SHE may be part of one of the hottest new country music acts in Australia but KATE BALLANTYNE still finds time to perform in her own right.
Ballantyne was a successful solo artist long before her vocal trio BELLA won the GOLDEN GUITAR AWARD for Best Vocal Group at this year's COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS in Tamworth.
The Newcastle-based singer- songwriter first began performing as a 14-year-old and has since taken out countless awards around the country.
She was voted Most Outstanding Female Vocalist at THE COCA-COLA PROFESSIONAL MUSIC AWARDS in 1991.
In 1993 Ballantyne was chosen as a STAR MAKER finalist and went on to compete in the grand final at the TAMWORTH COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL. lw1 She started working on material for her debut album Tomorrow's Girl in 1994 and recorded the album at Kurri Kurri.
The album's title track won Ballantyne an award at the AUSTRALIAN SONGWRITERS' ASSOCIATION NATIONAL SONG CONTEST in 1995.
She release her second album, Too Hot To Handle , in 1998 and entered the Toyota Star Maker contest soon after and took out the coveted prize.
Ballantyne was nominated for Best New Talent at the Country Music Awards of Australia and also received two nominations at the TAMWORTH INDEPENDENT ARTIST RECOGNITION AWARDS for Best Vocal Duet and Best Female Vocal.
Her third album, Flowers For Love, followed in 1999.
Ballantyne is focusing her sights on her latest project, Bella, in which she performs with fellow country music stars KAREN O'SHEA and LYN BOWTELL. Bella looks set to release its debut album this year and will perform in Sydney later this month. Catch Ballantyne solo at TERALBA BOWLING CLUB on Sunday, June 27.
|
