APRA Best Country Song Finalists Announced

Monday 14th May, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

APRA Best Country Song Finalists Announced New Zealand Country Music Awards 2007

The Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA)* are proud to support the country music songwriters of New Zealand. The finalists for Best Country Song highlight the broad range and quality of country music talent in New Zealand, even the judges are commenting: “The contest is getting harder and harder to judge; the songs entered this year show that the quality gets better every year.”

And the finalists are:

Bluegrass Saved The Earth
Bryan Peters, Ieuan Attewell & Paula Kirkpatrick

Pale Sun
Barry Saunders

Take A Step Back
Cameron Clayton

The list of country music accolades for Cameron Clayton belies his age of 21 years; the youngest ever Senior Overall Winner of the Gold Guitar Awards in 2004 he also won more sections than any other senior participant in the history of the Awards. He is also a performer of note having been one of the Top 18 finalists on NZ Idol in 2006.

New Zealand first heard of Barry Saunders in 1987 with his band The Warratahs and their hit song Hands Of My Heart. Now, twenty-years on The Warratahs are a New Zealand music institution. Still touring and playing shows and festivals, they continue to pull the crowds and deliver strong and exciting performances. Pale Sun features on their latest release Keep On.

Bryan Peters, Ieuan Attewell & Paula Kirkpatrick wrote Bluegrass Saved The Earth for Johnny Possums Good Time Hootin’ Band, who formed in 2005 with the aim of playing the best Bluegrass and Old Time country music this side of the equator. Bryan himself is the lead vocalist and mandolin player for Johnny Possums’ which also features guitar, banjo, fiddle, upright bass and tight three-part vocal harmonies following the best traditions of Bluegrass.

The winner will be announced at the New Zealand Country Music Awards on Friday June 1 in Gore as part of the Gold Guitar celebrations. For more information visit: www.goldguitars.co.nz

ENDS

*Established in 1926, APRA is a not for profit company that collects and distributes performing right royalties to composers, songwriters and music publishers in New Zealand. We directly represent over 45,000 New Zealand and Australian songwriter and publisher members. Through reciprocal agreements with similar organisations around the world, we represent over two million writers and publishers internationally. We also manage the reproduction rights business of our sister collecting society, the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). This involves collecting royalties from record companies, filmmakers, educational institutions and others who record or reproduce music in some form.

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