Tune in this Monday from 7pm AEST!
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On Monday, November 14, KIX Live will feature performances from 'KIX Live at the Markets' from Groundwater Country Music Festival from Travis Collins, Dan Davidson, Kaylee Bell, Max Jackson and Ella & Sienna, plus the week's 'Centre Stage' artist will be announced!
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Travis Collins won Toyota Star Maker in 2004, before the release of his debut album, Start The Car, the following year. No Boundaries (2007) and his self-titled third album (2011) followed. Wired (2015) and Hard Light (2016) reached #1 and #2 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart, respectively. His sixth release, Brave & The Broken (2018) received an ARIA Award nomination ‘Best Country Album’
He was awarded the CMC ‘Male Artist of the Year’ for 2017 and 2018 and swept the Golden Guitar Awards in 2017 on the back of Hard Light, for ‘Male Vocalist of the Year’, ‘APRA AMCOS Song of the Year’, and ‘Single of the Year’. Our Backyard (2017) with Amber Lawrence secured a further three wins – ‘Vocal Collaboration of the Year’, ‘APRA AMCOS Song of the Year’ and ‘Single of the Year’. His last album, Wreck Me, and its acoustic version dropped in 2020.
His new single, Just The Way, follows his current radio single One Of Them Nights – his first in two years – which currently sits at #2 on the Countrytown Hot 50 Country Airplay Chart and rising. Both songs are the first tracks lifted from his forthcoming album, due in 2023.
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Canada’s Dan Davidson has created undeniable momentum in the last few years. After getting his start in indie rock band Tupelo Honey, Davidson made the move to country in 2014 with the release of his debut solo single, Unkiss Her the following year. His EPs Songs For Georgia and the award-winning Juliet followed. In total, he has since scored 6 CCMA nominations, 10 ACMA awards, a gold record and a #1 selling Canadian song and record.
Davidson previously teamed up with Canadian trio, The Road Hammers on Roll With It, which peaked at #11 on the Countrytown Hot 50 Country Airplay Chart as well as with Hayley Jensen on his second Australian release, Really Shouldn’t Drink Around You, which debuted at #7.
His current single, Girl Drinks Beer featuring Travis Collins follows his previous single Warm Beer, written with Clayton Bellamy and Mitch Merritt and produced by multiple award-winning CCMA producer of the year, Jeff Dalziel. Davidson just wrapped up his first time down under where he impressed everybody who had the opportunity to see him live.
Born in Waimate, New Zealand, Kaylee Bell has been singing country music and learning guitar since the age of four and started songwriting at 14. In 2013, she was crowned Toyota Star Maker, making her the first New Zealand born artist since 1990 winner Keith Urban.
She released her debut album, Heart First, in 2013. The Red EP and second studio album, Silver Linings, followed in 2021. She was also chosen as the face of Spotify's EQUAL campaign which saw her featured in Times Square, New York representing female in music globally.
Bell competed on season 11 of The Voice Australia in 2022, where she performed her own self-penned song Keith, penned as a tribute to judge Urban. The song became a global hit with over 30 million Tik Tok plays, 9 million Spotify plays and is charting in the US, Canada, UK, Norway and NZ. The track also become the most streamed country song of the year.
Following the Same Songs duet with James Johnston, which peaked at #1 on the Countrytown Hot 50 Country Airplay Chart, Bell recently released her new single, Small Town Friday Nights. She also recently opened for Brad Paisley on the New Zealand leg of his world tour.
Raised on country music in the small town of Coonamble, NSW, Max Jackson has been forging her way to a successful career, stepping from talent quests, to graduating from both the Talent Development Project (CEO Mary Lopez), and the Country Music Association of Australia’s The Academy of Country Music to being part of a successful group The Apprentices (2012).
Inspired by female writers who really have something to say, like Kacey Musgraves, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crowe and Dolly Parton, Jackson has been happy as a behind-the-scenes songwriter, honing her craft, and taking trips to Nashville and Los Angeles, and writing with international and Australian artists. A highlight was a co-write with Nashville-based pop artist Svrcina on the song Astronomical, which was included in the smash TV Series, Legacies.
She released her debut album, Life Of The Party (and an extended deluxe edition), in 2020 as well as a Christmas album in 2017. Her current single, Stratosphere, follows her recent releases Runnin’, which peaked at #14 on the Countrytown Hot 50 Country Airplay Chart, and A Lot To Love. Earlier this year, Jackson was named the 2022 Toyota Star Maker winner.
Persistence has certainly paid off for Ella & Sienna who this year were finalists on The Voice Australia and were crowned winners of the 2022 Groundwater KIX-Start competition. The sisters from Adelaide Hills, South Australia are only 19 and 16 years old respectively and they're already making waves in the country music scene.
With diverse influences from artists including Missy Higgins, Fleetwood Mac and Taylor Swift, the multi-instrumentalist siblings have formed a pop/country/folk sound that is all their own. Ella & Sienna's voices alone command the crowd, and their harmonies weave deeply heartfelt lyrics with such effortlessness that they never fail to leave a lasting impression.
Their new track, The City In June, follows on from the success of their two previous singles, Next To Mine and Saved, which featured on radio stations across the country and airplay and sales charts. Their debut single, Next to Mine, spent an impressive 8 weeks in the Countrytown Hot 50 Country Airplay Chart, peaking at #32. Both singles were added to high rotation on ABC Country Radio, and the music video for Saved has been recently added to high rotation on CMT.