Top country singer to give local

talent chance to join her on stage

in Gawler and Ballarat

ON WITH THE SHOW supports anyone who can provide opportunities for our young and up-and-coming performers to gain exposure. Professional country music vocalist Jess Holland is doing just that by launching a competition to find talented local musicians to support her when she performs in Gawler, SA, and Ballarat, Vic. Read on for the details.

COUNTRY powerhouse vocalist Jess Holland will soon set off on her East Coast tour throughout Victoria and South Australia. But first she is offering a rare opportunity to talented local musicians in Gawler, South Australia and Ballarat Victoria ... and it could be you!

Country vocalist Jess Holland is seeking local talent as her support act.

The fiercely independent musician is seeking local supports for two of her headline shows during October – one in Gawler, South Australia and one in Ballarat, Victoria. Kicking off her #JessHollandTour competition, Jess is encouraging local musicians in the tour areas to upload videos of themselves performing their favourite song in a bid to be selected as the support for each of the shows.

Always supportive of the local independent industry, Jess says this is a chance to discover talent in her tour areas and invite them to join her on stage in their local town. “I think it is extremely important to support up-and-coming talent and I try to do this sort of thing at a lot of my gigs, especially when I know a talent is in the audience,” she says. “I was never given a lot of opportunity to perform live when I was younger, so I like to encourage young musos when I can.”

It is the experience of performing with these great young musicians that has made this a permanent part of Jess Holland’s tours. “At my album launch in Mudgee, I asked a local musician who was only 13-years-old to perform a couple of songs to kickstart the night. I first met him at a jam-night and he was a fantastic guitarist. He really enjoyed the experience and has since really come out of his shell and now performs as often as he can. Local support acts are a great way to not only provide an opportunity to up-and-coming musos, but a great way for me to meet new people.”

As a full-time musician, Jess spends a lot of time on the road and she says she is excited by what she has seen about the direction the Australian music industry is going. “I visit and perform at a lot of rural locations and I am amazed to see the talent that comes out of these remote areas,” she says. “Australia is very lucky to have such talented people in the music industry and it is great to see the younger generation who are enthusiastic to be a part of it.”

Jess Holland released her latest long-player earlier this year to much acclaim. The album, aptly titled Whole Lot To Say, is a perfect representation of where she is at as a professional musician and how her music has evolved from her debut release in 2011. The album is hard-hitting, featuring ballsy blues-flavoured up-tempo tracks and heartfelt searing ballads.

The first single from the album, Fine Lines was released late 2013 and garnered great airplay support around the country. The second single Revolving Door, which was released to radio in July has been quickly following suit, earning her a whole new legion of supportive fans.

Competition details: To be considered as a local support act, local musicians are encouraged to post a video on their Facebook page – tagging Jess Holland’s official Facebook – both playing and singing their favourite song. The song can be either an original or a cover and must have the hashtag #JessHollandTour with the mention of the gig they are hoping to perform at. The successful musician will perform four songs at the start of Jess Holland’s show in their town. The competition closes three days prior to the show.

Jess will be performing at the Prince Albert in Gawler, SA on October 11 and the Babushka Bar, Ballarat on October 16.

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