News from Annette & Kim

Hi folks 

Just a note to let you all know that yes we are still here. Life’s challenges are taking priority at the moment. As most you may be aware Annette has been out of action for quite a while now and is waiting on more back surgery. The wheels of progress turn slowly though. Very frustrating. I don’t know how she does it. Thank you for your continued support and understanding and know that we are thinking of you all and miss performing for you. We are still taking the odd booking and have a couple of gigs coming up in February and March and of course the BOI Country Rock Festival in May. Don’t worry though we haven’t been sitting on our laurels. We have been working on new material for our gigs and shows, entering songwriting competitions and writing more original songs. We look forward to catching up with you all in 2024 and send you all our love and best wishes. Until then remember to keep it country. Annette and Kim

 

Hi Folks

It’s been a little while so let us go back in time for a moment to November 2022 and reflect on how far we have come from finally getting the Whangarei Special Olympics Fundraiser concert off the ground with our good friends Te Whanau , (Jessie, Jane and Millie) and Dave Ewart Jnr. Such talented people giving their time for this worthy cause. A couple of non starts due to covid but we got there in the end. Thank you to everyone that supported the concert to raise funds for the team to attend the Nationals and for your patience in waiting for it to all come together.
December saw me Judging the Little Tennessee Country Music Club Awards along side the very talented Kylie Austin Ward. A great afternoon was had by everyone in attendance. Congratulations to the winners on the day and to all those that entered the awards. Keep up the good work. Thank you Shirley May and Cttee for inviting me along.
January I was a guest artist at the Egmont Country Music Festival held in New Plymouth well just out of New Plymouth at Kevin and Lynda Moratti”s property at Bell Block. As you may have seen the weather wasn’t playing ball but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the large appreciative audience. So nice to catch up with Lance Wilson now living in New Plymouth and now part of the Sweet country music family. Great to also catch up with Lloyd and Nancy Muller and Gary and Kathy Little.
Sadly during March we said goodbye to two very dear friends, Len Field and Gavin Davidson, both were great supporters of our music and both a part of our tour groups to the Norfolk Island Country Music Festival over the years. We will certainly miss seeing their smiling faces at our shows as will the Little Tennessee CMC of which they were also great supporters.
As many of you are aware Annette has been out of action since November 2021 following an accident and severely injuring her lower back. After having surgery in December 2022, yes over a year later, and spending some time recuperating Annette made it back on stage in April 2023 to join me to entertain as part of the Kamo Club Dance Section Fall into Fall weekend. We had a great Saturday afternoon show playing to an appreciative audience and watching some awesome dancing from the stage. Thank you to all that supported the show it was very much appreciated.
On Saturday the 22^nd April we managed to catch up with the members of The Mountain Mist Band, Richard, Tiny and Ivan for a long overdue practice for the Bay of Islands Country Rock Festival. We are certainly looking forward to the weekend and being back together again on stage with the band. See our poster for times and venues for our weekend gigs 12^th, 13^th and 14^th May.

We have also been asked to entertain at the Poroti Tavern on the 27^th May. Apparently it’s a great little country pub so looking forward to seeing how that goes. Come on out for a meal and great music. We will be starting around 6pm so won’t finish too late.
Wednesday 5^th July we will be back at the Kamo Club to entertain the Dance Section 7pm-9:30pm. Always a great time playing for these guys and gals. Come along and try out your dancing shoes.
Then finally we are off to New Plymouth to entertain for the Merrilands CMC. I say finally as this gig has been in the pipeline since 2021 but due to Covid lockdowns had to be postponed a couple of times. So, third times a charm as they say. Looking forward to a great dance night on Saturday 15^th July. If you are in the area come along. We will be at the New Plymouth Club 55 Gill Street. It’s going to be an awesome night.

That’s about it for now folks. Keep an eye on our Facebook page as well for interesting titbits and info on where we are and what we will be doing and remember to keep it country. Best wishes
Annette and Kim

Hi Folks
As you are all aware Entertainers of all descriptions have been doing it tough over the last couple of years. Lets hope that things will return to some kind of normal sometime in 2022. Like so many artists Annette and I have had to look at different avenues to get our music out to all of our fans and friends and hopefully you are enjoying what we are doing.

Before we look at the year so far we would like to look back on the second half of 2021 and the gigs that we managed to get to do and the ones that had to be canceled. Which we won’t dwell on for too long.
Following on from the 2021 BOI festival, which seems a lifetime ago, we were privileged to attend the 50^th Anniversary celebrations of the NZCMA held at the Mellinium Hotel in Rotorua at the beginning of June. We had an awesome weekend catching up with so many of the friends we have made in country music over the years during our time competing on the awards circuit. Which for Annette dates back to the late 1970’s. Thank you Michael and Ashley and your Committee for a wonderful weekend.

During July we took time out and traveled to the South Island. Both being able to catch up and spend time with friends and family and enjoy the beautiful scenery and just chill out for a few weeks.
Then along came August and another Lockdown, Traffic Lights and canceled Shows and gigs, a few being; our regular Whangarei Special Olympics Fundraiser concert in August scheduled to include Dave Ewart Jr and Te Whanau, hopefully we can get this up and running this year, Octobers Branded Festival in Te Aroha, Merrilands CMC Fundraiser concert in November in New Plymouth and the Kamo Club Dance Sections Christmas Break Up one of the regular gigs for us. Very disappointing to say the least.

December and Christmas also saw us sending out Christmas song videos to hopefully bring a little joy to everyone in the festive season with our special guest Alex Dickson sitting in on a few songs.
January saw a slight easing of restrictions but enough for us to attend the Egmont Country Music Festival in New Plymouth so fingers crossed for 2023. However we were able to attend the outdoor music days with the Northern Wairoa CMC held at Ken and Elain Foster’s home in Te Kopuru overlooking the Mighty Northern Wairoa River. So nice to be performing “live” again as it were with good friends and good music in a relaxing location.

We now also needed to start thinking outside the square regarding our music and how to move forward with it and build on the work we have been doing during the Lockdowns. We have been entering songs in International Songwriting competitions and at present have one titled “Smoke and Perfume” in the top 30 list for the Australian Songwriters Association competition so fingers crossed for this also. We are beginning to ramp up our YouTube account by releasing all our original songs over the coming weeks and months. Please “Like” and “Subscribe” to our YouTube account and keep up to date with our music. We will also be uploading these songs to Spotify and/or iTunes so that you can purchase them to listen to at your leisure. We are also recording new original songs the first being “We All Make Promises” recorded with Alex Wallace at Huanui Studio, Whangarei, New Zealand and Brett Cave at Mayhem Music, Kamo, New Zealand. There are 2 or 3 more in the pipeline so keep an eye out for those in the coming months finances willing. Being unable to earn an income through our music has been tough and we know many artists are in the same situation but we are grateful for what we are still able to do. So we look forward to bringing you new songs from us this year and we will try to put up some new videos as well. Not sure about going “Live” yet as my computer skills are not the greatest, however, we may give it a go. Annette will let me know. Well, that’s about it for now. Take care of yourselves everyone and remember to keep it country.

Best wishes

Annette and Kim

Hi Everyone 

HI everyone, giging and shows are off the cards at the moment with all that’s happening around the world and not just here in NZ, it’s effecting us all on some level. From us to you all, we thank you for your continued support and listening to our music, Stay safe, till we can meet again in person..

NEWS:

We are very excited to debut our brand new song titled “We All Make Promises” written by Kim Copedo. The song has been a real work in progress over the last 3 to 4 years and was finally completed during the first COVID lockdown in 2020. It was performed live with The Mountain Mist Band at the 2021 Bay of Islands Country Rock Festival which gave us the impetus to take the next step and take the song into the recording studio. This has been made possible with the assistance of two very talented people, Alex Wallace at Huanui Studios, Glenbervie, Whangarei for Instrumentation, Engineering and Mastering ( with the help of Annette and Kim ) and Brett Caves at Music Mayhem , Kamo, Whangarei for vocal recording. Definitely a new way of recording for us both but we are very happy with the final result and the amazing experience of working with Alex and Brett. We hope you all will enjoy this new song as well. Be sure to “Like” and ” Subscribe” to our YouTube channel as there are more songs to come. Big thank you to Annette for the slideshow to accompany the song.

Keeping it country.

Annette & Kim

Hi Folks

Most of you will be keeping up to date with what we have been doing through our Facebook page which Annette does an amazing job of keeping current. But we thought we would bring our Web page up to date as well and cover some of the shows we have done since January. So here goes.

January 2nd and 3rd – Annette was invited to perform at the Wai – Worri Country Muster held on Phil Godfrey’s property at Aranga a little settlement just north of Dargaville. And an awesome spot it is at that. This year the festival was supporting “Kids with Arthritis” charity. Other artists performing along with Annette were; festival convenor herself Carleen Stll, Dave Ewart Jr, Wendy Maree and Entranzet (Tracey- Maree and Nick Houia). Backing bands for the weekend were “The Wai Worri Band” Ray, Ted, Bruce and Dan and “The Tradesmen” John, Robin, Kevin and Bob. Mostly fantastic sunny weather was enjoyed by the appreciative audience with the odd shower of rain making an appearance. A great weekend had by all that attended. A fantastic job done by Carleen and Phil and their team of volunteers to make the festival the success that it is and raising nearly five and a half thousand dollars for the charity. Congratulations to Wayne and June Alderton on winning the Yamaha acoustic guitar kindly donated by the team at Wards Music Whangarei.

Saturday 23rd January saw us at the Kamo club entertaining. Not often we get a Saturday gig here, so nice for a change. Great to have family supporting us on the night. Check out the video of Aunty June dancing to “Living Next Door To Alice” she’s 90 don’t you know. Awesome time had with our friends at the club and our roadie Alex Dickson along for the night just for good measure.

February 26th we made our first appearance of the year at Whangarei RSA. Another great night entertaining familiar faces. Thanks to our regular supporters Yvonne, Donna, Jo, Carol and Alex. A large crowd always stays until the end dancing the night away. Hope to be back there soon.

We had a great night Saturday 13th March with the Towai community enjoying the America’s Cup finals on the large screen and providing entertainment at the Towai Hall for them after a day of games and good food. Fantastic day and evening had by all at this amazing community.

• 

• 

The following weekend 19th – 21st March we were in Dunedin at the Tairei Bowling Club as guests of the Silver Peaks Country Music Club performing for their annual Hoe Down. Glad to be there finally in 2021 as the 2020 event was cancelled due to COVID. What an amazingly run weekend, special thanks to Margaret Webster, her committee and volunteers working behind the scenes. Brilliant team work putting everything together. Thank you to our hosts Francis and Graeme Partridge for opening their home to us and for your hospitality, much appreciated. Thanks also to Kevin for the taxi service and to Steven and Bill on sound for the weekend. Friday night we were entertained by the very talented duo Melissa and the Doctor ( Melissa Partridge and Hyram Ballard). Also great to catch up with Marie Haslemore, Kelvin Cummings and his lovely wife Marie and Bevan Gardener New Zealand’s very own John Denver.

Thoroughly enjoyed sitting back and listening to the talent through out the day with walk ups and the afternoon concerts were a delight. Great to see the youth concert well supported with the young ones keeping it country. Can’t forget young Austin, Melissa’s son, for entertaining us and keeping Kim occupied making and testing paper Planes throughout the weekend. Will catch up again one day Austin.

You never know who you are going to run into while away and wouldn’t you know it there were Allan and Audrey Lappin from Whangarei having a great time while travelling around the South Island in their Motorhome , lovely to see them. Allan and Audrey have joined us a couple of times on our Norfolk Island tours. Also lovely to catch up with Trish and Anita Dyer whom Annette had the pleasure of meeting on the Kevin Greaves USA Tour, Ngarita Carter from Balclutha and Faye Spittle from Crowell. Great to see you all again.

The friendships gained from these events are always a blessing. Thank you all for making us feel so welcome. Hope to catch up again soon.

Wednesday 7th April saw us entertaining at the Kamo Club for the Kamo Club Dance Section’s 21st birthday celebrations. What a great achievement, the dance section has been going just a little bit longer than Annette and I have been singing together. We have had the pleasure of being invited to entertain at many of their birthday celebrations over the years. Such a good crew to entertain for and we have made many friendships during those years. Congratulations Denise and John, Margaret, Ann, Pauline and Kevin, Wayne and June, Yvonne, Donna, Jo, Sally and Ray, Christine and Gary, Neville and all the dance section members. We have loved watching you all dance to our music over the years.

April 24^th We had the pleasure of participating in Joy Adams’ StarBuddy Charitable Trust fundraiser show and dance held at the Te Kowhai Hall on Saturday night.
What is StarBuddy? StarBuddy Charitable Trust is a unique fundraising concept set up to support Charities, Schools, and Organisations working directly with children dealing with disabilities, severe illness, and special needs. To date over $30,000 has been raised by Joy and her team and distributed to worthy recipients.
We were joined by some of New Zealand’s finest Country entertainers including Joy herself. With the fabulous backing band consisting of Keith Willis (Bass), Robert Antonio (Drums), Derek Evans (Rhythm), Lance Murch (Lead) and performing an outstanding rendition of “Guitar Boogie” during the night, Joe Martin (Steel) and Carylann Martin (Keyboards and Accordion) as well as performing a number of songs. The very large audience was treated to a night of outstanding performances and danced the night away (including Annette & Kim) to tunes from John de Burgh, Craig Robertson, Dennis August, Gail Russell and  NZCMA Youth Ambassador Anna Tukuiologa.
There was a huge array of raffles to be won which included Dollars, Groceries, Dolls and Wooden Toys, Appliance Pack, Picnic Pack, Orchids, Flax and Flowers, CD/DVD pack and many more.

A big thank you to all the volunteers that support Joy to make shows such as this possible. Ray Fletcher (Sound), Brin Hitchens (Lighting) all those that helped out with meals and selling raffles, those taking tickets at the door and all those people helping with setting up and packing away chairs,tables and gear. There would be no show without your invaluable assistance. An amazingly delicious supper was enjoyed by all, thank you everyone for your contributions. From ourselves a big thank you to Yvonne and Peter and David and Louise for the accommodation and hospitality. Much appreciated and look forward to seeing you all again sometime in the future.
Keep and eye out for more of Joy’s StarBuddy shows you won’t be disappointed. Thank you Joy for inviting us to perform. We had a blast.

May 7,8,9th Bay of Islands Country Rock Festival.

• 

• 

• 

An exciting time for us especially since last year’s festival had to cancelled. It was also a chance to get back with “The Mountain Mist Band” and play some country music together. We are so blessed to have these guys playing for us and with just a couple of practices under our belts it felt like old times. Along with Richard Pinny on Drums, Andrew Paterson on Pedal Steel, Tiny Heathcote on Bass we had a new member Ivan Hoete on Lead Guitar joining us for the weekend. We thank all these guys for their time, dedication and musicianship it is very much appreciated. It is a pleasure to share the stage with you all.

We had four great shows during the weekend beginning with the Paihia Sports Bar on Friday night with a great crowd in attendance ready to enjoy a weekend of country music from some of the best acts in New Zealand country music. The line up for Friday night was Te Whanau, Carleen and Her Crew, Reg McTaggert, The Karen Davy Band, Jamie Ham, Maria’s Hot Property and Rica Chez. Great way to kick off the weekend.

Saturday we had two shows one at the Ex- Servicemen’s Club and then the Kingsgate Autolodge both to good sized audiences. It was also great to catch up with so many friends in country music who we haven’t seen for so long, Sally and Brian Burgess, the Te Paa family, the Murray family, the Hantler family, Craig and Donna Robertson, Michael and Ashley Tipping, Bevan Gardener, Dan Cosgrove, Kylie Austin, Tracey-Maree and Nick Houia, Raymond and Esther Solomon, Carylann Martin, the Greaves family, Aly Cook, Mike McCarthy just to name a few.

Following the Friday night gig we had an awesome meal at the Thai Restaurant “Greens” with our good friends Des and Sharon Fatt, Yvonne Palmer and Donna Dodds. So nice to just chill out with good friends and good food. Then Saturday morning we were up earlyish and out for a lovely breakfast at Zane Greys with Annette’s nephews AJ and Alex Dickson. AJ had kindly offered to accompany his older brother Alex to the festival for the day.

Our final show on Sunday evening was at the Scenic Hotel so we didn’t have to travel far as we were staying at the Scenic just a short walk across the court yard to the stage. A big thank you to the management of the Scenic for offering accommodation to the artists. It is very much appreciated.

Special thanks go to Shirley May and her team for putting together another fabulous line up of entertainers and all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes to put the festival together.

Thank you to our friends Yvonne Palmer and Lynette Porter for the videos and awesome photos taken during the festival.

Hope to see everyone again next year.

And that folks is about where we are at so far. Coming up we have a few private gigs, the 50th anniversary of the NZCMA in Rotorua on the 5th of June and the Branded Te Aroha festival in October.

Take care and remember to keep it country.

Best wishes

Annette and Kim

Featuring Dennis Marsh & Brendan Dugan

Hi folks

An awesome day was had on Sunday the 15^th November at the Whangarei Special Olympics fundraiser concert held at the Kamo club. A full house was treated to a fantastic day of entertainment by two legends of New Zealand country music Dennis Marsh and Brendan Dugan bringing their mix of classic country music to enthral the crowd. They have a slick and well polished show having now spent many years working together on the road all around New Zealand. They were ably supported by Annette and Kim with “The Dixie Chickens” even making an appearance to amuse the crowd with their version of ”Tennessee Bird Walk”. Check out the videos on Facebook folks.

Thanks to the Kamo club management and staff, Doug the Digger Roadshow and Magic Music (Yvonne Lilly) for all their help in supporting the Special Olympics Team. Thank you Susan Marsh, (no no relation to Dennis), for distributing flyers for the concert. We know we can always depend on you. Thank you to Dennis and Brendan for sharing their amazing talents and stories with us. Thank you JD for assisting Dennis and Brendan with setting up and breaking down the gear. Much appreciated.

The amazing amount of $4200 was raised to assist the Special Olympics team. Which is absolutely awesome. Thanks to everyone that attended. Your continued support is very much appreciated. If it wasn’t for you making an audience for us to perform to there wouldn’t be much point to it all. So thank you, thank you, thank you.

We look forward to seeing you all again next year. Until then remember to take care and to keep it country.
Have a Very Merry Christmas everyone and a safe and happy New Year.

Best wishes

Annette and Kim

P.S. Our last two gigs for the year will the Kamo Club Dance Section Christmas Break Up on Wednesday 2^nd December and the Whangarei RSA on Friday the 11^th December. These will be two great nights not to be missed. See you all there.

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