Southern Cross ready to rock

A host of country artists are set to rock the Southern Cross Stage on the final day of the Motor City Music Festival.
Among the headlining acts is Aleyce Simmonds, who earned recognition as the 2014 Australian Independent Female Artist of the Year and is a five-time Golden Guitar nominee.
Amber Lawrence will bring her award-winning talent to Geelong, with the tunes from her top five ARIA Country Chart Album, Superheroes.
Local musician Bill Gray completed a music scholarship at the Academy of Country Music in Tamworth, NSW, being mentored by some of the biggest names in Australian country music.
He says he is keen to play more of his own songs at Motor City Music.
“I’m confident that my originals will be really well received in amongst the Johnny Cash and Alan Jackson covers. I think I’ve got some really good material,” Gray told the Indy.
Singer/songwriter Shane Nicholson spent a week in the town of Hermannsburg, south-west of Alice Springs, home of his friend, the great Indigenous songwriter Warren H. Williams.
The resulting album, Hell Breaks Loose, is Nicholson’s first recording of original material since the breakdown of his marriage to Kasey Chambers, with whom he recorded two ARIA Award-winning alt-country duet albums, Rattlin’ Bones in 2008 and Wreck & Ruin in 2012.
“Many of these songs are about self-discovery and new horizons,“ Nicholson said.
“And also how that’s not always great, it can also sometimes be difficult. You can veer down a few wrong paths. It can take time to adjust. Writers will always find turmoil to write about even if there isn’t any, but the writing for this record certainly came from an authentic place, and was very cathartic.“
Other artists in the lineup include Christie Lamb, Californian-born Jared Porter, country rockers The Brook Chivell Band and The Wolfe Brothers.
Country music artists will play on Sunday 13 March at the Southern Cross Stage.