02/10/06 - The Youngsters Shine At Deni

By Tim Holland

The Deni Ute Muster in Deniliquin took place over the long weekend and I headed down to take a look. What I’ll remember most from this festival were the endless number of utes (6,211 all up), people in blue singlets (1,561 were apparently accounted for) and the DUST! Main stage acts included The Davidson Brothers, Melinda Schneider, Harley Smith, The McClymonts, James Reyne, The Sunny Cowgirls (who appeared to be event’s favourite act), Steve Forde & The Flange and Adam Brand. About 20,000 people attended the event.

I was thrilled to see The McClymonts play with a full band for the very first time when they opened on the main stage on Saturday evening. Throughout their tour with Lee Kernaghan they’ve been performing without assistance but the backing of a band gave them the opportunity to perform some new songs and further demonstrate their potential. These girls are as polished as any emerging group I’ve seen in a long time (across all genres of music) and I’d suggest that Nashville will take quite a lot of interest in them when they eventually go over there. The girls do everything right, from the way they present themselves to the way they perform with such conviction and interact with the fans and media - they are all class. It would be wrong to just label them as the Australian Dixie Chicks because their music is very different. The girls are significantly younger than the Dixie Chicks as well and as I’ve said before, they aren’t ones for making controversial headlines! Their self-titled EP, which features their first single Something That My Heart Does recently entered the ARIA Singles Chart – the first time a straight-up country act has been in that chart for quite a while. Baby’s Gone Home, also from the McClymonts EP, will be their next single and will be at radio in the next couple of weeks.

Another young artist to look out for in the future is Steve Forde & The Flange’s current opening act, Shea Fisher. Shea is a junior rodeo queen (she was the first girl ever in history to make it to the national rodeo finals in the steer ride) as well as a performer at the age of just 18. Is it just me or is she potentially a marketing dream? I certainly hope she is because I’ve already snapped her up to do artist interviews on timhollandcountry.com! The crowd built significantly throughout her energetic midday set as she performed a mix of her own material and well-known covers. Fisher plans to release an album later this year or early next year through FEG Entertainment, which has been produced by Mark Mosley and Steve Forde.

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