country

CMAT, who had aspirations to become a professional musician from a young age, relocated to Manchester, England, to pursue a career in music with her then boyfriend, performing together as Bad Sea. She has since described their relationship as toxic and isolating, and she stopped pursuing a music career, living a partying lifestyle. She attended an in-person listening session at a London studio with the English electropop singer Charli XCX, who advised CMAT to reimagine her approach.

Breaking up with her boyfriend and returning to Ireland, she began self-releasing her music online to considerable attention and received radio play from RTÉ Radio 1 and BBC Radio 6 Music. Her debut studio album If My Wife New I'd Be Dead was released in February 2022. Metacritic, which aggregates review scores, gives the album a score of 85 based on 9 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Hot Press magazine wrote that the album was "undoubtedly one of the most thrilling Irish pop debuts of the century".[16] In a four-star review, DIY wrote, "If My Wife New... feels like a more well-rounded, modern proposition than one solely indebted to the oldest style going could suggest." The album entered the Irish Albums Chart at number one. In June 2022, she released a single called "Peter Bogdanovich", which came with a music video which featured CMAT dressing as the late director. On 19 August 2022, "Peter Bogdanovich" charted at number 20 on the Irish Homegrown Top 20. In March 2023, If My Wife New I'd Be Dead won the Choice Music Prize for Irish Album of the Year.

In June 2023, CMAT announced her next studio album, Crazymad, for Me, which was released in October 2023. Like her previous album, this album debuted at number one on the Irish Albums Chart. Her album was later nominated for the Best Album Ivor Novello Award on Thursday 23 May 2024.

CMAT has been noted for her large fanbase among Irish LGBTQ+ people, once telling an NME interviewer "I'm making music for the girls and the gays, and that's it."

In May 2024, the BBC were forced to disable comments on a video on its Instagram page of CMAT's performance at the Radio 1 Big Weekend festival, following a spate of comments labelled "fat-shaming." Later that month, CMAT pulled out of a performance at that summer's Latitude Festival due to the festival's sponsorship by Barclays, and the company's financial involvement in the Israel-Hamas war.

Brooke Taylor is a Melbourne-based singer, songwriter and guitarist. Her music style encompasses folk, rock and country elements. Wowing crowds with her magnetic energy at gigs and music festivals across the country, including St Kilda Music Festival and The Taste Of Tassie.

Taylor is going from strength to strength, nabbing support slots for highly regarded acts such as the Pierce Brothers (AUS), Luka Bloom (IRE), Joe Pug (US), Renee Geyer (AUS), Tex Perkins (AUS) and Tim Rogers (AUS), as well as recently becoming a member of Mick Thomas' Roving Commission.

Brooke writes about the human condition, drawing listeners in with her strong storytelling and raw emotion. Her songs are built with strong rhythm guitar, memorable melodies, honey-toned vocals and soulful lyrics. Brooke Taylor is an exciting artist to watch out for, with her Debut Album 'It's The Little Things' launching at #2 on the Australian Independent Album Charts July 2020.

You won't be able to help but think 'how can someone so small take up so much space?

Sammi Palinkas is an Australian contemporary country Artist & Songwriter who started singing at the age of 3. After growing up on a diverse range of music including Country greats such as Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, and Loretta Lynn, Sammi’s journey in the music industry began at a young age, winning a national televised singing competition (Channel 7, 20th Century Fox, Gold FM & partners) at the age of 8, celebrating the release of the Children's movie "Anastasia" and sending her family on an all-expenses paid trip to Paris.

Sammi's love for performing led her to many stage and TV appearances, including at the age of 11 she played "Pepper" in SEL/GFO’s Melbourne season of "Annie" at the Regent Theatre starring Anthony Warlow. Over the years, she has developed her craft and written for many years between Australia and the US (LA, NY, Nashville) collaborating with renowned songwriters and producers including Andrew Bolooki (Selena Gomez, The Weeknd, Post Malone), Fiona Kernaghan (Mindy McReady, Tina Arena), Sally Barris (Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, Lee Ann Womack), Sam Gay (Deric Ruttan, Little Texas, Bryan White) and Templeton Thompson (Reba McEntire, Jo Dee Messina & Little Texas), amongst others. She has been on stage for as long as she can remember, performing to crowds of over 25,000 people, as well as national television audiences. Most recently Sammi performed the National Anthem for the televised VFLW Grand Final (AFL, Channel 7) for the second year running, appeared as the headline act at “Big Hug Day” (3AW/Channel 9/Eynesbury Homestead) in October, and performed to 14,500+ people at “Carols by Kingston”. She was named in NSAI's (Nashville Songwriters Association International) "One's to Watch" list for her single “Don’t Blink”, and recently announced as a 2023 Country Finalist in the International Songwriting Competition (ISC) for her single "Meet in the Middle".

Having already made waves in the country music scene, Sammi is currently recording her debut album with award-winning Producer Rod McCormack (Paul Kelly, The Wolfe Brothers & Lee Kernaghan). Her first Country single “Meet in the Middle” debuted at #3 on the Australian iTunes Country chart, #8 All Genre and charted on the official CountryTown National Airplay Chart Top 50. Follow up singles “You’ve Lived”, “Don’t Blink” and “Let Your Hair Down” all debuted in the Top 10 on the Australian iTunes Country chart, as did her Christmas single “From Me to You”.

Most recently she released country power ballad “She’s Mine to Love” demonstrating her capability as both a singer and heartfelt writer, “In a Country Song" and "Sunset State of Mind".

Her latest single “No Settlin’” is currently in the official CountryTown National Airplay Chart Top 50, and is set to be another significant milestone leading into Palinkas’ debut album release in 2025. Fans can catch her first headline show at George Lane in St Kilda on February 6, 2025.

Sammi’s musical influences are evident in her dynamic vocal range and powerful stage presence, drawing inspiration from the likes of Shania Twain, Keith Urban, Carly Pearce, LeAnn Rimes, and Carrie Underwood.

Home to the many and varied pursuits of this hairy sage.