The Country Music Club organise and implement the West Australian Country Music Awards presented by LiveLighter and is dedicated to providing recognition to our WA artists. The Awards celebrate excellence in country music with recordings, songwriting, video clips and vocals. The Awards have been traditionally incorporated into the Boyup Brook Country Music Festival, but as the festival was cancelled, the Club worked hard to plan the Awards under a different process. On Saturday, 11th June the inaugural event was streamed live from Boyup Brook. President Daly Winter said “We would like to recognise and honour the extraordinary achievements of our West Australian country music artists, who in these especially difficult and trying times have shown incredible spirit, dedication and commitment to the country music industry here in WA.”
What an unforgettable night it was. Finalists and winners of 10 categories were recognised for their outstanding achievements with the presentation of the new Golden Guitar Belt Buckle award certificates handed out to the winners on the night. Music Director Donna Forsyth said “I am so proud to be a part of this event. The calibre of talent from Western Australia is outstanding. Over the years I have seen many people take the leap with their music to a new professional level and gain the recognition they deserve. It fills me with optimism for the future and it is really wonderful to see the artists being recognised for their achievements”.
Codee-Lee from Eaton topped the night taking home four awards: Single of the Year, EP of the Year, Songwriter of the Year with a song titled “Who I Am” written by herself and Katrina Burgoyne and the prestigious People’s Choice Award. Kate Hindle from Collie went home with two awards: Emerging Artist of the Year and Female Artist of the Year. Charlee Jones from Bunbury won the Junior Vocalist of the Year and is currently touring through the north-west of the state. Mike Goodwin from Margaret River was joined by his wife Angela to receive the Video Clip of the Year Award with the animated video clip called ‘Sugarcane’. Male Artist of the Year was won by the troubadour himself, Chris Matthews who spends most of his time performing around the Kimberely’s. The Album of the Year and Best Group of the Year was awarded to The Little Lord Street Band from Eden Hill.
The night finished on a fantastic note with a big jam session incorporating some of the finalists and winners. The Country Music Club of Boyup Brook would like to thank Healthway, promoting the LiveLighter message, APRA AMCOS, the Shire of Boyup Brook, Lomax Media and Totally Sound for assisting in bringing this special night together. This project was also made possible by the Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund, which supports the arts in regional and remote Australia.
If you would like to watch the West Australian Country Music Awards online please go to the link https://www.facebook.com/126211170906720/posts/pfbid08P4mYvWMcf6YsconLVA4qbKav7SnGAuNU1ZRRyaiVYxYQnh9TPqtU6v9UgKt3P9Ul/?d=n
