Adam Brand, Matt Cornell & More Join Monday’s KIX Live

On Monday, April 3 at 7pm, KIX Live will feature performances from Adam Brand and Matt Cornell, Lyn Bowtell, Jake Davey, Jade Gibson, Laura Frank and Dakota East.

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Adam Brand

Since bursting onto the scene with his celebrated self-titled debut album in 1998, Adam Brand has taken home 12 CMAA Golden Guitar Awards and netted six ARIA Award nominations. Confirming Brand’s incomparable power as a fan favourite performer Australia wide, he has taken out seven CMC Oz Artist of the Year Awards – more than any other artist in the awards’ history.

As well as his 14 studio albums, Brand has released one holiday album, Christmas In Australia and three compilation albums. Starting with Built for Speed in 2002, Brand has enjoyed an unbroken string of #1-charting ARIA Country Albums. 2020’s Speed of Life took out the #6 spot on the overall ARIA Albums Chart, marking Adam’s sixth studio album to make the Top 10.

His current release, All or Nothing, was awarded ‘Highest Selling Album’ for All Or Nothing at the 2023 Queensland Music Awards and nominated for ‘Best Country Album’ at the 2022 ARIA Music Awards. Brand also nabbed five 2023 Golden Guitar nominations, including ‘Male Artist of the Year’.

Matt Cornell

As one half of Golden Guitar nominated duo, Cornell & Carr, the five-time Golden Guitar nominee had had his solo career on the backburner in recent years, before the release of his new single, Stick Around, earlier this month. Despite his brief solo hiatus, Cornell has been anything but idle throughout his lifelong music career. Sneaking in the back doors of venues to play professionally when he was just 16, he’s enjoyed an illustrious career as a bass player to some music royalty.

He’s plucked the 4-string for Baby Animals, Richard Clapton, Rose Tattoo, Shannon Noll and now, Adam Brand. Matt has also fronted the stage at the famous SXSW festival in Texas and supported Richard Marx on both his 2016 and 2018 Australian tours.

Cornell grew up in a musical family. The son of performers Cheryl Assange and former Delltone Wayne Cornell, his parents would often rehearse shows in the loungeroom. Cornell’s uncle, George Assange (also performed under the name Vic Sabrino), was also influential, being the first Australian to make a rock ‘n ’roll recording in 1955.

Lyn Bowtell

From a musical family, Lyn Bowtell began performing as a child. At 13, she competed in her first country music talent quest, a trend that continued well into her teens. After attending the CMAA College of Country Music, she was named the Toyota Star Maker in 1997.

In 2002, Bowtell released her debut solo album, Heart’s In The Country. Albums Secret Songs (2012) and Heart Of Sorrow (2014) followed. Since 2015, Bowtell has been focused on her trio project Bennett, Bowtell & Urquhart, and was also appointed creative director of The CMAA Academy of Country Music, where she has advised and mentored hundreds of emerging artists.

After successfully auditioning for The Voice Australia in 2017, in which she joined Boy George’s team, she released a six-track EP called Calling You. It debuted at #2 on the ARIA Top 20 Australian Artist Country Albums Chart and #13 on the ARIA Top 40 Country Albums Chart. Her latest album, Wiser gives a clear view of Bowtell as a deeply feeling and empathetic human being whose captivating voice demands her listener’s attention and rewards it from a depth and confidence that comes from knowing exactly who she is.

Jake Davey

Hailing from the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, the country pop singer-songwriter has been honing his craft in music since the age of 6. Following the release of his 2019 debut single On Your Mind, Davey won the 2020 ‘Travis Collins Scholarship’ to attend the CMAA Academy in Tamworth, which lead to his first-ever publishing deal and a collaboration with Golden Guitar winner Kevin Bennett on his second single Think of Me, which debuted at #2 on iTunes.

Davey has played major festivals including the Tamworth Country Music Festival, Wingham Akoostic Festival, Lakeside Festival, and Country at the Beach, and supported artists including Diesel, Daryl Braithwaite, Rick Price, Casey Donovan, Taylor Henderson, Travis Collins and The Viper Creek Band. Drawing from influences like Old Dominion, Dan + Shay and Keith Urban, Davey has shaped himself into a formidable musician who embraces a modern country sound.

Davey was also a top ten Toyota Star Maker finalist in 2022.

Jade Gibson

Born and raised in Wangaratta, Victoria, Gibson’s dream of being a country-pop artist was helped by her love of Keith Urban, The Chicks and Fleetwood Mac from a young age. She began playing cover shows since she was 14 years old and has over 500 shows under her belt – including playing to BnS Ball crowds alongside some of Australia’s most popular country music acts such as The Wolfe Brothers, Travis Collins, and Christie Lamb.

In 2018, she spent a whole year in Nashville studying, while developing her skills in performing, song writing and recording. The following year, she released her debut single The Great Unknown in 2019 from her five track EP of the same name, which explored stories of being young, love, heartbreak and chasing dreams. The track debuted at #1 on the Australian iTunes country charts upon release.

Singles Start Again (2019), ‘Til We Fly (2020), 23 Dryburgh Street (2020), Wildfires (2021) and Soundtracks (2021) followed. Gibson was also announced as one of the finalists in the ‘open category’ in the 2021 Gympie Music Muster NAB Talent Search, which is responsible for helping launch the careers of Mark O’Shea from the duo O’Shea, sisters Brooke and Sam McClymont from The McClymonts, Drew McAlister, Ruby Gilbert and Brooke Schubert.

Laura Frank

Laura Frank has always been heavily involved in the arts. Raised in Charlwood, Queensland, she discovered her passion for singing while attending dance lessons as a child. 

The singer-songwriter draws from her love of rock poets like Bruce Springsteen and Brandi Carlile, as well as contemporary trailblazers, Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga, to influence her edgy country sound. She has written and recorded a swag of charting singles. Things I’d Rather Do and Leave It All Behind reached the top 10 in the Australian Country Music Charts, while Pretty and Simple Girls made it to number one on the iTunes Music Video Charts.

Frank has supported James Blundell on multiple occasions, as well as Chocolate Starfish and Sarah McLeod (The Superjesus) with her energetic live show. Earlier this year, Frank joined the ever popular ‘Write Like A Girl’ showcase at the Tamworth Country Music Festival. She also took home the award for ‘Most Promising Future Star’ at the Australian Country Music People’s Choice Awards. 

Dakota East

Dakota East grew up in a log cabin on a small island in the middle of Ontario Lake surrounded by music. Her mum would play B.B King and Bonnie Raitt around the house, and her Dad loved North American folk singers like Neil Young, James Taylor and Joni Mitchell, while East’s music is her nod to modern country crossover influences Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris and Caylee Hammack.

In 2017, East moved to Melbourne where she established herself as a regular performer amongst Victoria’s most loved music venues and opened for Jon Stevens, Travis Collins, Wendy Matthews and Joe Camilleri and The Black Sorrows.

In 2021, she released her debut single Runaway, which has achieved over 300,000 streams so far and charted at #20 on radio. Her follow up – and current release – Feel It dropped last month.