Songwriter Trysts

Groundwater is one of the fastest growing country music festivals in Australia. It is a FREE, non-ticketed event and Located in the picturesque beachside destination of Broadbeach, Gold Coast. 

The 2021 lineup features over 40 acts; The Wolfe Brothers, Adam Harvey, Sara Storer, Gina Jeffreys, Andrew Farriss, The Sunny Cowgirls, Tami Neilson, Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningham, Adam Brand, Casey Barnes, Catherine Britt, Kaylee Bell, and many more. 

The Wolfe Brothers (episode #100 of Songwriter Trysts podcast) from Tasmania, the duo has steadily etched their name into Australian Country music stardom. Returning to Groundwater for the 4th time, the revered duo the latest in a legacy of farmers and musicians spanning generations. Andrew Farriss (podcast coming soon) one of Australia’s greatest songwriters and primarily known as a cofounders of multi-award winning band INXS. Andrew has made appearances internationally in Nashville and 2021 will be his first time on the Groundwater stage. 

Gina Jeffreys (episode #140 of Songwriter Trysts podcast) will be taking to the Groundwater stage for the first time performing her new album that tells the stories of the life the last 12 years. She will have an authentic stripped back performance, to wow her many fans that span many decades. Tami Neilson from NZ will be making the trip for her first Groundwater CMF. She has a vast range of styles, from country Americana, heartfelt gospel to western swing. 

The second line-up announcement added the likes of charismatic and charitable legend Adam Brand, Sir Elton John’s favourite woman from Down Under, the fiercely authentic Catherine Britt, as well as hometown hero Casey Barnes(episode #101 of Songwriter Trysts podcast), and Kiwi Country Queen, Kaylee Bell. Adam Brand is one of Australia’s most popular and successful recording artists. A stellar career spanning twenty years has seen him nominated for multiple ARIA Awards, win 12 Golden Guitars, sell over 600,000 CDs & DVDs, as well as earn 3 platinum & 5 gold albums. Catherine Britt (episode #69 of Songwriter Trysts podcast) has collected a host of accolades, a legion of fans and a mantel of awards including the country industry’s highest honours. Her most recent include, 2016 Female Artist of the Year, 2017 Vocal Collaboration of The Year as well as an APRA Award and CMC Artist of the Year nominations. 

Find out more about the Festival HERE 

Songwriter Trysts website HERE

Dante Palminteri quotes Woody Allan in this podcast with “85% of success is showing up" as an artist that sings, plays guitar, writes songs and is an actor its clear nothing is going to get in the way of this talented and hard working artist to achieve whatever he wants to in life. We talk about his journey with Berklee College of music, studying under Pat Pattison (episode 40) and his obsession and love for John Mayer. His new single Brunette is a lot of fun and in his own words is just the music he wants to create and loves.

Raised between the East & West coasts, American singer-songwriter & actor Dante Palminteri matured his musical styling at an early age, inspired by John Mayer’s poetic mastery of the human psyche & Ed Sheeran’s genre-defying melodies. An early sufferer of anxiety & dyslexia, Dante found solace in the last place one would expect: written word. Dreaming up lyrics on teen heartbreak & defying the status quo, he pursued a career in songwriting, eventually strumming his way into Berklee College of Music.

Lyrics about teenage angst & high school crushes soon evolved into complex compilations on unrequited love, soulmates lost & found, & the growing pains of adulthood. Struck by the lyrical prowess of Americana muse Jason Isbell, Dante spent his early twenties reinventing his sound - a combination of his hard rock roots mixed with his contemporary inspirations.

Toying between stories of love lost & won, Dante reflects on his own vulnerability, recounting real-life experiences facing rejection & loneliness, alongside heartfelt passion & intimacy. In a bold move, he’s bared it all on stages from Feinstein’s 54Below & Arlene’s Grocery, to Rockwood Music Hall & Bethlehem Musikfest.

He’s also in the new Godfather of Harlem TV series to be released this month staring Forest Whitaker

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Brett Cusack is a Singer-Songwriter and performs under the name Megalove, a life coach, music teacher, and owner of Glitter Fox Studios in Melbourne. The journey of inspiration, emotional healing, and the power of music lead him to believe that musicians and songwriters are the true superheroes of today's world and the power of connection with each other is what will save us all.

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Nature loving Californian singer songwriter Lucy loves to build community and has done more for the music community in her area and helping run an online community that support each other with not just songwriting but also mental health. She has helped put together festivals in the past that support artists in the LGBTQ community and empowering others to be the best of who they are.

With a few hits and commercial synced songs you may recognise her music and we expect even more amazing music to flow from this beautiful artist who also has the hottest tips on best coffee in LA, which makes her one of our best friends.

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Born happy and always so grateful for everything but something made Gina loose her sparkle for 6 months where she just cried everyday. This strong women who we crowned "the Queen Of Country" wasn’t going to continue the way things were going and she “reprogrammed” her brain through hard work and dedication into chasing a happier life. We all go through pain and hard times and there is so much to learn from it, says Gina. While stuck in lockdown in Sydney, Australia we catch up with her, learn about how she won Star Maker in Tamworth the year after Keith Urban and then opened for Johnny Cash launching a successful career in the Country music industry.

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Your Man Alex Smith is a Brisbane based independent singer songwriter with a theatrical twist. He studied at QUT and is an incredible story teller and performer which comes out in his live performances and his on screen acting with very creative music videos. Heartbreak, disapointment, depression and hardship have been the tools to shape this hard working artist into the man he is today. He says "blood sweat and tears" went into the making of his last album and continues to navigate a new covid world for the performing arts and has seen many friends go on to do amazing things within the industry. 

Using catchy hooks to sneak contemplative lyrics to the listener, Alex’s genre-hopping theatrical rock is a story-driven experience with a lot of heart.
 While Alex is inspired by bands like Queen, Meat Loaf, Pink Floyd and The Protomen, his sound is often compared to the likes of They Might Be Giants and Ben Folds.
 Alex pays huge thanks to members of his Patreon, a service which greatly strengthens his connection with his audience and boosts the rate of production of his third studio release ‘Slow Burn’ which is set to release June 18th Alex is also the host of podcast My Songs Suck with his close friend James Kehoe. The show is available to stream on Spotify and all podcatchers.

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Multi-award-winning songwriter/producer/publisher based in Nashville/London whose songs have appeared on over 20 million albums sold, over 10 million video games, and over 100 placements in TV/Film. See how Jeff started his career at age 34, leaving a good job and pay-check at BMI in New York for a full-time songwriting passion with only 16 songs that he felt were really good. Going against the odds and beliefs of those around him and he dived headfirst into the unknown and we are glad he did. This hilarious character is a gift to the music industry and his adventures are fun to listen to.

Jeff’s songs have been recorded by The Band Perry (Hit single/BMI Award - Postcard From Paris), Evan and Jaron(Hit single/BMI award - Crazy For This Girl), Big and Rich(Hit single/BMI award - Holy Water), Laura Bell Bundy(Hit single - Giddy On Up), RichieMacDonald of Lone Star(Hit single - I Turn To You), The Shires(Hit Singles - 1000 Hallelujahs and Daddy’s Little Girl), Ilse DeLange(Hit Single - Beautiful Distraction), Worry Dolls(UK Americana Awards Song Of The Year nominee - Endless Road),  Sugarland, Josh Groban, Macy Gray, Nick Lachey, Teitur, Doc Walker, Mandy Moore, Mickey Guyton, Nikhil D’Souza, MarcBroussard, Spin Doctors and many more. His songs have been featured in movies such as Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Stuart Little 2, Aquamarine, Grandma’s Boy, and TV shows such as Jack and Jill (theme), I Married A Princess (theme), The Exes (theme), Dawson’s Creek, Party of Five, One Tree Hill, The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live and many more. He is also the founder and songwriter of the critically acclaimed band Pancho's Lament. In a previous life, Jeff was a music executive at BMI working with such talent as Jeff Buckley, Kara DioGuardi, Lisa Loeb, Joan Osborne, Ani DiFranco, Spin Doctors, and many more.

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Rachael Fahim has been Australia’s most streamed female country artist for the last three years, with over 10 million streams to date, of tracks from her 2019 EP release Iconic.

The 2017 Toyota Star Maker winner and CMC Music Award nominee was recently the Australian feature artist for Apple Music’s globally promoted Countrywide initiative and an ‘Artist To Watch’ on Spotify.

The Iconic EP’s first single ‘Brake Lights’ went all the way to #1 on the TMN national country airplay chart and also featured radio faves ‘What I Don’t Know’ and ‘Crush.’

While ‘Even If I Wanted To’ featuring Brad Cox achieved major city pop radio support in addition to across the board country radio airplay.

Her latest single 'Middle Ground' spent five weeks at #1 on the Australian Country Airplay chart across December 2020 and February 2021!

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Olympic dreams crushed after an injury and so the arts was his next choice. he's not on set as an actor or on the tools as a tradie Michael is writing and performing his own original music. It started when he was struggling with singing cover songs and so he started writing his own to suit his voice and received positive feedback. A cool sooth vibe to this UK's songwriters tunes. Check them out and learn how he juggles his artistic way of life. 

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After posting a YouTube cover of 'Tuesday' by ILoveMakonnen ft. Drake, the song was remixed and went on to receive platinum awards worldwide while reaching the #1 spot in over 70 countries on iTunes and Shazam. The viral hit has amassed over 1 billion streams online. Following the global success of Tuesday (feat. Danelle Sandoval), Danelle has focused on releasing original music, including her recently released EP For Love, which was inspired by time spent in Toronto, Canada. Live Nation’s Ones To Watch explained that Danelle “has established herself as a polished pop star, and her airy voice layered over hypnotic electro-pop production is something we simply can’t get enough of." Clash Magazine called her track Hands "a beautifully creative pop hymn with some blissful electronic leanings.” 

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