Hi Folks

On Sunday the 14th May we flew out to Norfolk Island with a group of 25 people on our 10th anniversary Personalised and Exclusive Norfolk Island Country Music Festival Tour 2017. Well we actually flew out with 22 people as we had 3 of the group flying in from Australia. One Kiwi and 2 of our Aussie friends that would become honorary Kiwis for the week. We also had Annette’s nephew, Alex, joining us again in 2017. There’s no show without Punch. We also had Des and Sharon Fatt with us who were also celebrating their 10th trip with us to Norfolk Island. Little did anyone know that 2008 would be the beginning of a 10 year association with Norfolk Island and the descendants of the Bounty Mutiny. It has been an amazing journey in our lives.

Once everyone was settled in to their accommodation we all gathered at the Paradise Hotel and Resort for our welcome dinner with entertainment from our good friend and local entertainer Lully Nobbs. It was a great evening and an excellent way to kick off the festival.

On Monday morning we were up early for our exclusive Norfolk Today Tour with Baunti Escapes. We had designed a tour which covered over 80 % of the island and included the roofs of Cascade Rd, Two Chimneys Rd, Rooty Hill Rd and Queen Elizabeth ll  Lookout, Kingston, Quality Row, Bloody Bridge, Lone Pine and Emily Bay, Mt Pitt with a talk from the Norfolk Island Parks Dept, lunch at Captain Cook memorial, pottery demo from Steve Ryves, gospel singing at St Barnabas Chapel and home via Headstone and Hundred Acre Reserve. We must thank everyone at Baunti for helping us with the tour especially our wonderful drivers, Rachelle and Lynn and Rebecca from The Travel Centre. This tour gave the group a taste of Norfolk Island and what it has to offer.

Tuesday morning was our usual mini golf competition with everyone enjoying a fun and hilarious morning and getting into the team spirit. A lovely morning tea was once again supplied by Agnes and her team. We hope everyone enjoyed receiving our new cd “The Best of Annette and Kim” and the commemorative 10th anniversary plaque made from native Norfolk Pine in their gift packs. Congratulations to David Krebs the individual winner on the day and also to Elaine Mitchell and Elain Foster 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Tuesday evening we were all taken to the South Pacific Resort for the Island Fish Fry due to the possibility of inclement weather at Puppy’s Point.

Entertainment was provided by Pitcairn descendant, Trent Christian, with a dance demo by the Tahitian dancers. Plenty of fish was supplied for the evening dinner with no one going hungry. Full tummies all round.

Wednesday and Thursday were free days for the group to explore the island and for those with passes to join in with the NICMA activities. Those that wished to joined Annette and I at the RSL for our Wednesday twilight gig did so before heading off to the Trans-Tasman EOY Awards which we will cover later.

Friday we were all booked in for lunch at the RSL where Annette and I entertained once again. We would like to thank Terence and his staff at the RSL for their great work and for inviting us to perform. Thank you also to all the local islanders that came to hear us. Over the years we have built a great friendship with many of the locals and we really do appreciate your support. Playing at the RSL also gives us a chance to catch up with some of our Aussie friends that we only get to see at the festival or when we venture to some of the Australian festivals.

Friday evening was our farewell dinner at the pirate themed Jolly Roger restaurant with entertainment by Craig Stewart. Craig writes a lot of bush ballads and is a regular performer at many Australian festivals. The ship and the evening was well run by a young friend of ours Sophie Harris and her team. It was an awesome way to finish the week.

   Saturday morning was again a free morning for the group with a couple of them taking advantage of the Pitcairn Settlers Village tour option. The afternoon saw us all gather at the Crown Motel departure lounge, kindly supplied by Wendy and Lee, for a wine and cheese afternoon and a bit of a wind down and group sing a long after a very busy week. It was also time to say goodbye to our Aussie friends, Doreen and Colin, who were heading back to Australia on the Brisbane flight. The rest of us would head back home on Sunday morning.

NICMA had organised a full week of music for all attending the festival. Monday evening was the NZ showcase with Headliner, Jody Direen, supported by Midnite Special (Lex and Michelle Greaves and Robert Katipa jr ), Kelvin Cummings 2016 Trans-Tasman winner and Laura Lowe 2016 Intermediate NZCMA Entertainer of the Year. With backing by the Huckleberries and Echo in Harmony who also handled the M.C. duties.

Tuesday evening was the Aussie showcase with Headliner Shane Nicholson and featuring Georgia White, Drew McAlister and Warren H Williams And Dani Young backed by Tonally Functional featuring the amazing Michel Rose on Pedal Steel. The show was M.Ced by Aussie duo Nielly Rich.

         Wednesday was the gospel show held at All Saints Church Kingston for platinum and gold pass holders which featured most of the contracted artists and which Annette and I were kindly asked to perform on. This gave us a chance to try out some of the songs we would like to record on a Gospel album at some stage. Wednesday evening was the ever popular Trans-Tasman competition. All the competitors did a great job with the winner on the night being Mason Hope from Australia with runner up going to Kiwi Keith Pereira.

Next year will be the 25th anniversary of the festival so don’t be late booking if you wish to celebrate this milestone.

Annette and I will also be taking a tour to Norfolk Island in January 2018. This is the “Count Us In” Music Tour with Alan and Maureen Webster from Australia. It’s going to be a great week of music and mayhem so don’t delay if you want to join us for this tour. Norfolk Air will be chartering a direct flight for Kiwi travellers. Please contact us if you would like a tour package or go to our web page to view the package.

Once again thank you to everyone that joined us on Norfolk Island for our 10th tour. We hope you had a great time and enjoyed the island and the many wonderful things it has to offer. We look forward to catching up with you all somewhere sometime on our country music journey.

Take care and keep it country.

Best wishes

Annette and Kim

Hi folks

We had the pleasure of being part of a fantastic concert on Sunday the 26th February. Far North District mayor John Carter QSO was master of ceremonies for the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway Trusts Concert at the Station fundraiser held in the Big Green Shed opposite the Kawakawa Vintage Railway Station. A unique musical bonanza of local talent put on an awesome afternoon of entertainment for a large and appreciative audience. First up were Kerikeri’s ladies barbershop harmony group and regular performers at the Railway concerts Bella A Cappella recent award winners at the Sweet Adelines competition performing  Railway related songs in perfect harmony.

Ellen Callister born in Kerikeri, but now residing in Auckland, is an accomplished young Opera singer with a lovely voice who performed a number of classic opera and pop opera  arias including “Think of Me” from Phantom of the Opera and a touching rendition of “Hine E Hine”. Ellen was accompanied by her mum on keyboards and harp. Australian born, South African raised and now Bay of Islands local Shavonne Aliphon is an up and coming young country singer who specialises in performing traditional country music and original songs. Shavonne left the crowd wanting more. Following Shavonne were local group Tambo who play Celtic jazz a mix of 70’s and 80’s rock and folk music. This was an infectious blend of styles and had the crowd humming. Next was Moerewa local girl Zoe King singing rhythm and blues to keep the crowd going and performing a great blues version of the George Jones country standard “Tennessee Whiskey”. Thanks to Alexander for doing a great job on sound as always. Also a big thank you to Shirley for inviting us to perform, all the volunteers that helped out on the day and who give so much of their time to keep these old trains running. And finally to all those that came along on the day to support the concert and help to raise over $2000-00 for the Vintage Railway Trust. We hope to see you all again next year.

Best wishes

Annette and Kim

Hi folks,

We had a fantastic weekend at the Marton Country Music Festival organized by Anne George and her local team. 20th -22nd January. The weather was changeable but that didn’t dampen the spirits of over 1000.00 country music fans, arriving in close to 400 mobile homes and caravans with a few hardier souls seating up tents. The weekend consisted of walk-ups and organized shows with invited guests. Friday nights Headliner was talented American country singer/ songwriter Beth Williams, supported by other NZ country artists,including Peter Frew, Phaidra Stokes, Jenni Smith, Carylann, Legal Tender, Toner Sisters. Saturday morning was chance for club members and country lovers to do walk ups.With Saturday afternoon featuring invited singers. The Saturday Night show was headlined by our very good friend and talented Australian Country singer/song writer Justin Standley.The night show was supported by the band Branded also featuring invited artists Lynn Crawford, Sean Pawson, Moll G Paige, Joy Adams, Craig Adams, Kylie Austin. Special thanks to the bands over the weekend for their hard yard and time its very much appreciated – Branded & Rimutaka Trail Band. Special thanks to the Club Hotel in Marton for having us for the weekend. To Tony & Kim Stewart thanks for your support guys. Great catching up with everyone, look forward to next time. It is with sadness that we farewell Anne George and her team we have enjoyed every festival that we have attended and we thank Anne for her support. We wish the new organizer all the very best for the continuation of the Marton Festival. Check out the photos from the 2017 festival….

Keeping it Country.

Annette & Kim

Hi Folks
We just don’t know where this year has gone. Here we are with Christmas just around the corner. We have had a great year and are looking forward to some exciting stuff in 2017.

Before that though we have finished off the year with our last 2016 gigs at Whangarei RSA and the Kamo Club Dance Section. On November 4th we had a great evening at the RSA with a good turn out and everyone dancing the night away. On Wednesday the 7th December we played for the Kamo Club Dance Sections Christmas breakup. Again another good crowd turned out to dance and participate in the Xmas activities. We look forward to seeing everyone in 2017 and would like to thank the RSA and Kamo Club for their support. Also thank you everyone that has supported us during the year. We appreciate it very much.

On the 4th of December we were guest artists at the Hibiscus CMC in Orewa. This was a fun day with a good crowd in attendance, approx. 200 people, to enjoy an afternoon of country music. It was also great to catch up with so many friends that we had not seen for quite a while. Thank you to the band for a fantastic job in backing not only us but all the singers that performed on the day. Also thank you to everyone that bought a cd or DVD on the day. We hope you enjoy them and we appreciate your support. We look forward to returning in 2017.

Looking ahead to 2017 we have already got a number of people booked for our Norfolk Is Tour in May. As we have previously said this will be our 10th anniversary tour to the Country Music Festival and we have another fantastic week organised for our tour group. There are still places available so contact us if you would like to join us in 2017.
We will once again be attending the Marton Country Music Festival in January, the Barham Stampede, NSW, Aust, in July and the inaugural Lockington Country Music Festival, Vic, Aust, in August. We will also be playing for the National Street Rod Association in Rotorua on the 22nd October, really looking forward to that one.

Once again thank you to you all for supporting us in 2016. Enjoy your Christmas and New Year celebrations and stay safe. We will catch you in 2017. Take care and keep it Country.

Best wishes and have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
Annette and Kim