NEWS
OCTOBER 2006
Hi Everyone,
Can you believe the Christmas decorations are in the shops?! That gives a frightening indication of how far we are into the year already! It really is the final countdown to the end of the year.
We welcomed the month of September in with a fantastic night at the Pitt Town Sporting Club, with a capacity audience; a fantastic band of Roger Corbett, Duncan Toombs, Mal Lancaster and Simon Johnson, and with that, the mood was set for a great night! A big thank you to Don Wagner from Better Blast Promotions who works tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure everything runs smoothly, which indeed it did.
The following weekend, on the 9th of September, we travelled to the Kempsey Country Music and Truck Festival, where we were well received, and got to catch up with fans and equate ourselves with some new ones. Everything went off without a hitch thanks to Sam Smythe, many thanks to him and the committee for looking after us so well.
There's no rest for the wicked, so after our performances at Kempsey, we headed off to the Galston Country Music Festival we were performing as Finalists in the Golden Saddle Awards, performing alongside our mates, Karen Lynne and Amber Lawrence. We are all such different artists: a blue grass performer, a unique country duo and a modern country performer...how to choose the saddle winner?? In the end Amber took out the big saddle, but we happily rode off into the sunset on our smaller saddle....yeeehaa!
Closing the end of the month off was one our favourite festivals, 2PK Parkes Country Music Spectacular, we had been there once before and knew we were in for a great time. Everyone is so friendly there and the band that played for us are not only fantastic, but a whole lot of fun! Make sure you head there next year for a wonderful time, and if you're looking at a career in country music they have hold a Talent Quest to coincide with the festival, which would be a great stepping stone for those up and coming artists. Thanks to the Parkes committee for their hospitality.
Many of you have probably heard the news about the journey ending for SweeneyKilleen at the end of the year. We made the announcement at our gig at the Canterbury-Hurlestone RSL, unfortunately Nikki was unwell, but the show must go on, even if Nikki did sound a little Demi Moore! Nikki still had the dreaded throat infection for our performance at the Hawkesbury Food Wine Music Affair, but being a trooper, Nikki did some wonderful tambourine solos, while Tracy did the vocals and Roger Corbett pulled up his pants and attempted some of Nikki’s harmonies. We still had a great time on stage together as usual.
After six wonderful years together we will be calling it a day, with our last performance together being at the Antill Golf Club Picton in December, we would love to see you all there.
Nikki will be moving back to New Zealand to spend some quality time with her family, and Tracy will remain here in Oz. The split was a tough amicable decision, and even though we are both sad, we are looking forward to our unknown futures and the road to self discovery. We remain the best of friends and hope that we can still get together for that special reunion gig somewhere down the line.
It's been a wonderful ride, a ride that has seen us perform alongside some of the best talent in the world, achieve finalist berths in some of the most prestigious awards in country music, travel Australia and abroad, make long lasting friendships, with not only other artists, but people who started out as fans and became so much more. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for you dedication and support of our duo. Our last offering and latest single 'Along for The Ride' is pretty prolific in summing up our ride together as friends and partners in crime, and we are so proud that it has hit the Top 5 in the National Country Track Charts!!
We are looking forward to our last performances together, next is the Merimbula Country Music Festival in November, and also promoting 'Along For The Ride', (don't forget to ring your radio station and request it, hint hint...) Checkout our website for gig details and we hope to see you at a gig somewhere!
Yeee Haaaa!
SweeneyKilleen
SEPTEMBER 2006
Hi All!!
Here we are venturing closer to the end of the year already, my goodness!
Having begun the year with a Golden Guitar Nomination for Best New Talent, we have been so honoured to have been Finalists in the; TIARA Awards, the ACMLA Awards, The Victorian Independent Country Music, The Tasmanian & New Zealand Awards and, most recently, the Coopers Golden Saddle Awards, which you can see us perform in on the 10th of September at the Galston Country Music Festival, alongside the other two finalists, and also our friends, Amber Lawrence and Karen Lynne. It should be a great day! Finding out we were also Finalists for the C.M.A.A Achiever Awards for Independent Entertainer of The Year has been the icing on the cake, and we are looking forward to attending the event in October.
One our favourite places to play is the intimate Antill Golf Club at Picton, we had a record crowd there on the 11th of August and helped out mate Frankie T Thatcher celebrate his birthday, thank you to Roger Corbett and David Maude for helping make it such a great night. We're really looking forward to ending our year there 1st December so make sure you come along!
Canley Heights RSL has been running a Talent Quest for all those aspiring singer/songwriters, with great prize money and a captive audience, if you are looking for a career in Country Music this is great opportunity to strut your stuff, and maybe take home the prize money for your efforts. In conjunction with this event they invite a guest artist along, and we were honoured to perform on the 30th of July, backed by Dwayne Elix and The Engineers. Please support this event and the up and coming stars of tomorrow.
We have recently released our third single, the title track from our album 'Along For The Ride' and it bulleted at No.30 on the national country charts! It's still climbing....currently at No 22. The track is receiving lots of airplay and we thank radio presenters for playing it and our fans for requesting it, so don't be shy, contact your local country radio station and request 'Along For The Ride'. We both love this song and relate it to our journey as friends, flatmates, duo partners and this unbelievable 'ride' we've been on since meeting six years ago and the College Of Country Music, and what a ride it's been!
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September is just around the corner and with the warmer weather comes shows at Pitt Town Sporting Club on the 2nd, the Kempsey Country Music and Truck Festival on the 9th, and the Galston Country Music Festival on the 10th. Check out our gig guide for further dates and we look forward to seeing you at a gig soon.
Make sure you always check out our website www.sweeneykilleen.com for more details and dates and we hope to wee you at a gig somewhere soon.
Until next month take care!
Yee Haaa!!
SweeneyKilleen :
Nikki & Tracy
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JULY 2006 Hi Everyone,
Here we are more than half way into 2006, boy does time fly!
We kicked off June by performing at the Country Music Spectacular and Award
Presentation. It was held at the Windsor Function Centre, and was a fantastic night,
with performances from: Bill Chambers, Camille and Stuie, Charlie Boyter,
Amos Morris, our good friend Amber Lawrence, and a highlight for us was to
see Deniese Morrison perform, not only is she a former Golden Guitar winner,
she was one of our tutors at the College Of Country Music in 2000.
Sadly Nikki received some very upsetting news that her step-dad had suddenly
passed away, and she flew home to New Zealand the following day, our prayers
are with her and her family during this sad time, she thanks friends and
fans for their heartfelt condolences. Due to this sad event Tracy had to
perform solo at the Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL, it was a nerve racking
experience without her partner in crime, but a great night was had by all
and the Bob Howe band was fantastic as usual.
Tracy celebrated her ** Birthday, a lady never tells her age after 21...with
friends and continued celebrations with Nikki on her return. Thanks to all
those fans who sent warm birthday wishes!
Here we are at the Moama Country Music Festival (pictured left) with VIC Radio Hosts Joy and Pejay - helping to promote our latest single 'Along for the ride'.
Focusing now on upcoming shows, including; Canley Heights RSL in July and we are also honoured to be Grand Finalists in
the Golden Saddle Awards, in conjunction with the Galston Country Music
Festival, alongside the talents of Amber Lawrence and Karen Lynne, some
stiff competition!
We have released the third single from our album 'Along For The Ride' and it
is the title track, hopefully it will replicate the success we had with
out two previous releases 'The River Rose' and last single 'Running'. 'Along
For The Ride' is a personal favourite, as we both believe it reflects our
journey together as friends, flatmates, and duo partners. Keep an ear out
and don't forget to contact your local country radio station and request it
so you too can come 'along for the ride'!
See you at a gig somewhere soon, take care.
Yee Haa!
SweeneyKilleen :)
Nikki & Tracy
MAY 2006
Hi everyone!
Where is this year going?! Time sure flies when you're having fun hey!
We had a really busy April with lots of travel including Abermain in the Hunter Valley region for the local country Music clubs first birthday (here's to another successful year!). We had such a ball performing with musical director Peg Glichrist and the rest of the resident band - their energy and dedication is incredible with club meeting every Friday and we felt very honoured to be a part of their celebrations.
Clocking up the miles - we also travelled to Dapto for the South Coast CM festival, to Picton - Tracy's stomping ground our ever fun gig at the Antill Golf Club, then off to Tamworth to perform to a wonderful crowd at The Pub and finishing off the month at the successful Macarthur Fundraiser Concert to support the community radio station 2mcr fm - and also contributing a third of money raised to the Queensland cyclone relief fund. Congrats to our hard working friends Frankie T & Helen Kay.
Well we have recently been selected as finalists in the Coopers Golden Saddle Award 2006 in conjunction with the Galston CM festival NSW held in September. It's really neat to be nominated along with fellow Independent Artists all being "recognised by 'industry spotters' whom they consider outstanding at what they do". You can read more details on the ACMLA website. http://www.acmla.com.au/latest_news.jsp
It was pretty neat to get our single Running in the Top 10 on the national CM charts. We reached No.8 and held that rating for three weeks running (pardon the pun!). It is one of our favourites to perform live and we are stoked with the response we get from it and also from our video clip. You can still request our clip any time on CMC by logging on to: http://www.countrymusicchannel.com.au/requests.asp
We're looking forward to the next few months. We are releasing a new single to radio too - so keep an ear out!
Take care and hope to see you on our travels somewhere along the way!
YEEE HAAA!
Nikki & Tracy
SweeneyKilleen :)
MARCH 2006
Hi everyone!
Well February has come and gone already!
We were very lucky to be interviewed at the Tamworth CM Festival by UK based Marlli productions for the BBC World TV series called Destination Music presented by Andy Kershaw. This will be aired on pay TV in March so keep your eyes peeled!
Timings Are: Friday 10th March 20:30 GMT
Repeated Sunday 12th 01:30 / Monday 13th 09.30 / Tuesday 14th 16:30 / Wednesday 15th 02.30
The Victorian Country Music Awards were held in Feb and we were proud to be nominated in the following categories:
DUO - The River rose
SMOKY DAWSON BEST INDEPENDENT RELEASE - The River Rose
BLUEGRASS & TRADITIONAL COUNTRY - This Old town
We're still 'Running' up the charts which is very exciting! We have reached the Top 10 and also had a great response from our video clip for Running. Keep those CMC requests coming! Log on to: http://www.countrymusicchannel.com.au/requests.asp
Other highlights for us in Feb were performing with Dale Hooper and his wonderful six piece band for the Johnny Cash Tribute Show at the Doyalson RSL. The show has been getting a great deal of interest from the smash hit movie Walk The Line (which we've both seen and loved it! Good on Reece for getting the Oscar hey!). Keep an eye out for more of these shows by the way - we're hoping to join Dale and the team again!
The Colac Country Music Festival was also great fun with a fleeting visit for a very pleasant Sunday afternoon performance in sunny Victoria. We had Killeen family support in the audience which was a real treat!
Barham Country Music Stampede has also been and gone! We were well looked after by co-ordinators Ruth & Joyce and it was wonderful to catch up with fans and fellow artists again. We had a hilarious time performing on the finale with everyone… it was mandatory to wear a hat and Ruth made sure of that! So decked out in pink, yellow and red cowboy hats and maracas, SweeneyKilleen paired up with Jeanette Wormald and sung up a storm for a very colourful and fun version of 'The Tide Is High'!
March performances started for us early in the month at the Hawkesbury Racecourse with great day of country music and fine dining - we were very well looked after with a three course meal! Eat your heart out :) Just last Sunday we caught up with all our fans at ShellHarbour and had a great show with Ben McCauley and his band McCauley's Raiders.
Later this month we'll be heading up to The Entrance (Pelican Capital!) for our first time performance in the Central Coast CM Festival which should be a really great weekend for everyone heading there; with a huge line up of artists. We'll also be heading back to the Smithfield RSL for another performance with McCauley's Raiders along side with Camille Te Nahu and Stuie French.
We're looking forward to a very busy April with more festival and gig performances in NSW from Abermaine in the Central Coast to Dapto for the South Coast CM Festival. We're especially looking forward to helping our friends at 2MCR 110.3. Frankie T Thatcher is putting on a fundraising showcase in the Campbelltown RSL to help raise funds for the radio station. You're support would be greatly appreciated so we hope you can make it. For more details go to: www.2mcr.org.au
We hope to catch you somewhere along the way!
Take care and a big country...YEEE HAAA!
Nikki & Tracy
SweeneyKilleen :)
FEBRUARY 2006
Hi All!
We are back from a very successful
Tamworth Country Music Festival, now, where to begin....
The New Year kicked off with our first gig at West Leagues Club, Legends Bar, where we were ably supported by our band (the sweeneykilleenettes...) Michael Muchow (Lead Guitar), David Maude (Drums), Roger Corbett (Rhythm Guitar) and Simon Johnson (Bass). It was a pre-festival gig, but it gave us a sample of things yet to come....
When the Festival officially began on the 20th of January, we performed at both West Diggers and West Leagues Club and had an absolute ball, a big thank you to Rod Laing and Rob Potts for their continued support. Performing to capacity crowds, who were in great spirits and ready for a good time, was so rewarding and we thank our fans immensely for coming to all our shows. It was so great to see the familiar faces, who have been with us from our humble beginnings in 2001 to now, and to welcome the new faces, you made our festival the best ever!
The year 2006 is turning out to be a very memorable one indeed, with a Finalist berth in Best New Talent at the Golden Guitars, a Finalist nomination in both the T.I.A.R.A Awards and the A.C.M.L.A Peoples Choice Awards, we couldn't be happier and more proud of our album 'Along For The Ride'. Our hard work and passion for country music being recognized in such a way is amazing, and to be named among our peers and people we respect within the industry is such an honour.
A heartfelt thank you to all who voted for us and continue to support our duo, especially our fans -you're the reason we do what we do, the radio presenters, Don Wagner at Better Blast Promotions, Bec at RUM entertainment, who makes our job so much easier, and the wonderful team at One Stop Entertainment for all their hard work...MWAAAH!
A major highlight for us was performing on the Maton Best New Talent Showcase at Blazes, thank you C.M.A.A, and also being a part of two of the FanFest shows, they were incredible, and a big thank you to Meryl Gross for all her dedication in showcasing all the talent that the Australian Country Music industry has to offer in all its various forms. Don't miss them next year all you will be very disappointed, these shows are a credit to all the organisers and not to be missed!
Look out February, here we come! Doyalson RSL is our first gig after the Tamworth recovery, we will be performing alongside Dale Hooper and his wonderful six piece band,so if you're in the area come on down, it's going to be a great show. Next we are heading to beautiful Victoria one of the best states in the world (No Tracy isn't bias because she grew up there..). Our first stop is the Colac Country Music Festival on the 19th of February, they have a great line-up of artists and we have heard nothing but positive reports about how fantastic the Festival is and how organised it is, but then again they're Victorians so there's not much they do get wrong...
If you do miss us there make sure you head to the Barham Country Music Stampede, there's a whole lot of fun to be had and a huge list of acts singing up a storm. Hope to see you at gig somewhere down the line!
YEEE HAAA!
Tracy and Nikki
SweeneyKilleen :)
