Canadian country/rock group Doc Walker have returned to Canada following their succesful tour of Australia last week. Fans in Thredbo, Sydney, Orange, Tamworth, Toowoomba and Brisbane responded fantastically to the band's performances.

Each night fans where so blown away Doc Walker’s set that they flocked to the merchandise desk to buy Doc Walker albums – contributing significantly to their #12 debut spot on the ARIA Country sales chart last weekend for their new album Go.

New HitCountry.TV channel host Jasmine Rae spoke with the group during the CMC Rocks The Snowys festival about their Australian trip and the new album. 

Check out the interview below...

Brisbane singer, songwriter and musician Brendan Radford heads the list of finalists for this year’s Queensland Country Music Awards, scoring a berth in four categories. He is a finalist for the Male Vocalist, Bush Ballad/Heritage, Instrumental and Vocal Collaboration categories – the last of them with Casey Watt.

Up and comer Harmony James, has made the finals in three categories: Female Vocalist, Bush Ballad/Heritage and Vocal Collaboration (with The Flood’s Kevin Bennett).

Artists who received two finals nominations include Shea Fisher (picutured), Troy Cassar-Daley, Dean Perrett, Jayson Watkins, The Bobkatz and The Smokin’ Crawdads.

Other major Australian stars are featured in the list of finalists include Lee Kernaghan, Adam Brand, James Blundell and Tania Kernaghan.

The 2010 Queensland Country Music Awards will be presented on Friday, 30 April as part of the Charters Towers Country Music Festival.

The Charters Towers Country Music Festival will take place over the Queensland May Day long weekend, from Friday, 30 April to Sunday, 2 May.

Teen pop queen Miley Cyrus is scared to make country music, claiming the genre is "contrived".

In an interview for Parade.com she states...

“It scares me, that’s why. It feels contrived on so many levels. Unless you’re wearing a cowboy hat and cowboy boots and singing and whining about your girlfriend or boyfriend leaving you it’s not going to sell. I think that’s why my dad finally got out of it. You have to wear those cowboy boots and be sweet as pie. It makes me nervous, the politics of it all." 

We can't totally agree with everything Miley has said here. Yes, the business is political (like all professional industries) but very few artists actually trade on the cowboy hats and boots and hay bales thing these days.  

Perhaps it's some mainstream media outlets who still think of it in that way that scare her? 

Singer/songwriter Dierks Bentley has said many times that if he hadn’t discovered bluegrass, he’d never have become a country singer or landed a record deal.

His love for country was kindled by the energy and artistry of bluegrass, and he’s never lost his passion for it. Now, seven years into his recording career, Bentley has plunged deeply into acoustic roots music. The results of that creative journey will come out this US summer as the very special new album Up On The Ridge.
 
Much more than just a bluegrass concept album with guests, Up On The Ridge features Bentley working with some of the finest acoustic musicians in the world, including long-time collaborators the Del McCoury Band and a magical new musical partner ship with Chris Thile and the Punch Brothers. The disc also features a number of vocal and instrumental contributions ranging from Alison Krauss and Miranda Lambert to Tim O’Brien and Sam Bush, among many others.
 
“This album won’t come as a surprise to my hard core fans,” says Bentley. “They've asked me: ‘when are you going to make a bluegrass record?’ And I was just waiting for the right time.” So with a grueling tour be hind him, Bentley felt liberated to pursue the project. And for his career home, Capitol Nashville, Up On The Ridge represents a rare and exciting opportunity to capture an artist working entirely from the heart.
 
“I didn’t want this to be ‘Dierks Bentley and friends’ or a ‘Dierks does bluegrass’ kind of album. I wanted each song to have something special about it, and in the end I think each song really does have its own thing going on.”
 
Those songs came from Bentley’s proven pen, as well as some unexpected sources, such as Bob Dylan. Working with an award-winning singer/songwriter/producer Jon Randall Stewart and world-class recording engineer Gary Paczosa, Bentley has crafted an album with rooted familiarity as well as big surprises. “It’s my version of bluegrass music,” he says. “It’s not just banjos cranked up to eleven. It throws out a big net.”

Stay tuned for details on the album's release date in Australia.

Related Video: Dierks Bentley Talks To HitCountry.TV

McAlister Kemp, Kirsty Lee Akers and Liam Brew have put together a brand new country tour across New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria - which will be known as the Guys, Girls, Guitars & Bars Tour.  It will be opened each night by up and comer Chelsea Basham.

The first four dates of the tour have been annouced and the tour starts at Rooty Hill RSL on May 8 in Sydney.

Guys, Girls, Guitars & Bars - Tour Dates (with more dates to be announced soon):
8th May - Rooty Hill RSL Club 
22nd May - Southwest Rocks Country Club
5th June - Cessnock Rugby Leagues Supporters Club
6th June - Lizottes Central Coast Country Lunch 

Twelve time Canadian Country Music Award and Juno Award winners Doc Walker have taken Australia by storm. The band played for the first time in Australia last week at CMC Rocks The Snowys, winning over local fans (who chose to watch them in the rain instead of bailing for cover) with a blistering set of country/rock.

Buy Doc Walker's new album Go now  

Long serving 2SM Supernetwork radio breakfast personality Grant Goldman has won a prestigious international award.

After 17 years as the voice of ABC Local Radio’s Saturday Night Country, John Nutting, one of Australia’s most enduring supporters of country music is set to ride away from microphone.

"John has been at the forefront of country music in this country," said Kate Dundas, Director ABC Radio.

"He has helped bring country music closer to the mainstream and brought countless new talented musicians into the homes of country music lovers around Australia."

One Saturday 27 February John Nutting stepped behind the microphone for the last time and presented a special edition of Saturday Night Country with new host Felicity Urquhart. They looked back at program highlights since 1993 and play tributes from the characters and guests who have contributed to the show.

"It’s been an amazing ride and I’ve loved every minute of my time at the ABC, but it’s simply time move on, fuel up the motor home and hit the road to see more of this great land of ours," said Nutting.

Saturday Night Country will continue, hosted by Felicity Urquhart. The program can be heard from 10pm Saturday to 2am Sunday AEST on ABC Local Radio and on ABC Country through Digital Radio in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.

Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood and Zac Brown Band have topped the nominations for the 45th annual Academy of Country Music Awards, which were announced by Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton last night.

The smokin' east coast tour, CMC Rocks, kicks off in two weeks. Featuring US artist Jack Ingram, Canadian super-stars Doc Walker and local chart topper Steve Forde. It follows the CMC Rocks The Snowys festival on March 4 and 5 in Thredbo.

Jack Ingram is renowned for his high-octane stage shows and gritty, hard-edged music. Honing his skills as one of the kings of the Texas red-dirt country scene, Ingram has released eight studio albums, six live albums and has scored many Top 40 singles including the number one 'Wherever You Are'. His new album 'Big Dreams and High Hopes' is a gutsy mix of Southern Rock and dynamic country ballads and features the hit single 'Barefoot and Crazy', as well as collaboration with folk/rock icon Patty Griffin. This is Jack's first trip to Australia.

Steve Forde is one of Australia's best live performers. He's an artist who has blazed his own trail through country music over almost a decade of recording and performing. A former rodeo rider who channels the same energy and spirit into his music, Steve has built a fiercely loyal fanbase through years crossing the length and breadth of Australia on his tour bus. After years as a extremely successful independent artist, Steve signed with ABC Music, releasing a self-titled album in 2007 and in 2008, the acclaimed 'Guns and Guitars' which topped the Australian Country sales charts.

Canada's Doc Walker have amassed countless accolades over their 12 year career, including a staggering 10 Canadian Country Music Awards. They've earned the title of 'the hardest working Country band in Canada the old fashioned way, through relentless touring putting over a million miles behind them in Canada alone, forging a lasting relationship with their audience. The hitmaking trio is gearing up for their first ever shows down under, promising Aussie audiences a night they won't forget. 


TOUR DATES
March 9 - Rooty Hill RSL Club, Sydney NSW

March 10 - Orange Ex-Services Club, Orange NSW

March 11 - West Tamworth League Club, Tamworth NSW

March 12 - Rumours International, Toowoomba QLD

March 13 - The Tivoli, Brisbane QLD