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Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Organisers pull out stops for record numbers
Ngarangi Sadlier, of Lower Hutt, auditions for the Singer/Songwriter category of the New Zealand Gold Guitar Awards in Gore on Friday. She eventually won the Gospel category. PHOTO: ELLA SCOTT-FLEMING As record number of contestants converged on Gore for the New Zealand Gold Guitar Awards, organisers put systems in place to handle the churn of more than 800 musical entries. The auditioning process for the awards began across five venues on Friday and convener Philip Geary said their systems for handling this year's 829 entries were reasonably good, but could be better. Given the growth of the awards, Mr Geary said the awards committee was engaging a software writer to create a new program to help organise the contestants, judges' scores and the winners in each of the 31 categories. "[Something] that should just spit everything out, and all we need to do is look at it and confirm it, and that's it," he said. Having worked the awards for 30 years, this was not Mr Geary's first rodeo and he and the other organisers made sure the stage and setup were the same across the auditioning spaces to keep the competition regulated. Gore Country Music Club music committee convener Laurel Turnbull said due to the record number of entries they had engaged all four venues for the auditions as well as added an extra van to act as a courtesy coach between venues. The 12 judges were distributed between the Gore RSA, Gore Town & Country Club, Gore Baptist Church and Calvin Community Church for auditions, but came together at the club for the finals on Saturday and Sunday nights.
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Rapid rise to top for Gold Guitar winner
New Zealand country music has a new star — with an English accent, an assertive performance style, and whose smoky and evocative tone fills a stadium with ease. Gore Town & Country Club was packed to the rafters on Sunday night as 1100 people watched the best country musicians from near and far competing at the MLT Gold Guitar Awards senior finals. The judges had their work cut out for them, as the high-quality entrants brought their A-game to the show. The hour was late, but the audience sat in anticipation as the big moment arrived — the crowning of country music royalty. Lawrence musician Keily Smith, after resounding performances in the country rock and New Zealand song sections, won the Gold Guitar for her song in the new country category. Following her big win, Mrs Smith said she felt a mix of joy and exhaustion after such a big night with a late finish. 'I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. There was such a plethora of talent here this evening, it was anyone's game. "I'm just so thrilled to have shared the experience with the other artists, and I'm ready for a nap," she said, laughing. County Durham in England, where Mrs Smith is from originally, is not known for its country music, but the musician grew up listening to the greats her mum would play for her. Listening to Mrs Smith, you would assume she was a seasoned veteran of the art, but she began her music journey only three years ago. Her smokey and powerful voice, alongside her energetic stage presence, made her a standout among standouts. Mrs Smith said it was only the start. "I'm going to use the resources, going to make sure I'm a good advocate for country music and other musicians, and Gore Country Music Club. "It's really going to get me going with releasing a single at the end of the year, hopefully with the songs I've been writing," she said. Runner-up Simon Thompson, of Invercargill, was overcome with emotion as he accepted several awards for his performances. He also won the male vocal solo award. Mr Thompson said the wins showed his hard work had been paying off. "I was just stunned. Even now I'm completely speechless. "Everyone in this room is a winner and to be called up, to be given that, it feels like I do belong and I am good enough," he said. MLT Gold Guitar Awards convener Phillip Geary said the night was one to be remembered, and the winner was a fantastic ambassador for the awards, and country music. "It's just another great milestone; it's a continuation of the jouney. The quality is as high as it's ever been, "[Keily Smith] represents very well, she's a very worthy winner. If she goes on from here, takes advantage of the prize package, we'll be really proud of her," he said.
Otago Daily Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Awards organisers pull out stops for record numbers
As a record number of contestants swarm Gore for the Gold Guitar Awards, organisers say they have systems, and added venues and vehicles, in place to handle the churn of more than 800 musical entries this year. The auditioning process for the Gold Guitars began across five venues yesterday and convener Philip Geary said their systems for handling this year's 829 entries were reasonably good, but could be better. Given the growth of the awards, Mr Geary said the awards committee was engaging a software writer to create a new program to help organise the contestants, judges' scores and the winners in each of the 31 categories. "[Something] that should just spit everything out, and all we need to do is look at it and confirm it, and that's it," he said. Having worked the awards for 30 years, this was not Mr Geary's first rodeo and he and the other organisers made sure the stage and setup were the same across the auditioning spaces to keep the competition regulated. "We're just trying to create the same environment of what they would do at the finals anyway, so that everybody's on the same level playing field," he said. Gore Country Music Club music committee convener Laurel Turnbull said due to the record number of entries they had engaged all four venues for the auditions as well as added an extra van to act as a courtesy coach between venues. The 12 judges were distributed between the Gore RSA, Gore Town & Country Club, Gore Baptist Church and Calvin Community Church for auditions, but would come together at the club for the finals on Saturday and Sunday nights. Invercargill-raised and Dunedin-based musician Holly Muirhead, 21, who said she had first entered the contest when she was 13, said the competition was massive this year. "When I was back in [the] intermediate [section] there were a lot less contestants and now it's like every class is 50 people," she said. "I don't know how the judges do it." She said the competition had been growing gradually every year and it was nice to see so many new faces in the songwriter and senior (or classic) sections. Mr Geary said the competition's growth, particularly in the younger, intermediate section, happened about 10 to 15 years ago with the rise in popularity of country rock, such as Taylor Swift. "I think it was three years ago [the intermediate section] increased by 30%, which is great, which is big," he said. Ms Muirhead said she agreed with the Taylor Swift effect and said it was the American star's crossover between country and pop which attracted new audiences. She said another of her favourites, five-time Grammy Award nominee Kelsea Ballerini, succeeded in that crossover space. The Dunedin singer/songwriter auditioned with her original song 60 Years about her grandparents' anniversary.
Otago Daily Times
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Country music festival offers a week of activities
On the lineup for the Tussock Country Music Festival includes the NZ Highwaymen. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Singing in the street and designing and eating "Southland sushi" — the Tussock Country Music Festival has it all. The festival will start tonight with late-night shopping in Gore, a children's disco and then a glitzy country music honours night at the St James Theatre. From then, it will be all systems go through to the Gold Guitar Awards next weekend, with record entries in what is its 50th year. The awards celebrate all that is good with country music — a genre which has been enjoying a renaissance. Gore Country Music Club president Julie Mitchell previously told the Otago Daily Times the awards had come a long way from the 33 entries when they first started. This year, there were 829 entries, up 100 on last year. She also acknowledged the boom in the genre worldwide as a catalyst for a rapidly increasing appetite for the festival. NZ Gold Guitar Awards committee convener Phillip Geary said gradually over the past 10 years, and particularly in the last three or four, country music had skyrocketed — to the competition's benefit. In particular, he had noticed a "big increase" in the intermediate section, which covers the 13-18 age range. The awards had changed their image over the years, he said. "Originally it was 'country and western', and we deliberately keep the word 'western' out of it now," he said. "Western just goes back to the cowboy image, I think." The top award at tonight's country music honours will be the Apra Best Country Music Song award. The finalists are: 5432 written and performed by Mel Parsons; Blue Dreams written and performed by Holly Arrowsmith; and Borrow My Boots written and performed by Tami Neilson, Ashley McBryde and Shelly Fairchild, featuring Grace Bowers. Parsons won the MLT Songwriting Award last year with Hardest Thing. Neilson will perform tonight. The big show tonight will start 10 days of entertainment. There will be a bit of everything on offer, including a cheese roll workshop, line dancing for beginners and busking for all ages.
Otago Daily Times
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Hands of Fame now steel-clad, ready for festival
The refurbished Hands of Fame statue arrived in Gore just in time for Bayleys Tussock Country music festival this weekend. PHOTO: ELLA SCOTT-FLEMING Gore's country music honouring Hands of Fame statue has had a makeover and is back looking shiny and new, just in time for Bayleys Tussock Country music festival this weekend. The 7.5m Hands of Fame statue, erected by the Gore Country Music Club, was re-installed on Tuesday morning, much to the relief of club president Julie Mitchell. She said the new, improved statue was supposed to be done by the end of April and as the Tussock Country music festival crept closer and closer she was beginning to get nervous. The new, steel-clad statue was worth the wait, she said, and she hoped it would now stand tall for another 20 years. When the statue was removed for refurbishment back in March, Gold Guitar Awards convener Phillip Geary said the grouting on tile-covered statue was cracking, letting in water that was freezing during the Southland winter. This process caused quite a few of the tiles to become dislodged, he said. The tiles were removed by Custom Build and replaced with a metal facade. The paint work on the steel was done by Beatties Collision Repair Centre in Gore. Mrs Mitchell said the makeover cost of about $30,000 was paid for by the club in anticipation of this years' festival and the Gold Guitars. It is anticipated that the awards and the festival this year will attract more visitors to Gore than any previous year. The statue was erected by the club in 2004, to honour those who have made significant contribution to New Zealand country music.
