KURRI Kurri's Tori Forsyth and Newcastle-raised Americana songstress Katie Brianna will fly the Hunter flag at the 2021 Australian Music Prize after both were added to the prestigious award's short list.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Forsyth was nominated for her second album Provlépseis, released in May, which marked her continuation away from her gothic alt-country roots towards a more anthemic '90s rock vibe.
It's the 25-year-old's second AMP nomination after her 2018 debut Dawn Of The Dark was also short-listed.
"Because making a record takes so long - this one took probably three years including the writing of it to make - when they get released, it feels really fleeting," Forsyth told her followers on Instagram.
"So to get recognised for it within the industry, although I do music for the love of it, to get recognised feels really amazing and I'm very grateful.
"To see people's messages that they're just loving the record again, it's a strange reminder because you do forget because it's so fleeting. So thank you so much, I'm really glad this record impacted your life in some way."
Brianna, who grew up in Elermore Vale before settling in Sydney 14 years ago, was nominated for her third album and first in five years, This Way Or Some Other, which was released in March.
Brianna and Forsyth are joined by the likes of You Am I (The Lives Of Others), Odette (Herald), Liz Stringer (First Time Really Feeling), The Rubens (0202) and Tash Sultana (Terra Firma) in the first 17 nominees. More will be added before the $30,000 prize purse is announced later this year.
The AMP is judged by musicians, music media and retailers and past winners include The Drones, The Jezabels, Sampa The Great and The Avalanches.
LIZOTTE'S TO REOPEN
LAMBTON music venue and restaurant Lizotte's plans to reopen by the end of October.
Lizotte's owner Brian Lizotte announced the news on Wednesday on the theatre's newly-launched YouTube channel, which features clips from previous visits to the venue from international stars David Hasselhoff and Ryan McMullan.
Under the NSW government's roadmap to reopening once 70 per cent of the state's population over 16 is fully vaccinated, indoor theatres are permitted to operate at one person per four square metres or 75 per cent fixed seated capacity.
This is expected to occur in mid October.
BURNING NEW MUSIC
VACATIONS fans might be waiting a long while before the Newcastle indie band follow their 2020 album Forever In Bloom, but frontman Campbell Burns has kept active.
Burns has been producing a host of new music out of Sawtooth Studios, including new EPs for Newcastle indie band NTL Landmarks and local artist Teleah Riordan, aka Teddie.
The Newcastle music scene has been decimated by COVID restrictions on live performances and there's fears a generation of musicians will be lost.
Burns was a founding member of the No-Fi Records collective, which launched the careers of Vacations and Raave Tapes in the mid-2010s and he remains hopeful the scene will recover.
"Everywhere has taken a hit creatively," Burns said.
"I'd like to think there is a new group or a next wave of creatives who are gonna come through after COVID and there's gonna be all these gigs, but I don't really know."
THE CITY EXPANDS
BACK in April former Arcades and Lions drummer Phil Hanlon unveiled his musical prowess when he released his debut EP So Much For Certainty under the moniker The City.
The fresh tunes continued last week when Hanlon released Tell Me I'm Yours, the second track from The City's forthcoming second EP following the release of the single Puzzles.
Tell Me I'm Yours explores a moodier and more mellow side of the synthetic indie-rocker. The track was inspired by 2017 film Hot Summer Nights and features ex-Treehouse Children frontman James Osborn on keys.
"Tell Me I'm Yours is a typical, lollypop love song about a someone wanting their crush to just love them back but they are either undecided or won't due to external influences like friends or parents' opinions, they don't love them, or it's purely a physical connection," Hanlon said.
AKERS OF LOVE
KURRI Kurri's country pocket-rocket Kirsty Lee Akers has been busy renovating lately with her husband Jesse on Channel Nine's The Block, but she's getting back to the business of music.
On Friday Akers will release her new single For Love, her first new music since the 2018 album Under My Skin.
