Country music legends Felicity Urquhart and Lee Kernaghan lead 2020 Golden Guitars nominations
Felicity Urquhart shares the 2020 Golden Guitars leaderboard with Australia’s king of country Lee Kernaghan, who also received eight nominations. SEE THE FULL LIST
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The Australian country music community have rallied to celebrate beloved star Felicity Urquhart with eight Golden Guitar nominations for Frozen Rabbit, her first album in a decade.
It has been an unimaginably heartbreaking year for the enduring country music singer who is still coming to terms with the shock of her musician and artist husband Glen Hannah’s suicide in May, a month after the album they worked on together was released.
Urquhart shares the 2020 Golden Guitars leaderboard with Australia’s king of country Lee Kernaghan, who also received eight nominations for his album and title track Backroad Nation.
Other artists who figure in the nominations for the Tamworth awards in January include acclaimed singer songwriter Sara Storer and Nashville-based chart-topper Morgan Evans.
Urquhart’s Golden Guitars nominations come just days after she reunited with her close friends Beccy Cole, Adam Harvey and Darren Coggan for a reunion tour marking 20 years since the quartet combined for the ambitious Young Stars of Country tour as they were beginning their careers.
Urquhart says she still struggles to make sense of the loss of her husband and father of their two daughters Tia and Ellie.
“The month after I released my first album in 10 years, I lost my husband; it’s just unthinkable,” she said.
“I miss him terribly; he was my mate and I had no idea he was struggling with mental illness.
“I wish I could have done something for him but there’s bugger all I could have done – he obviously was struggling with something greater than I knew.
“He knew he was loved by his family and by an army of mates in the industry let alone the people who admire his work.
“I struggle to make sense of it.”
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Urquhart met Hannah on that first Young Stars of Country tour two decades ago and they fell in love not long after.
As she faces the reality of raising the couple’s beautiful daughters, getting back on the road with her musical family and being embraced by Australia’s burgeoning country music community is “actually saving my life”.
“To be able to get out of bed and think about doing things for my beautiful girls has been my lifesaver,” she said.
“We are doing OK, we are doing remarkably actually, and I put it down to this army of love that has surrounded us and propped us up.
“I feel all these arms supporting me, there’s help, it’s everywhere.
“Being on stage and doing this with my friends, it’s what I love to do and it’s how I met Glen.”
The evolution of Australian country is obvious in the rollcall of Urquhart’s fellow nominees for the 2020 Golden Guitars who run the gamut of traditional to alternative ends of the musical spectrum.
Country Music Association of Australia chairman Dan Biddle celebrated the diversity and growth of the music sector in Australia over the past decade.
“Country Music is enjoying a new golden era in Australia, which is a testament to the incredible talent of artists such as those we are celebrating today. From the first-time finalists to our legends of the industry, we thank them for continuing to inspire the public with their music and lead the way for Australian country music to shine well into the future,” he said.
Urquhart will also contest the Best Country Album award at the ARIA awards on November 27 alongside newcomer Charlie Collins, veteran Lee Kernaghan, American-based chart star Morgan Evans and acclaimed songwriter Sara Storer.
“There’s all the traditional elements of country I grew up with in what I do but it also embraces modern attitudes of our generation with rootsy instrumentation,” she said.
“There’s room for all of us and I am really proud to get that nomination.”
2020 Golden Guitars finalists
ALT COUNTRY ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Brad Butcher, Travelling Salesman
Hayley Marsten, Spectacular Heartbreak
Jenny Mitchell, Wildfires
Kevin Bennett & The Flood, Blood Red Ties
Michael Waugh, The Weir
CONTEMPORARY COUNTRY ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Amber Lawrence, Spark
Busby Marou, The Great Divide
Cornell & Carr, We Go Way Back
Lee Kernaghan, Backroad Nation
Morgan Evans, Things That We Drink To
TRADITIONAL COUNTRY ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Angus Gill, Welcome to My Heart
Ashleigh Dallas, Reflection
Felicity Urquhart, Frozen Rabbit
Gina Jeffreys, Beautiful Tangle
Sara Storer, Raindance
MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Blake O’Connor, Everything I Feel
Brad Butcher, Travelling Salesman
Lee Kernaghan, Backroad Nation
Michael Waugh, The Weir
Morgan Evans, Things That We Drink To
FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Amber Lawrence, Spark
Ashleigh Dallas, Reflection
Felicity Urquhart, Frozen Rabbit
Gina Jeffreys, Beautiful Tangle
Sara Storer, Raindance
COUNTRY MUSIC CAPITAL NEWS GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR
Busby Marou, The Great Divide
Cornell & Carr, We Go Way Back
Jetty Road, Because We Can
Kevin Bennett & The Flood, Blood Red Ties
The Viper Creek Band, Beautiful Destruction
VOCAL COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR
Andrew Swift & Gretta Ziller, Second Hand
Felicity Urquhart Feat Karl Broadie, Slow It Down
Lee Kernaghan with The Wolfe Brothers, Till It Ends
Luke O’Shea & Lyn Bowtell, Sing Me A Story
Sara Storer & Colin Hay, Next Year People
BUSH BALLAD OF THE YEAR
Allan Caswell, Country Copper
Dean Perrett, His Last Cattle Drive
Graham Rodger, Knights Of The Saddle
Jeff Brown, More Times Than I Remember
John O’Dea, The Drover’s Friend
HERITAGE SONG OF THE YEAR
Brad Butcher, Freshwater Lady
Felicity Urquhart Feat Shanley Del, Where The Fruit Hangs Low
Lee Kernaghan, The Trucks Came Through
Luke O’Shea & Lyn Bowtell, Sing Me A Story
Sara Storer, Hayrunner
COCA-COLA INSTRUMENTAL OF THE YEAR
Michael Fix, The Balcony Bunch
Mickey Pye, Bridle Track
Mustered Courage, Death Mountain Run
Phil Emmanuel with Jacob Funnell, Gallaghers Lane
Rod McCormack, Timeless Traveller
BLUEGRASS RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Allan Caswell, Bad Politics
Hillbilly Goats, Bleed Me Dry
Kristy Cox, Yesterday’s Heartache
Mustered Courage, Home Of Lost Lovers (The Ballad Of Glen Turner)
Rod McCormack, Shimmers
NEW TALENT OF THE YEAR
Blake O’Connor, Worth A Little More
Casey Barnes, A Little More
Sinead Burgess, Reno
Seaforth, Love That
The Buckleys, Daydream
SONG OF THE YEAR
Brad Cox, Rusty Strings
Felicity Urquhart, Chain Of Joy
Lee Kernaghan, Backroad Nation
Luke O’Shea & Lyn Bowtell, Sing Me A Story
Sara Storer, Raindance
VIDEO CLIP OF THE YEAR
Fanny Lumsden, Real Men Don’t Cry (War on Pride)
Felicity Urquhart, Chain Of Joy
Lee Kernaghan, Backroad Nation
Sara Storer, Raindance
The Wolfe Brothers, Hey Brother
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Brad Cox, Rusty Strings
Felicity Urquhart, Chain Of Joy
Lee Kernaghan, Backroad Nation
Morgan Evans, Young Again
The Wolfe Brothers, Hey Brother
TOYOTA ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Amber Lawrence, Spark
Felicity Urquhart, Frozen Rabbit
Lee Kernaghan, Backroad Nation
Morgan Evans, Things That We Drink To
Sara Storer, Raindance
Originally published as Country music legends Felicity Urquhart and Lee Kernaghan lead 2020 Golden Guitars nominations
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