Peter McWhirter was barely out of his teens when he penned the opening track of this debut album Lucky As A Seven, and debut single ‘Humm’, which raced straight to the top of the country music video charts.  The album is released on September 10.

Now with a string of tunes ready for release, the 20-year-old has his sights set on the world with Lucky As A Seven, and is set to take on the music scene with his own unique signature of mainstream country.

Lucky As A Seven is an eclectic mix of songs, steeped in country and blues and infused with threads of indie pop. From the uplifting current single ‘I Will Stand By You’, about never giving up, to the more bluesy ‘Ain't as Easy As It Looks’, McWhirter has firmly established his own style.

"It's mixing a whole lot of different ideas in the music spectrum from rock, folk, country, blues and bringing it all together into one," McWhirter says.

 The musical blend – recorded and produced in Nashville with Grammy nominated Australian producer Mark Moffatt (Keith Urban, Tim Finn, Nick Cave, Jasmine Rae) – comes out of McWhirter's upbringing on the outskirts of Sydney in Campbelltown where he discovered his musical abilities at age ten, when he clutched his first guitar.

McWhirter is appearing at CMC Rocks North Queensland on September 25 and is touring with Canadian superstar Corb Lund throughout September/October in support of Lucky As A Seven’s release.

PETER McWHIRTER TOUR DATES

10 September – Album Launch @ Club Lounge, Campbelltown Catholic Club, NSW
12 September – Lounge Bar, Penrith RSL Club, NSW
24 September – Atherton International Club, QLD (w/ Corb Lund)
25 September – CMC Rocks Nth Qld, Townsville (w/ Tim McGraw, Steve Forde, Corb Lund, Jasmine Rae, Busby Marou)
26 September – Pioneer Village Country Music Club, Petrie QLD (w/ Corb Lund)
28 September – Hallam Hotel, VIC (w/ Corb Lund)
29 September – Bairnsdale RSL Club, VIC (w/ Corb Lund)
2 October – Young Services Club, NSW (w/ Corb Lund)
3 October – PJ O’Reillys, Tuggeranong, ACT (w/ Corb Lund)
4 October – Yass Soldiers Club, NSW (w/ Corb Lund)
6 October – Hexham Bowling Club, NSW (w/ Corb Lund)
7 October – Davistown RSL Club, NSW (w/ Corb Lund)
8 October – Rooty Hill RSL Club, NSW (w/ Corb Lund)
9 October – Club Lounge, Campbelltown Catholic Club, NSW

It was one for the record books when the final list of nominees for The 44^th Annual CMA Awards were announced today with fresh faces layered throughout the field of finalists vying for a coveted crystal trophy on what they call "Country Music's Biggest Night." 

Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood and broadcast live in Australia on CMC from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville at midday on Thurdsay November 11.  When the final nominations were tallied, Miranda Lambert led the list of finalists with nine nominations - the most for any female artist in the history of the CMA Awards. Alan Jackson received 10 nominations in 2002. Prior to that, Merle Haggard held the record with nine in 1970. 

Lambert received nominations for Entertainer; Female Vocalist; Album for Revolution; two for Single, 'The House That Built Me' and 'White Liar' Song for 'White Liar,' which she wrote with Natalie Hemby; Musical Event, for 'Bad Angel' with Dierks Bentley and Jamey Johnson; and two for Music Video of the Year for 'The House That Built Me' directed by Trey Fanjoy, and 'White Liar' directed by Chris Hicky. Lady Antebellum garnered the second highest number of CMA Awards nominations with five including Entertainer of the Year. Third on the list of nominees was Zac Brown Band and Blake Shelton with four nominations. 

In a major surprise, 2009 Entertainer of the Year and 2010 Grammy Album of the Year winner Taylor Swift was not nominated for the Entertainer of the Year award this time around.

Australia's Keith Urban received two nominations for Entertainer and Male Vocalist of the Year. Urban won Entertainer in 2005 and Male Vocalist of the Year three times (2004, 2005, and 2006).  The CMA Awards nominees and winners are determined by the 6,000 industry professional members of CMA. They include international voters. 

Click Here To See The Full List of 2010 CMA Awards Nominees

Check out Taylor Swift's brand new music video 'Mine' from the new album Speak Out.

Toby Kieth, Billboard's #1 Country Artist of the Decade and #1 Country Songwriter of the Decade as about to release a new album. The singer/songwriter/entertainer's 15th full-length studio album Bullets In The Gun will be available as a Deluxe Edition in October with four live tracks being added to the standard album

Recorded during his "Incognito Bandito" show at The Fillmore in Manhattan, the four songs feature Keith on lead vocals backed by an A-list band of session players assembled exclusively for the rare club performance. Johnny Paycheck's '11 Months And 29 Days,' Waylon Jennings' 'I've Been A Long Time Leaving (But I'll Be A Long Time Gone),' Roger Miller's 'Chug-A-Lug' and Gordon Lightfoot's 'Sundown' are the additions

Those recordings bring the Deluxe Edition's track list to 14. Keith produced the album, joined by Mills Logan and Kenny Greenberg for the live session. He also wrote or co-wrote all 10 new songs, six with Bobby Pinson, one with Scotty Emerick and Dean Dillon and the title track with Rivers Rutherford. Toby also wrote two songs by himself, including the lead single 'Trailerhood'.

As the new single and album attest, Toby Keith may be the longest-tenured self-contained hit machine in country music history. He wrote his first single and No. 1 smash "Should've Been A Cowboy" in 1993 and has been the central creative force behind the vast majority of his biggest hits since. His American Ride Tour, presented by Ford F-Series (his eighth-consecutive year as the "Ford Truck Man"), continues to play for standing-room-only arenas and will reach more fans this year than it did in 2009. 

In fact, 2010 has been a milestone year already. Toby performed on the prestigious Boston Pops 4th of July Spectacular, which drew more than a half-million Americans in person and millions more to the CBS telecast. He's featured in this year's edition of the Forbes Celebrity 100 annual ranking of the most powerful celebrities in entertainment, sports and publishing. And he's currently featured on the cover of People Country

Complete track Listing: 1. Bullets In The Gun 2. Somewhere Else 3. Trailerhood 4. In A Couple Of Days 5. Think About You All Of The Time 6. Kissin' In The Rain. 7. Drive It On Home 8. Ain't Breakin' Nothin' 9. Is That All You Got 10. Get Out Of My Car

Deluxe Edition Tracks: 11. Months And 29 Days 12. I've Been A Long Time Leaving (But I'll Be A Long Time Gone) 13. Chug-A-Lug 14. Sundown

2010 Starmaker winner Luke Austen has today releases his debut album Light Of Day through Compass Bros Records. It was produced by Graham Thompson.

Check out the album's debut single 'She's So You' below...  

Australia's king of country, Lee Kernaghan has released the third single from his latest hit album, Planet Country.

'Love In The Time Of Drought' is love song is about a man, who when he is just about to lose everything, re-gains his heart and a reason to hope.

In Kernaghan's own words…

“We were approaching the end of the album recording and I felt something was missing on this record. I couldn’t tell exactly what it was but late one night toward the end of tracking I sat down at the piano and the music descended from somewhere out there. The title is based on one of my favourite novels by Gabriel Garcia Marquez who had written Love in the time of Cholera. Garth Porter burnt the midnight oil and came through with some beautiful song writing. Glenn Hannah played the slide solo and Robyn McKelvie joined Wes Hightower on the backing vocals.”

Check out the new music video below...

Adam Harvey will release his first greatest hits collection on August 20 through Sony Music.

Best So Far is a collection of Harvey's favourite tracks spanning his career, plus two new songs. He will also release a DVD in August, entitled Best So Far, which will include many of his currently unavailable music videos, a brand new video for his new song Better Than This, as well as interview footage and a candid documentary of Adam throughout his career.

Harvey won his first Golden Guitar with Tanya Self in 1998. In a career spanning more than a decade, he has gone from strength to strength, winning seven Golden Guitars, receiving the Global Artist Award in Nashville, and being invited to perform at the Grand Ole Opry Ryman Auditorium

Adam Harvey's brand new single, 'Better Than This', has now been released. It's a track Harvey wrote specially for this album; “I have the best job in the world, and I’m very grateful – its just doesn’t get any better than this!”

Another act flying the flag for Australian country in the US right now is husband and wife duo O'Shea.

Last year they gained prominence on the cable TV show Can You Duet and they have recently supported Phil Vassar on tour.

O'Shea have just released a new single in Australia titled 'Old School'. Check it out below...

Following a triumphant debut voyage to Australia earlier this year, multiple-CCMA and Juno Award winners, Doc Walker, are returning here again in  January 2011, for three shows only! The first show is a one-off event at the Tamworth Country Music Festival, followed by a concert in Brisbane and another in Sydney.

“We had such an incredible time in Australia”, said Doc Walker’s Chris Thornsteinson. “The way we were embraced by the Aussie crowds is unlike anything we’ve experienced outside of Canada. We can’t wait to get back!”

Doc Walker’s 2010 Australian Tour kicked off at CMC Rocks the Snowys Festival in Thredbo, followed by dates around NSW and QLD with Texan country-rocker, Jack Ingram, and our own Steve Forde. With their soaring harmonies, tight band interplay and easy-rockin’ country sound, the Canadian trio won over crowds around the country, making many new fans who are clamouring for them to return.

Their new album, Go, debuted at #12 on the ARIA Country Chart earlier this year and their current single, 'I’m Gonna Make You Love Me', just topped the Canadian video charts and features footage from their first Australian trip.

It was just announced that Doc Walker received nine nominations for the 2010 CCMA Awards, including Album, Single and Group of the Year.

The Doc Walker 2011 Australian Tour will kick off at the Tamworth Country Music Festival, after which you can catch them at Brisbane’s Pioneer Village Country Music Club and Sydney’s Rooty Hill RSL Club.

Special Guest on the Tamworth and Sydney shows is ABC Music recording artist, Peter McWhirter, the energetic country-rocker whose debut album, Lucky As A Seven, recorded in Nashville, is due out on September 10. Queensland country-folk duo, Busby Marou, will perform on the Brisbane show. 

DOC WALKER AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES 
Saturday January 22 – Blazes Showroom @ Wests, Tamworth
Sunday January 23 – Pioneer Village Country Music Club, Petrie
Tuesday January 25 – Rooty Hill RSL Club, Sydney

In a great boost for the local industry, Sony Music Entertainment has announced its new association with new Country Music label ‘Core Music’. Core Music is headed and owned by producer Rod McCormack.

Supported by the team at Sony Music Entertainment, the infant label already boasts the likes of Gina Jeffreys and Beccy Cole. Core Music say they will continue to acquire established artists, as well as signing and releasing emerging talent.

“I’m excited about the new label and look forward to giving some of our great artists, both established and emerging, a new home and the support they deserve” said Rod McCormack.

Sony Music Entertainment Australia boss Denis Handlin said, “We are looking forward to expanding our local roster of Australian talent through our new association with Core Music”.

Core Music will release the new album from Beccy Cole titled Pre-Loved on September 3, and the previously independently released, Old Paint from Gina Jeffreys on September 17.