Lots of Love!,..
Karen Lynne
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