Casey Barnes, Fanny Lumsden & More Join Monday’s KIX Live!

On Monday, March 27 at 7pm, KIX Live will feature performances from Casey Barnes, Fanny Lumsden, Max Jackson, Petric, Vixens of Fall, Courtney Keil and our current ‘Centre Stage’ artist of the week Ella & Sienna.

Casey Barnes

Casey Barnes topped off an incredible year by winning the 2022 ARIA Award for ‘Best Country Album’, for his sixth studio album, Light It Up. He was one of the most nominated artists at the 2023 Golden Guitar Awards, taking home ‘Toyota Album of the Year and Top Selling Album of the Year’.

Inspired as a six-year-old when he saw his first gig, Barnes started playing gigs while still in high school. He released his self-titled debut album in 2007 as well as a string of singles. In 2010, he released an EP titled Red Lion Motel and the follow up, Flesh & Bone in 2014. He also released a further two albums – Jet Trails in 2012 and Live As One in 2016, respectively.

2020’s Town Of A Million Dreams debuted at #16 on the ARIA Albums Chart and #1 on the Australian Country Chart, the iTunes Country and All Genre Charts. While 2018’s The Good Life debuted at #1 on the iTunes Country Album Chart, peaking at #2 on the ARIA Australian Country Album Chart.

Fanny Lumsden

Born and bred on a farm in western NSW, 600km from the nearest City, Fanny Lumsden grew up riding horses, helping out on the farm and living a seemingly idyllic Aussie Country upbringing with her family. Music was a big part of the Lumsden household with everyone playing instruments and singing and there was never any doubt that Fanny was a born show pony.

Having completed her AMEB grades on Piano, and studied Music at High school Fanny went away for a while to study a Bachelor of Rural Science at UNE before making the move to Sydney where she started playing around the local scene, going to Songwriter nights. It was from there she met her band members’ The Thrillseekers and from there where the real Fanny Lumsden story begins.

9 years later, she has an ARIA Award (+ 2 other ARIA nominated Albums), 8x CMAA Golden Guitars, An AMP shortlisted (top 9) album, 3 ARIA chart topping albums, an AIR Award, a CMC Award, her own Record Label - Red Dirt Road Records and her own hugely successful touring brand - The Country Halls Tour.

Max Jackson

Raised on country music in Coonamble, NSW, Max Jackson has been forging her way to a successful career, stepping from talent quests, to graduating from both the Talent Development Project (CEO Mary Lopez), and the CMAA’s Academy of Country Music to being part of a successful group The Apprentices (2012).

Inspired by female writers who really have something to say, like Kacey Musgraves, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crowe and Dolly Parton, Jackson has been happy as a behind-the-scenes songwriter, honing her craft, and taking trips to Nashville and Los Angeles, and writing with international and Australian artists. A highlight was a co-write with pop artist Svrcina on the song Astronomical, which was included in the smash TV Series, Legacies.

The 2022 Toyota Star Maker winner released her debut album (as well as its deluxe edition with three extra songs) in 2020, following a Christmas album in 2017. Her current EP Out Here was released in January and features her hits Runnin', Stratosphere and Someone In A Small Town.

Petric

Formed back in 2014, Canadian country act, Petric have since racked up over 15 million worldwide online streams, multiple chart-topping hit singles on Canadian country music radio, including three top 20 hits, and have won a handful of awards. Their 2021 album Flashbacks also earned them their first top 25 single in Australia with White Lyin’.

Comprised of brothers Jason and Tom Petric along with their long-time friend Jordan Day, Petric have been announced to perform on Cruisin’ Country, a 7-night Royal Caribbean Country Music Cruise departing Sydney on 1st December and features Australian Country Music heavyweights such as The Wolfe Brothers, Casey Barnes, Beccy Cole, Brooke McClymont and Adam Eckersley, McAlister Kemp, Amber Lawrence, Hayley Jensen, Gord Bamford and more. The cruise will form part of Petric’s first Australian tour, with more dates to be announced over the next few months.

Vixens of Fall

2023 has already started with full energy, seeing the sisters venture to the 51st Tamworth Country Music Festival to play multiple shows, including a performance at the TCMF People’s Choice Awards, of which the group were recently nominated for ‘Best Group or Duo’ and were the recipients of the ICMAA award for the ‘Most Popular Australian Independent Country Music Band 2023’.

Comprised of sisters Nina, Wren and Lulu, Vixens Of Fall were born and raised in the tropical north city of Cairns. Following the release of their debut EP, A Love Like Ours, they moved to Brisbane in 2000 and started their professional singing career at the Urban Country Music Festival in 2016 and have since made regular appearances at the Gympie Music Muster and Tamworth Country Music Festival.

Courtney Keil 

Born on a working deer farm in the Adelaide Hills, before living in Melbourne for most of her life, Courtney Keil moved to the Central Coast, NSW in 2022. She graduated from CMAA Academy of Country Music in 2016 and was vocally trained by Lyn Bowtell and Renee Grant-Williams.

She released her debut album, The Good Kind, in February. Several of the tracks have been released previously as singles and received high praise. All achieved high rotation across country radio, earning Keil multiple chart positions in the Countrytown Hot 50 Country Airplay Chart - most recently Hard Place, hitting a high of #21. She’s notched up four #1’s on the iTunes Country Singles chart, amassed in excess of 330,000 streams and was recently crowned ‘Best Female Vocal’ at the 2023 Australian Country Music People’s Choice Awards.

Ella & Sienna

Persistence has certainly paid off for sisters Ella & Sienna who this year were finalists on The Voice Australia and were crowned winners of the 2022 Groundwater KIX-Start competition.

With diverse influences from artists including Missy Higgins, Fleetwood Mac and Taylor Swift, the multi-instrumentalist siblings have formed a pop/country/folk sound that is all their own. Ella & Sienna's voices alone command the crowd, and their harmonies weave deeply heartfelt lyrics with such effortlessness that they never fail to leave a lasting impression.

They recently released their debut EP, Seven Ways To Say You're Fine. The new release includes a wealth of new songs including the majorly popular singles Next To Mine and Saved, which featured on radio stations across the country and airplay and sales charts.