Star Maker Brings Live Music To Toyota Car Yards With Pop-Up Tour

The Toyota Star Maker Top 10 Pop-Up Tour is back for the second year, offering up ten opportunities to see 2024 Toyota Star Maker finalists and country up-and-comers perform at local Toyota dealerships and community events before they battle it out at the 52nd Toyota Country Music Festival in Tamworth.

First to kick off the Toyota Pop-Up Tour is Felicity Dowd in Bega Valley (New South Wales), with the remaining nine finalists taking stages across December and January in Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales.

Toyota Australia Chief Marketing Officer Vin Naidoo said, “It’s wonderful to see these artists get the chance to take to the stage in their hometowns to perform before hitting the Tamworth stage early next year in Toyota Park. We are thrilled to be a small part of their journey, and we wish them all the best of luck in the lead-up to the Toyota Star Maker Grand Final concert.”

The 2024 Toyota Star Maker Grand Final will take place on Sunday, 21 January alongside the 52nd Tamworth Country Music Festival Toyota, with the top ten finalists, announced last month, are Dakota East (aged 30), Ethan Calway (aged 25), Felicity Dowd (aged 19), Jake Whittaker (aged 29), Jay Santilli (aged 33), Jemma Beech (aged 31), Jimbo Stokes (aged 30), Nathan Lamont (aged 30), Piper Rodrigues (aged 23) and Wade Forster (aged 25).

The final will also feature special guests who are previous Toyota Star Maker winners and nominees in the 2024 Golden Guitar Awards held the following week on Saturday, 27 January. 2023 Star Maker winner Loren Ryan will host a gala performance on the night, having scored slots on festivals including the Deni Ute Muster, Gympie Muster, Savannah In The Round and recently, Cruisin’ Country since her win.

True to its name, The Toyota Star Maker competition, now in its 44th year, has been responsible for catapulting the careers of  Keith Urban, Lee Kernaghan, Travis Collins, James Blundell, Beccy Cole, Samantha McClymont, Luke Austen, Blake O’Connor. In addition to the prestigious title, winners will walk away with the Toyota Star Maker prize package, valued at over $100,000.

Toyota Star Maker Coordinator Cherly Brown told Countrytown, “The competition is on, that’s for certain, and with such diversity as country rock, alt-country, country pop, traditional and folk, it’s definitely going to be hard to choose one winner.”

“This year’s finalists are going to make it difficult for the judges, as they are a strong, determined and driven group.”

The Toyota Star Maker Top 10 Pop-Up Tour line-up is as follows, with more details here.

1. Felicity Dowd Music - Thursday 7 December - Bega Christmas Carnival, NSW

2. Jake Whittaker - Friday 15th December - Grand Motors Toyota, QLD

3. Jemma Beech  - Monday 18th December - Singleton Toyota, NSW

4. Jay Santilli Music  - Saturday 23rd December - Pakenham Toyota, VIC

5. Nathan Lamont - Early January 2024 - Thomas Bros Toyota, NSW

6. Dakota East - Friday 12th January - Brighton Toyota, VIC

7. Ethan Calway Music - Saturday 13th January - Warragul, VIC

8. Piper Rodrigues- Saturday 13th January - North Lakes Toyota, QLD

9. Jimbo Stokes - Tuesday 16th January - Scone Toyota, NSW

10. Wade Forster music - Thursday 18th January - Tamworth Toyota, NSW