Hi folks

Here we are in level 1 and able to do live gigs again and not before time at that. It has been a long time without playing to a live audience. As we mentioned in our previous newsletter we have kept ourselves busy learning new songs, writing new songs and organising twenty years of music material. Progress has been made.
To kick things off we had a great night entertaining the folks at The Palms Retirement Village on the 26th of September. Everyone enjoyed a lovely meal, joined in singing along to many of our songs and dancing the night away. We look forward to returning in the future. Thanks everyone for a great night.

On the 9th October we performed our first gig at the new RSA premises. A long time coming this one as we all know due to Covid19 the opening celebrations had to be postponed. An awesome crowd turned out to support us and it was great to see so many familiar faces enjoying a fantastic night. The building is not as large as the previous one so the trick is to get there early for a good seat. We will be back at the RSA Friday 11th December. Hmmmm not long ‘till’ Christmas.
However, before Christmas we are excited to be performing once again with two legends of New Zealand country music; Dennis Marsh and Brendan Dugan. Write this date in your diary Sunday 15th November 1:30pm – 4:30pm. Dennis and Brendan will be with us at the Kamo club helping raise funds for the Whangarei Special Olympics. We had a sellout show last year and are hoping for the same again in 2020. Tickets are $15-00 each and we are limited to 250 tickets folks. So get yours now by contacting the Kamo club to avoid disappointment. It is going to be a fantastic show.
Just to refresh that’s; Sunday 15th November 1:30pm – 4:30pm Kamo Club Meldrum St Tickets $15-00 each Limited to 250 tickets. See you all there.
We will also be at the Kamo club on Wednesday 2nd December for the Dance Section Christmas Breakup. Always a fun night this one. So grab your Santa hats and dancing shoes and come and join us.
We are looking forward to entertaining you all at these upcoming shows, seeing out the extraordinary year that 2020 has been and looking ahead to all the shows that 2021 will bring. Take care everyone.

Best wishes and remember to keep it country.

Annette and Kim

Hi folks
Hope you are all well. We wanted to let you all know what we have been doing during lockdown.

KIM. Well I have been lucky enough to have been working right through as we are considered part of essential services. So I have been looking forward to the long weekends and short weeks. Our thoughts are with all those finding it difficult at the moment and even though we are beating this virus there are still bills to pay and food to put on the table for our family’s. Times such as these remind me of what I was told by a very good friend when I was facing some challenges in life. He said, “Kim, although it feels like Winter at the moment Summer is coming.” Please remember that no matter the challenges you are facing or how daunting they may seem and it feels like the deepest of Winters as sure as the seasons change Summer is coming and the Sun will shine in your life again.

Lockdown has given us both the chance to step back and look at our music more objectively. We have been sourcing new songs for our dance gigs and duo songs for festivals and concerts. As well as practicing our current song list I have been able to write new songs and rewrite some of the older songs that I have had waiting to be worked on. The challenge is writing good duo songs and hopefully I have managed to do that. Will only know once we start singing them I guess. Some of the song titles making good progress and which we hope to perform in the near future are; “We All Make Promises” – duo “There’s An Open Heart Here Today” – duo “Save A Little Hope For Me” – gospel “Beaten By The Bottle” and “You Don’t Have To Be A Cowboy”. Fingers crossed.

ANNETTE. Well I have been busy in my bubble at home on the farm, gardening and hanging with my horses and Elvis the donkey. I’ve started singing again and feeling great about gettiing back into things once we’re out of lockdown.. New solo songs been worked on as well as duo’s, playing my guitar and that’s been quite some time since I’ve picked that up, also working through 20 years of singing together partnership bookwork and photos and Backing Tracks.Kim can only image the head aches I’ve had sorting through all of that..History, memories, slowly getting it sorted.. Also hope to do another video to put up on line for you all to listen too very soon..

Stay safe everyone.
Annette & Kim.

Hi Folks

Well, here we are at the beginning of another Decade. We are now 20 years into the 21^st Century everyone and the Sun is still rising in the East and country music is alive and kicking in the West. And to that end on the 7^th of February we headed off to New Plymouth to be a part of the Egmont Country Music Festival run by Lynn Putt and her team of volunteers. It is such a nice trip down the West coast of North Island New Zealand always something to look forward to. We arrived Friday evening to be welcomed by our lovely host, Noeline Western, who had graciously opened her home to us for the weekend and which had fantastic views out over the Tasman Sea. Also staying with us was the very talented fiddle player Marian Burns and her husband Phil. It was soooo great to catch up with them both again. Marian has performed quite a bit on our Albums over the years which we are very grateful for. She is an amazing Lady and a real hoot to boot. And Phil has some very interesting life stories to tell as well if you are ever lucky enough to share his company. We just had time to cart our bags into the house a quick cuppa and head down to the venue to catch Noeline’s brother, Hank, performing with his duo partner Owen on the Friday night show. A great start to the weekend with the Motor-homers parked up and ready to enjoy the awesome talent on display. The convenor even had time during the weekend to share a song or two with the very appreciative audience. Awesome one Lynn.

Saturday we were at the venue around 10:30am for the start of the day’s entertainment and to catch up with many of our friends. An enjoyable day with the weather even playing its part with just a bit of wind whistling through, maybe call it a slight Zephyr. The Saturday Night Show saw the likes of Keinan Ngapo, Luana Karl, Sophie Toyne, Sean Pawson, Dave Ewart Jr, Kylie Austin, Annette & Kim, Marian Burns and Dennis Marsh taking to the stage to Wow the crowd before the main act, New Zealand’s very own John Denver, Bevan Gardner finished the night off in roaring fashion. Well worth the entrance fee I thought. Once again well done Lynn and team. Big big thank you to the bands that backed the singers during the festival. Hired Gunz, Derek, Robert, Lance and Gary. Derek also performing with his lovely wife Lyn Evans during the festival. The Merrilands Country Music Club band with Pedal Steel player Joe Martin sitting in. Steel players are becoming few and far between so it’s nice to hear that traditional sound played well in our backing bands and to all those that shared their talents during the weekend, thank you so much.

As I mentioned we had the chance to catch up with many of our friends that we sometimes only see once or twice a year at shows or festivals around the country. These include Lloyd and Nancy Muller, Leeanne Dunn, Angela Edwards, Bev Gardiner, Derek and Lyn Evans, Robert and Pam Antonio, Pam Austin, Kylie and Jackson Austin, Sean Pawson, Keinan Ngapo and we can’t forget God, our dear friend Anne George great to see you all again.
Sunday morning we were up early ready for the long trip home after saying our goodbyes. Maybe we might have to start flying to festivals. Would give us more time for singing for sure. Will think on that one.
Speaking of flying to festivals. Not long now and we will be in Dunedin for the Silverpeaks Country Music Club Hoe Down weekend 20^th to 22^nd March at the Taieri Bowling Club. Hope you all have your tickets. Looks like it’s going to be an awesome weekend. Looking forward to seeing you there.

That’s about all for now folks. Take care and remember to keep it country.

Best wishes
Annette and Kim

Hi Folks

Well here we are at the end of another year. They just fly by so quickly. We would like to thank all our fans for the support you have shown during the year. There have been one or two challenges along the way and we thank you for your understanding and best wishes. We are looking forward to 2020 and getting back into the swing of things and being able to entertain you all once again. Before we head into Christmas and the New Year we must catch up on our gigs since our last newsletter.

On the 14 of September we headed to Te Awamutu to be a part of the Branded Spring Hoe Down organised by Keith Willis. We were performing on the Saturday night Showcase at the Te Awamutu Sport and Recreation Club. A good number of Motor Homers had turned out for the weekend and on Friday night were entertained by wellknown New Zealand country artist Donna Dean supported by Doug Erutoe, Char Puriri, George and Jocelyn, Robin Durbin, Donna Saunders and Lynn Edwards. Joining us on Saturday night were Dennis August, En-Tranzet, Keinan Ngapo, Derek and Lyn Evans, Renee Strawbridge, Maysen Mitchell, Rererangi Twaddell and Anita Smith. It was a great night, fantastic band, fantastic artists and a fantastic audience. Thank you Keith and Heather for inviting us to perform. We had a blast and it was so nice to catch up with so many entertainers we don’t get to see that often. Nice to once again catch up with Nancy and Lloyd Muller and two of my old work mates  George Blakely, who now Motor homes around the countryside and Erkie Erceg and his wonderful wife Viv who now live in Taumaranui. Hopefully we will see you all at another of Keith’s Branded Festivals. He did mention that he may have to start them on the Thursday as they are becoming so popular. Well done to you Keith and all your helpers. Excellent weekend.

On the 4^th and 5^th of October I was lucky enough to be invited to be a part of the NZCMA (New Zealand Country Music Association) Entertainer of the Year Awards 40^th anniversary celebrations held in Tauranga. Before I get started on how the weekend celebrations went I will try to give you a brief history of how the awards first began. Country music has been one of the most popular music genres in New Zealand since the days of the Tumbleweeds and Tex Morton. However, most organised country music clubs didn’t become established until the early 1970’s an example being the club which Annette and I have been past members of, the Whangarei

Country Music Club which celebrated its 45^th birthday this year. Many more clubs soon became established across the whole of New Zealand and from there local regions began to have competitions or awards. One of these being the Napier City CMC, which was also founded in the mid 1970’s by Jim Toner a Scottish immigrant who arrived in New Zealand in 1974. Jim is the father of the well-known and very successful country group The Toner Sisters ( Lynne, Celine and Adrienne). Country music clubs were flourishing and a central organisation the “New Zealand Country Music Association” was established which country music clubs all over New Zealand could become affiliated to and from there their members could enter the awards circuit which Annette and her sisters were doing at that time. They were very young. In 1979, Jim Toner, put forward the idea of having one major awards event for all overall winners of the Regional awards to compete at and so the “Entertainer of the Year Awards” were born. Now here we are 40 years later. Annette and I are lucky enough to have been finalists in these prestigious awards both as solo artists and as our duo act. Congratulations NZCMA.

Friday night was a Black Tie meet and greet event with a mix of past award winners and participants and some of New Zealand country music legends. With most taking the opportunity to perform a couple of songs each with the band and watching a very well put together video and photo slide show of past E.O.Y. performances through the years. Yes, some classy clothes and hair styles from back in the day. It was such a great night and wonderful to catch up with so many talented entertainers and friends in country music. These included Mike McCarthy, Chet and Melissa O’Connell, Dennis Marsh, Dennis August and Gaylene Brennan, Marian Burns and Phil Sinclair, Brendan Dugan, Brian and Sally Burgess, Neil McKenzie-Hall, Robert and Pam Antonio, Robyn and Millie Eltringham, Jesse and Jane, Lance Murch, Shane Reha, Kevin and Kay Tappin, Geoff Herewini, Nick and Tracey-Marie Huia. Congratulations must go to Michael and Ashley Tipping and their committee for organising such an awesome night. Well done.

Saturday saw two great shows to find the 2019 EOY Senior, Intermediate, Junior and Veteran and the 2019 Songwriter of the Year. Guest artist for the matinee show was 1989 EOY winner Dennis Marsh and for the evening show the ever popular Topp Twins.

Also during the weekend celebrations the NZCMA presented life achievement awards to Marian Burns, Dennis Marsh, Brendan Dugan and the Topp Twins Lynda and Jools and the NZCMA Service Award to Merv and Sharon MacInteer a most deserved award indeed congratulations Merv and Sharon for your many years of dedication to New Zealand country music.
Congratulations also to each and every contestant that performed during the weekend. Each section would have been very close. If you didn’t already know here are the finals results.

Junior:
Overall Winner – Sophie Toyne
Runner Up – Jackson Austin

Intermediate:
Overall Winner – Jasmine Tilyard
Runner Up – Asra Ginders

Veteran:
Overall Winner – Arthur Pumipi
Runner Up – Alison Flavell

Songwriter:
Overall Winner – Ngarangi Sadlier
Runner Up – Cherie Sinclair

Senior:
Overall Winner – Jaydin Shingleton
Runner Up – Cherie Sinclair

On Saturday 12^th October we were joined by two legends of New Zealand country music, Brendan Dugan and Dennis Marsh who graciously gave their time and talents to help raise funds for the Whangarei Special Olympics. It was a sell out crowd with standing room only at the Kamo Club with some hardy souls traveling from Dargaville and as far away as Auckland and were treated to a fantastic show from two great entertainers. We cannot thank Dennis and Brendan enough for their generosity and support and look forward to working with them both again in the near future. Also thank you to our good friend the very talented Carleen Still for sharing a song with us on the day. Much appreciated Carleen. Congratulations to the winner of the beautiful Ukulele donated and auctioned off by Dennis to raise a few extra dollars for the cause. All in all an awesome day that raised over $3800-00 for the Special Olympics.
A big thank you must go to the sponsors and supporters that helped make the day possible; Dicksons Transport and Quarries, the Kamo Club for the afternoon tea, the Whangarei Special Olympics Committee for their input and support, Susan Marsh and Noeline Copedo for putting out flyers in Whangarei and Dargaville, Yvonne Lilley from Magic Music radio station for the on air advertising, plus generous donations of raffle items and to you the audience that made it such a fantastic day. Thank you so much.

We would also like to take a moment to recognise the recent achievements by Dennis in the New Zealand music industry. Dennis recently recorded his 30^th album “Garden Party” which went Gold and for which he became a finalist in the 2019 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards Highest Selling Artist of the Year category. He was also awarded the Te Mata o te Ariki – Special Recognition Award for his outstanding contribution to New Zealand music at the 2019 Matariki Awards and the 2019 “Benny Award” from the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand. Congratulations from us all Dennis.

On Wednesday the 4^th and Friday the 6^th December we played our last gigs for 2019. Wednesday saw us at the Kamo Club Dance Sections Christmas Break-up. It was another great night with these dance-aholics plus some pre Christmas fun and games. We always enjoy “pass the parcel” and the traditional Maxina and supper Waltz dances. Next year they will be celebrating their 20^th birthday and I hear plans are already afoot for a big weekend. Keep an eye out on their Facebook page for more details. Friday night we were at the Whangarei RSA where another great crowd had come along to sing and dance the night away. Great to catch up with friends Des and Sharon all the way from Dargaville, Yvonne, Jo and Maureen the Line Dance experts and our good friend Chris. Such a pleasure to play for these folk and I guess the next time we see you all may be in the new RSA premises. Hopefully we will be able to be a part of the opening weekend celebrations. If not ourselves then maybe our Aussie mates. Look forward to seeing you all then.

On that note.Just to give you all a heads up on some exciting happenings next year we have been arranging some performances in Northland for our Aussie friends Allan Webster, Bidge Boyd and Alby Poole following their appearances at the World renowned “Bay of Islands Country Rock Festival” in May 2020. So far we have confirmed two shows at the Kamo Club on Wednesday the 13^th  May and Saturday the 16^th May and one night at the Whangarei RSA on Friday the 15^th May. We hope to get one more in the North for them and hopefully a couple of appearances in the Auckland area. All three are very highly regarded in the Australian country music industry and they have been involved in the country music scene for many years and are very talented country music singer/songwriters that play a variety of music to suit all tastes. We look forward to having them here and entertaining our Kiwi audiences. Early in 2020 we will be in New Plymouth for the Egmont Country Music Festival and then in March we will be in Dunedin for the Silverpeaks CMC Hoe Down weekend. We are really looking forward to these two shows. Maybe we will see you there.

Well, that’s about it from us. Once again thank you all for your support in 2019 have a safe and happy Christmas and New Year and look after yourselves. And remember to keep it country.

Best wishes

Annette & Kim

Hi Folks

Following on from the very successful 30^th Bay of islands Country Rock Festival we took a break for the month of June. As many of you are aware Annette headed off to the USA with the Kevin Greaves Tour Group. I am sure everyone was entertained by the regular Facebook up dates that allowed us all to follow her journey from Lake Tahoe to Gracelands, Bakersfield, the Grand Ole Opry and New Orleans to name just a few of the amazing locations that were visited.

Our first engagement for July was the Whangarei RSA. Always enjoy entertaining these folk and we hope to be back there before the end of the year. The following Sunday we had a great afternoon with the residents of the Hibiscus Coast Retirement Village in Orewa. Lovely to see some familiar faces from the country music scene in the audience and again we would love to come back in the near future. Thank you Elaine and the committee for inviting us to perform for you all.

The main event for July was our trip to Australia and the Barham Stampede held at Club Barham RSL in NSW on the banks of the Murray River. We always enjoy returning to this festival and catching up with old friends and making new ones and they love their dancing as well. It is a pretty full on three days but so rewarding. It was also great to see Dargavillian Janice Lugtighied there with her sister and brother in law enjoying the festival. After an early flight from NZ on the 25^th we arrived in Melbourne to be met by our Aussie dad, Dale, who had travelled once again all the way from Adelaide to join us for a couple of weeks on the road. It was so nice to see Dale again only 12 months for me but 2 years for Annette. Hugs and tears all around. Once we had found our way out of Melbourne we headed to Barham with a small detour to Lockington to pick up a P.A. system to use for our Monday Madness gig at the club. Kindly supplied by our good friend Kerran Keats. And a short stop at one of my favourite shops on the way “HV McKay Rural Discovery Ctr” in Elmore. A must see for any traveller. We arrived in Barham late afternoon to be welcome by Motel owner Gary in his usual cherry way. A bit of a tidy up and a little grocery shopping and we were ready for the weekend and the Thursday night show “Kings and Queens of Country” starring Sandie Dodd and Callum Glesson. An entertaining and fun show by two very talented performers to kick off the festival in style. Performing the hits of such legends as Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Dwight Yoakem, Kenny Rogers and Glen Campbell to name just a few.

• 

• 

On Friday we were into the festival proper. We were joined by fellow Kiwi’s Aly Cook and Dennis Marsh along with a host of Aussie performers which included Allan Webster, Danny Stain, Justuss (Wendy and Kerri), Rene Diaz, Sharon Benjamin and the Cartwheels. It was also very nice to see familiar faces on the dance floor enjoying the music and great to catch up with Susanne and Bruce, Don and Muriel and we were pleasantly surprised with a visit from our very good friends Rod and Margaret McCarthy from Kyneton. We met Rod and Margaret on our very first visit to Barham back in 2012. They were caravanning with family at Barham Lakes and have been coming to the festival for many years. On a couple of occasions they were kind enough to pick us up from the airport and shuttle us up to the festival. It was awesome to see them again.

As usual the weekend goes by too quickly but we were privileged to be able to perform a couple of songs with NZ Country Legend, Dennis Marsh, and Australia’s Country Gentleman, Allan Webster. Hope you all get to see the video on Facebook. Thank you both for sharing the stage with us. We must thank the band “Southern Cross” for all their hard work during the weekend. Thanks Bob, Col and Anthony, great job. A pleasure to perform with you all. Thank you to Anthony Tenace on sound and to Linda and the club for having us. Also a big thank you to the fantastic audience that supported not only ourselves but all the artists that performed. We hope to see you all next year. However, the show wasn’t over completely as we still had the Finale to go. Before we left New Zealand Annette asked me what we were going to do for the finale and I said,” Well since you didn’t get to wear your chicken suit last year it will be something to do with chickens”. The finale was one of the best we have been involved in. I hope we can get the videos on to Facebook so everyone can see what we have done, as I don’t think words would do it justice. Will be a hard one to top that is for sure.

With all the farewells said it was on to the Monday Madness at the club. An entertaining afternoon of raffles and music expertly run by Marie and unfortunately a glitch with the P.A. system. However, with the support of Linda from Club Barham and Anthony we were able to set up a smaller system to finish off the afternoon proceedings. Thank you so much Linda and Anthony. No raffles won by our team this year. We also send our love and best wishes to our dear friend Audrey James who usually comes to see us on the Monday but is unwell at present. Take care Audrey we wish you a speedy recovery and hope to see you next year. Maureen and Allan had decided to stay for the Monday Madness and Allan offered the use of his P.A. for our Morning Melodies gig in Kyvalley the following day. Which was a lifesaver. So Monday arvo we all headed to Moama where we had booked accommodation at Moama Discovery Parks. Totally recommend their cabin accommodation, clean , warm and spacious for the weary travellers. We then headed over to Moama RSL with Maureen and Allan for a lovely dinner and a bit of banter.

Tuesday morning up early and on our way to Kyvalley Community Hall for our Morning Melodies gig and to meet up with locals, Bev and Beryl, to set up the P.A. ready for a 10:00am start. We had a great morning with sing a longs and stories and even a bit of a history lesson concerning what may be a connection for Annette and the Dickson family and the Kyvalley area. Ask her about it next time you see her. The morning wasn’t without it’s dramas either. For some spooky reason we had a bit of  a power surge go through the hall which affected the sound desk. Fortunately for us Allan had packed a spare and with little trouble changed over to the new one and we were up and running again. We think he thinks we are jinxed. Thank you so much for all your help Maureen and Allan much appreciated. Also thank you Bev and Beryl and the local community for supporting the morning and for having us entertain. We certainly hope to see you again soon.

At Kyvalley we said our goodbyes to Maureen and Allan and headed off to spend a couple of days on RnR. We decided to head to Tucomwal where there is a great little antique shop and then on to Yarrawonga and Mulwala to show Annette the lake and weir built on the Murray River. A night in Mulwala and dinner at the RSL then next morning a look around both Mulwala and Yarrawonga. One of the highlights being the Pioneer Museum at Mulwala. Those of us born in the 50”s and 60’s will remember our Grandparents using some of the items on display. Hand Mincers, mangles and concrete tubs, cream separators, all manner of horse drawn carts and harvesters, collars and hames, turn of the century aeroplanes and blacksmith display. A must see if you are visiting or just passing through. From there we headed to Shepparton via the painted silo’s at Tungamah, St James, Devenish and Goorambat. We had visited the silos at Rochester on our way up to Barham from the airport. These murals are amazing – see photos of them below. They are breathtaking.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

After a night in Shepparton we visited our 2^nd favourite shop Shepparton Second Hand and Collectables on Goulburn Valley Hwy. Yes, we both found something here to buy. Such an amazing shop it’s like being on American Pickers. From Shepparton we headed to “Cactus Country” which Annette had spotted not far from Strathmerton a couple of days before when we were driving to Tucomwal. Cactus Country is a garden containing more than 4000 species of cacti and succulents from around the globe and has eight different garden trails. Again hopefully we will get some photos on this site. You can even wear Mexican sombrero’s around the gardens and try a little cactus cake at the café. Yummy. Allow yourself at least half a day to explore.

• 

• 

• 

• 

We then decided to head back to Moama via Barmah and a quick look at Barmah Lake, also on the Murray River, and the surrounding wildlife. A phone call to Moama Discovery Parks and we knew we had warm accommodation to look forward to. Once there we would be able to prepare in comfort for the Lockington Festival. Which we duly did. We must thank Dale for being our tour leader and for being so patient.
Friday 2nd August was the day to head over to Lockington, about a thirty minute drive away, but not before a look around the beautiful town of Echuca. Which included a little wine and fudge tasting along the way. Then lunch at the 3 Galahs café and hello another antique shop and a couple of Elvis records to add to my collection. Don’t worry, Annette did a little retail therapy as well.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Our next stop was to the home of our host for the weekend, Jennie Keele, who had kindly opened her home to us and with whom Dale and I had stayed with last year. Thank you so much for having us Jennie much appreciated it was great catching up again. Once our gear was unloaded and we were settled in we headed to the Lockington Community Hall to catch up with festival organisers Roz and Craig Giles and prepare for our first set. It has been a pleasure to perform at this festival over the last couple of years as we have made so many friendships and it is always so nice to renew them each year. We count among them Roz and Craig, Kerran Keats and Di Jones, Rupe Adams, Kinta Watts, James Moore, The Night Owls band Bob, Col and Fergie wonderful job guys and a big thank you to the talented Grant Luhrs on sound. So very nice to catch up with Allan Carroll again. We first met Allan on our first trip to Barham back in 2012 along with his lovely wife Nancy. So sorry to hear of Nancy’s passing Allan we send our love to you and your family, Nancy will be sadly missed by everyone that knew her. What can we say about the audience, amazing, they love their dancing. No more so then a wonderful couple from the small town of Simpson, Frank and Barbara. To see them dance is just such a joy, awesome. We were also blessed with a surprise visit from our dear friend Jenny Edwards. Didn’t think we were going to see you this year Jenny. Once again before you know it the weekend is coming to an end and we are saying our goodbyes. A special mention must go to the local volunteers from Lockington that kept us all fed and watered during the festival. Fantastic job everyone.

We then made the decision to head for Adelaide and home. So that was 670kms in 7 hours at night. Didn’t see any Roos but Annette reckons she spotted one fox along the way.

• 

• 

• 

We spent a few days catching up with Dales’ family and overcoming a few fears as shown by Lilly the blind Alexandrie Parrot and Rusty the Bearded Lizard. Success. One of the highlights of our trip was being invited to have dinner with the Sherrah and Stewart families. Tracy Stewart and her brother Steve competed on the NZCMA Awards circuit with their mum, Chris, back in the 70’s and 80’s at the same time as Annette and her sisters were competing and are also good friends of the Kanara family. The well-known musical family from Whangarei. So lots of connections there to reminisce about. Tracy and her husband the very talented guitarist, Anthony Stewart, along with Steve and his wife Michelle perform as The Sherrahs and their harmonies are awesome. We enjoyed a lovely family dinner followed by a sing a long that included items from all family members. Thank you so much for your hospitality and for sharing your amazing talents with us. Hopefully we can do it again sometime in the near future.

An early morning flight from Adelaide to Melbourne saw some emotional goodbyes to Dale. So sad to be leaving but we will certainly see him again soon. Melbourne to Auckland and the drive to Whangarei and we were home.

Looking ahead to September and October. We will be in Te Awamutu to perform at the Spring Hoe-Down on Saturday September 14^th  at the Sport and Recreation Club on Albert Park Dr. Really looking forward to performing at the festival. Thank you Keith for inviting us down. On Saturday October 12^th we will be helping the Whangarei Special Olympics with a fundraising concert at the Kamo Club. We have been lucky enough to have two icons of New Zealand country music agree to support this event, Dennis Marsh and Brendan Dugan will be joining us for the afternoon. Tickets are available now from the Kamo club. See you all at one of these two great events.

On a sadder note. While we were away two of our dearest friends passed away, Viv Bennet and Horrie Ogle. We will miss them both very much as they have been two of our biggest supporters for many many years. We send our love and deepest sympathies to each of their family members and in their memory we will keep on keeping it country. Rest in peace Viv and Horrie.

Best wishes everyone. Annette and Kim

Hi Folks

Our first gig in April was at the RSA. Another great night of dancing. It is always a pleasure to entertain here as we get such great support from the patrons. It looks as though we will be back at the RSA on the 5^th  of July. So catch you all there.

The following Sunday saw us catching up with the guys from The Mountain Mist band for a practice before the Bay of Islands festival. It usually pays to have at least one.

Saturday the 13^th April we were part of the Fall into Fall weekend at the Kamo club. Our spot was Saturday avo 1 – 3:30. Not a large audience but very appreciative and happy to sit and listen to the afternoon show. On Friday night we went along to support my cousin Craig Robertson and his band 43 Holes. Another awesome night of country and rock’n’roll tunes to get everyone on the dance floor. Saturday night was the turn of evergreen entertainer Shane and his band Shazam to get the crowd going. I hear it was a fantastic night. Overall an awesome weekend for everyone that attended the shows.

On the 27^th April we were part of the Ruatangata Hall Variety Concert Fundraiser. We were joined by some very talented locals to raise funds for the up keep of the community hall. The artists were piped into the hall at the beginning of the show by bagpipe player Hugh Montgomery. An awesome way to start the evening. Other artists included vocalist Amanda Raynor accompanied on guitar by her husband Paul Van Den Berg performing a couple of The Steeldrivers songs one being a great rendition of “If it Hadn’t Been For Love”. We were then entertained by two wonderful instrumentalists Graeme Phyn on keyboards and Wallace Johnson on Saxophone playing a variety of well known tunes. Joe Pita a very talented man fairly new to the district then treated the audience to some of his original songs and awesome guitar playing. A good number of locals turned out to support the evening. A big thank you to Pam and Peter Morgan and the committee for helping to organize this event. Hopefully more talented locals will start practicing hard for the next fundraiser.

And so into May and the internationally renowned “ Bay of Islands Country Rock Festival” 2019. What a great milestone for Shirley May and her team, 30 years, of providing outstanding country music to New Zealand fans. The photo shows Shirley presenting me with a “Certificate of Recognition” for performing in the 1^st and 30^th festivals and a few in between. Only two others share this achievement, Dallas Grant and Tony Harrison. I am sure that both Dallas and Tony feel the same way I do which is; It has been a pleasure Shirley. The photo also shows one of the great country albums from the ‘70s which I sometimes mention at our gigs “20 Town and Country Greats Vol 1”. A classic. Thanks for the copy Shirley.

We had three gigs over the weekend. The first being at the Copthorne in Waitangi. This is a great venue and it was awesome to be back performing with Richard, Tiny and Ian as The Mountain Mist Band. Then it was off to Russell and the Duke Tavern where were able to catch up with Joni Harms and her daughter, Olivia, all the way from the US of A. We first met Joni a couple of years ago when she travelled over for the Marton Country Music Festival. It was so nice to see her again and get a photo together with herself and Olivia. We also caught up with the very talented Carylann Martin. Carylann has agreed to play piano accordion on an original song I am recording with Mike McCarthy at Manuka Studios in Orewa so I am really looking forward to that. We managed to grab some dinner at the Russell RSA and listen to a great band from the mainland “The Northern Outpost” multi-talented musicians for sure.

Sunday we were at the Paihia Sports Bar for our final show. A great audience turned out to support us which was magnificent. Thanks to James on sound great job. We also managed to touch base with our Aussie friend, Callum Gleeson, an awesome singer who we will be seeing in Barham NSW in July. There were so many friends we were unable to catch up with but we hope you all had a fantastic time at the 30^th anniversary festival.

That is all we have booked until Friday the 28^th June when we will be appearing at the Henderson RSA. Look forward to seeing all our Auckland fans at this one it’s going to be a great night.

• 

• 

• 

• 

As most of you will be aware Annette is currently in the USA on the Kevin Greaves Tour with our good friend Elva Morgan. By the photos and videos being posted on Facebook they are having an awesome time. I’m sure we wish we could all be there with them. Lucky buggers. Follow the tour with Annette on Facebook. She is doing a great job of keeping us up to date on their travels.

One last thing to mention. Congratulations to all the contestants at the Norfolk Island Country Music Festival. Well done Jaydin Shingleton 2019 Winner Trans-Tasman EOY Award and Best Original Song. Runner – up Cherie Sinclair and Tegan Reid Most Promising Artist. We hope everyone involved in the festival had a fantastic time on this beautiful South Pacific Island.

So, take care and remember to keep it country and to all our Aussie fans and friends we will see you all in Barham in July. Can’t wait.

Best wishes

Annette and Kim