Rob Potts Entertainment Edge, Chugg Entertainment and Foxtel’s Country Music Channel (CMC) are excited to announce American superstar and iconic ‘Redneck Woman’ GRETCHEN WILSON (USA) is returning to Australia for CMC Rocks the Hunter 2014 in March. This 3-day festival, held at Hope Estate in the beautiful Hunter Valley NSW, is one of the biggest and most-anticipated music events each year.
Along with Gretchen, international and local hitmakers also being announced include CLAY WALKER (USA), THOMPSON SQUARE (USA), JIM LAUDERDALE (USA), JAMES REYNE, SHANE NICHOLSON, JEDD HUGHES, BLACKJACK BILLY (USA) and BUSBY MAROU.
Jayne Denham, The Davidson Brothers, Aleyce Simmonds, Mustered Courage, Wagons, Kaylee Bell (NZ), Lachlan Bryan, Little Bastard, Corey Colum and We the Ghosts will also be there for the party!
Artists previously announced for 2014 include one of the biggest superstars of country music and festival headliner, TOBY KEITH (USA), as well as ELI YOUNG BAND (USA), KELLIE PICKLER (USA), LEE KERNAGHAN, CRAIG CAMPBELL (USA), LOVE AND THEFT (USA), PAUL THORN (USA); plus The Greencards (USA), Morgan Evans, Kevin Bennett & The Flood, Luke O’Shea, Adam Eckersley Band, Kaylens Rain, Jason Owen, Peter McWhirter, Jody Direen (NZ) and The Viper Creek Band.
Returning as main stage host this year is Storme Warren (USA). The Nashville-based TV and radio host, seen around the USA and Australia fronting his TV show Headline Country, will make his sixth trip to Oz to host. He will share MC duties with returning favourites and cohorts, Mike Carr and Darren Carr.
CEO of Entertainment Edge, Rob Potts said, “This is the biggest international country lineup to ever hit Australia! Gretchen Wilson is one of the rowdiest live acts in the genre and to bring her down under alongside legends like Toby Keith and the hottest stars of today like Thompson Square is a real coup!”
Executive Chairman of Chugg Entertainment, Michael Chugg said, "Toby Keith, Kellie Pickler, Craig Campbell and now Gretchen Wilson, Clay Walker, James Reyne, Blackjack Billy to name a few… This is the most international artists we’ve ever had at CMC Rocks so it’s going to make an unbelievable weekend of music”
Now in its seventh year of operation and fourth year in the Hunter, CMC Rocks the Hunter festival has established itself as the biggest International Country and Roots Festival outside of North America and one of the premiere events on the Australian music calendar.
Once again, camping will be available on site. The late-night Campers’ Bar (exclusively for campers) will be back in action on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, following the conclusion of the main stage program.
2014 will also see the return of the CMC Rocks Songwriters Shows, held on Saturday and Sunday afternoon in the Campers’ Bar. Each show will feature some of the most successful singer-songwriters in country and roots music, playing their biggest hits in an intimate, acoustic setting. Access to the Songwriters Shows is open to all patrons of the festival and the artists included on these two shows will be announced closer to the event.
Tickets for the festival are selling fast, with limited one-day tickets available.
For tickets, camping, travel and accommodation details go to www.cmcrocks.com
Singer/songwriter and hard-partying troublemaker GRETCHEN WILSON (USA) is returning for her first trip to Australia since her brief promo tour a decade ago. Bursting onto the scene with the worldwide smash hit ‘Redneck Woman’ and debut album ‘Here for the Party’, she has lived up to her songs by building a fanbase in love with the unvarnished honesty of her lyrics and raucous onstage energy. After hearing from her frequent collaborators Big & Rich about how wild Aussie audiences are, Gretchen can’t wait to bring the party to the Hunter next March.
Anyone who has been a country fan in the last two decades knows - and loves - CLAY WALKER (USA). With 32 US hit singles - including #1s "Dreaming with my Eyes Open," "If I Could Make Living," "This Woman and This Man," and "Rumor Has It" - you’ve been singing along with the tanned Texan for years. From his debut platinum selling album onward, Walker has shown an uncanny ability to choose great songs, and an unforgettable voice with which to perform them. We can’t wait to hear that legendary voice soaring over the NSW wine country when Clay Walker makes his Australian debut.
THOMPSON SQUARE (USA) is a love story. Not just between husband and wife duo, Keifer and Shawna Thompson, but between the duo and their music fans, who have embraced them wholeheartedly since they released their double platinum selling single ‘Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not’ and follow up hits "I Got You" and "Glass” in 2011. Already multiple CMA and ACM award winners and 2-time Grammy nominees, Thompson Square attribute their success to keeping their music honest and real. Their work ethic that has seen them play up to 250 dates a year, resulting in a deserving success story for Mr. and Mrs. Thompson.
2-time Grammy winner and country/roots icon JIM LAUDERDALE (USA) has made Australia his second home, now well-known for always tearing up the CMC Rocks audiences with his incredible catalogue of hit songs, recorded by artists like George Strait, Gary Allan, The Dixie Chicks, Elvis Costello, Blake Shelton, Patty Loveless and more. The most colourful, best-dressed and hardest working man in Americana music, Lauderdale has released over 20 acclaimed albums and splits his time between writing #1 hits, performing around the globe, hosting radio and awards shows and furthering the art of tai chi.
Rolling Stone described JEDD HUGHES as an “Aussie guitar-slinger who can shred nasty and croon pretty”. Now living in Nashville, this accomplished singer/songwriter/musician has gone from performing with Patty Loveless and Keith Urban, to releasing his own acclaimed album, Transcontinental, producing our own Morgan Evans and writing hit songs like the Urban #1 ‘Put You In A Song’. Following the rapturous reception to his jaw-dropping performance at the festival in 2012, we’re thrilled to have him back in his home country and back on our stage!
BLACKJACK BILLY (USA) is the definition of fun - a band whose on-stage alchemy is impossible to describe in words but makes audiences holler and dance in delight. Their breakthrough signature hit ‘Booze Cruise’ raced up the charts when it was released earlier this year - an indelibly catchy ode to summer living. They’ll bring that irrepressible party spirit to the Hope Estate when they make their first trip down under at CMC Rocks the Hunter 2014.
Practically unknown when they made their CMC Rocks debut many years ago, BUSBY MAROU has become one of the most acclaimed contemporary acts in Australian roots music today. Hailing from Queensland, the duo has conquered the globe - recording their second album ‘Farewell Fitzroy’ at a haunted studio in the heart of Nashville. Thomas Busby’s rich, soothing lead vocals and Jeremy Marou’s virtuosic multi-instrumental skill combines with their incredible chemistry as songwriters and singers to deliver an addictive music experience, live and on record.
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