Imogen Clark

ARIA, AIR and 5-time CMAA Award nominee Imogen Clark calls Nashville home, but earned her stripes as a high-schooler playing bars in her native Western Sydney. Touring with Shania Twain, Steve Poltz and BOWEN * YOUNG, collaborating with Colin Hay and Jim Lauderdale and many more, Imogen has earned the respect of her heroes and peers through her deeply personal storytelling, roof-raising voice and leave it all out on the field live energy. Her witty, melodic songwriting crosses generations and genres, with influences from Joni Mitchell to Jason Isbell, Led Zeppelin to Taylor Swift. Imogen’s new album Choking on Fuel (#5 on the ARIA Country Chart) sees her returning to her roots. Armed with an acoustic guitar, Imogen is rolling out a record that captures the intensity, vulnerability, musical dexterity and vocal power that characterizes her compelling live performances.

Gavin Adcock

Gavin Adcock is a Georgia native born and raised in Watkinsville. Former Georgia Southern University football player, Gavin grew up working on his family cattle farm and dreamed of riding bulls in the PBR. He started writing songs in high school, but it wasn’t until the spring of 2021, when Adcock tore his knee playing football, that he used his healing time to record and release his first original single. Since then, Gavin has released multiple singles, collectively amassing over 1 billion global streams including the fan-favorite “A Cigarette” raking in 150 million+ alone, along with his new album, Actin’ Up Again, which was crowned the largest major-label country debut from a solo male artist released in 2024. With more than 15 million on-demand U.S. streams week of release, Actin’ Up Again was also 2024’s top streaming major-label debut across the whole genre. On the heels of Actin’ Up Again, Adcock’s headlining tour dates continue to sell out almost as soon as they announce, with plenty of more dates being added, along with major festival appearances, throughout 2025.

Kasey Chambers

Kasey Chambers is an Australian country music artist whose distinctive voice, heart-felt lyrics and world-class performances have earned her the rightful position of one of the most popular and acclaimed artists of her generation at home, whilst winning a devoted cult following around the rest of the world.

Hailed as bringing Australian country music into the mainstream, Kasey has won 14 ARIA’s, 24 CMAA Golden Guitars, 10 APRA songwriting awards; her 12 albums have sold more than 14 x platinum and include 5 x No.1 albums and her No.1 single 'Not Pretty Enough'.

In 2018 Kasey’s exceptional career was honoured by being the youngest female ever to be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. With a career spanning over 25 years Kasey continues to inspire with her trademark authenticity and unwavering commitment to her craft.

Lee Kernaghan

Lee Kernaghan reinvigorated Australian Country Music in the 1990’s, synthesising traditional country themes with his own brand of rural rock and images of an evolving regional culture. Songs like The Outback Club, Boys from The Bush, Hat Town, She’s My Ute and Australian Boy are now modern day anthems for a generation of Australians living and working on the land.

In 2015 Lee released the epic work, “Spirit of The Anzacs”, based on a collection of letters and diary records from Australian servicemen and women, some dating back to the landings at Gallipoli. On its release the album struck a chord with the Australian people holding the number 1 position on the Australian ARIA Album Chart for four consecutive weeks and was the highest selling album by an Australian artist (all genres) for 2015. All proceeds from the “Spirit Of The Anzacs” song and music video featuring music greats Guy Sebastian, Jessica Mauboy, Shepherd, Shannon Noll, Jon Stevens and Megan Washington are donated in perpetuity to veteran support groups – Legacy Australia and Soldier On.

Lee has sold over two and a half million albums in Australia with releases including Outback Club, Three Chain Road, 1959, Hat Town, Rules Of The Road, Electric Rodeo, New Bush, Ultimate Hits, Spirit Of The Bush, Planet Country, Beautiful Noise and Spirit Of The Anzacs all achieving platinum or multi-platinum status. Lee is a four-time ARIA award winning artist and in 2015 he was presented with the Australian Record Industry Award for Outstanding Achievement.

Lee has achieved a staggering 38 #1 chart hit songs over his career and has been awarded 37 Golden Guitars. He has been named Hit Maker of the Decade, twice, in 2001 and 2011. This accolade is in recognition of Lee having more chart hits in Australia than any other country music artist in the world.

Kernaghan is long-time and passionate supporter of rural and regional Australia. His Pass the Hat Around Australia Tours, Spirit of The Bush and Farmhand concerts have raised millions of dollars for drought, flood and bushfire relief, hospitals, schools, ambulance and volunteer organisations nation-wide. In 2004 Kernaghan was the recipient of an Order of Australia Medal and was named 2008 Australian of the Year.

Lee Kernaghan’s 2017 Boys from The Bush 25th Anniversary Tour launched in Tamworth on Australia Day and sold out 29 of the 32 shows on the 2017 tour. The tour was a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Lee’s amazing career and of the release of his first single and album, the legendary Boys From The Bush, and the album it came from – Outback Club. By popular demand this record breaking tour was extended through 2018 and again the tour achieved sell out concerts throughout the year.

At the end of the 25th Anniversary Tour Lee began the writing process for a new album called “Backroad Nation”.

“Backroad Nation” is a collection of stories and themes that caught Lee’s attention from the places he travelled to, and the people he met, whilst on tour. It is a celebration of all things Australian and a tip of the hat to our regional and rural communities who have faced some of their most severe challenges ever in recent years. The first single from the album “Wheels” was released early March and the album will be launched on 10th May.

In 2019 Lee will undertake his most extensive tour for many years travelling to every state and territory on the Backroad Nation Tour. The Tour begins in May and concludes at the end of November.

Nate Smith Country

According to an age-old cliché, getting knocked down ain’t what matters – it’s how you get up, and Sony Music Nashville’s Nate Smith knows firsthand. With a personal journey scarred by disaster, but defined by revival, he could have stayed down multiple times through life, and instead grew into something else entirely: A beacon of country-music hope.

Featuring a mix of gritty backwoods soul, rock ‘n’ roll swagger and velvet-thunder vocals, Smith is a Nashville artist with a unique connection to life’s inner tug of war. And with his first batch of major-label music, he’s aiming to tip the scales once and for all.

“I just feel lucky that I get to be the messenger for these songs,” says the rising singer-songwriter. “I’m not here to be cool or anything like that. It’s literally just to hit people in the heart.”

A California native and lifelong music lover, Smith approaches that mission with a background as eclectic as it gets. Learning guitar at 13, Garth Brooks, Elvis Presley and Bob Seger were among those informing his powerful, fire-from-within vocals, while Michael Jackson made him crave the spotlight and Nirvana gave his sound a jagged edge.

The young artist combined it all as a gifted worship leader, and first chased his neon dreams to Nashville in his early 20s – but it didn’t stick. The disheartened Smith returned home and thought he was “100-percent done” with his artistic journey … until a crucible of change burned away the past.

In 2018, Smith lost everything he owned in the devastating Camp Fire which tore through Paradise, California, now known as the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the state’s history. Although his family was safe, he struggled to cope and turned back to music for comfort, using a loaned guitar to co-write a song called “One of These Days.” “It was just to help me process, I guess,” Smith says. “And then hopefully help other people, too.”

Help it did. Caught between bittersweet nostalgia and his rock-solid belief the community would rebuild, the song embodied everything Smith was feeling – and everything he loved about music. Going viral online, it led to local TV appearances, recovery benefit concerts and finally an opening slot at a Sacramento arena show by Pitbull and X Ambassadors, before Smith finally understood what was happening.

“It made me go ‘My gosh, this song is really helping people, I think I want to do more of that,’” he explains. “[The fire] was a horrible thing to happen. But it did move me into a place to start doing what I think I’m supposed to be doing.”

After returning to Nashville, the singer-songwriter is now unveiling a new round of music which puts that inspirational mission front-and-center – and features an edgy-organic sound unlike anything else in the format.

Recorded at the world famous Blackbird Studios with producers Lindsay Rimes and Joel Bruyere, tracks like “Wildfire” and “Under My Skin” started a new chapter, mixing timeless country soul with a touch of ‘70s-rock toughness, a sweet-and-sour sound with deeper implications.

“My songs have a little bit of melancholy to them – but there’s an element of hope mixed in,” Smith admits. “I want to emote that, and the passion behind what I have experienced, and I hope that’s a voice for somebody else. I want people to feel it inside, and that’s why I like country music so much. The heartfelt level of what we can do.”

Tracks like “Raised Up” take the idea a step farther. Co-written by Smith with Trannie Anderson and Johnathan Smith, the emotional tune is a raspy power ballad about overcoming obstacles, built on epic vocal power and the hidden strength within each person.

“The day we wrote it, I had to leave the room because I was tearing up,” Smith says. “The song talks about ‘Any time I lose my way, I turn the way I was raised up,’ and for me, whenever I’m lost or feeling alone, I’ve got God.’ That has really helped me, but it can be whatever somebody needs. It could be thinking about something your grandma said one time you now hold on to, or the phrase you have tattooed on your arm. It’s however you find your way back home. I’m all for that.”

Elsewhere, Smith practices romantic honor with the sexy soul-rocker, “You Shouldn’t Have To,” his voice as craggy as a mountain and ideals just as lofty. That force-of-nature vocal is matched by a hurricane of awestruck attraction in “Name Storms After,” and tunes like “Sleeve” use a Fleetwood Mac-vibe to tribute those like Smith, who wear their hearts on the outside.

But with “World War Me,” all of Smith’s authenticity, resilience and optimism combine for an introspective country masterpiece. Featuring a stormy sonic soundscape, battle-hardened wordplay and all the wounded soul his voice can muster, the song speaks to Smith’s decade-long battle with anxiety – and his drive to be an example for others.

Proving you can achieve your dreams even as you work on yourself, Smith says the song began one particularly bad day, when “That dark voice of ‘You’re not good enough’ was really there.”

“I was just accepting it, but then as I was driving to a co-write, I was like ‘Nah. I don’t accept that. I am supposed to be here and I am worthy,’” Smith says. “I stood up against the dark thoughts, and it was like ‘That felt good. Why am I letting these take over my life?’”

Smith has been standing up like that ever since, and it’s led him to the batch of music he was born to create. Tested by wildfire and challenged by inner demons, he refused to stay knocked down, and something else won out.

“If I could sum everything up in one word, it’s hope,” he says. “We all go through things, we really do. But I truly believe the world is trying to bend in your best interest. I really believe that with my whole heart.”

Wade Forster

Rodeo Cowboy and Country Music Artist

Toyota Star Maker 2024 Winner

Casey Barnes

ARIA & Golden Guitar winning artist. New album ‘MAYDAY’ out Now! https://ffm.to/maydayalb

Bella Mackenzie

Imogen Clark

Performers