Gloucester’s The Bowden Brothers have been named finalists in the Tamworth Songwriters Association’s (TSA) National Country Songwriting Contest for a song that is close to their hearts.
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The brothers, together with Australian songwriter Mike McClellan, wrote ‘The Gloucester Song’ paying tribute to the Gloucester township and the neighbouring Barrington Tops National Park.
The single was pre-released during the Gloucester’s Community Christmas Carnival on Friday, December 8 ensuring the community was the first to hear it.
Mike has worked on the Australian music scene for many years and during a visit to Gloucester last year he ran a songwriting workshop with Gloucester High School music students.
‘The Gloucester Song’ was a collaboration between Mike and The Bowden Brothers, with Mike writing the words and the melody and the brothers providing the background information and performing the song.
The song has been named as one of the five finalists in the ‘Open Traditional’ section of the annual competition out of the 21 entries.
The winners will be announced during a special award ceremony held in Tamworth on January 23 during the Tamworth Country Music Festival (TCMF), a festival The Bowden Brothers are no stranger to performing at.
Returning for their seventh year, The Bowden Brothers will be taking to the stage as part of Tamworth’s music festival for gigs on January 23, 24, 25, 26 and 28.
This isn’t the first time The Bowden Brothers have taken part in a music competition in Tamworth, having been named as finalists in the TCMF 2016 Toyota Landcruiser Country Music Busking Championships.
Brothers Phil, Grant, Murray and Matt had been playing together for years before their official first gig in 2010. In recent times, they have been joined by drummer, Daryl Cornelius and on occasion, Matt’s son Reece.
Since that first gig, the band has been a permanent fixture on the Gloucester music scene, as well as playing at various locations around the region.
They play at some of the community’s biggest events including the Gloucester Show, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service annual fundraiser and Bush Poetry in the Saleyards but have also been known to perform at private functions.
Phil said they are elated by the news of being named finalists in the TSA competition.
And as for their future plans…
“We’ve talked about retiring from our day jobs and playing full time,” Phil said.
“But that might take the fun out of it,” he smiled.
The brothers don’t all live in Gloucester, so gigs take some coordinating, but that doesn’t stop them from playing around 10 shows a year in Gloucester, as well as gigs around the Mid North Coast and Northern Tablelands.
Upcoming shows in Gloucester include the Gloucester Golf Club on February 10, Bush Poetry in the Saleyards on March 10 and the Gloucester Show on March 17.
Anne Keen
Anne has been a journalist with the ACM (Australia Community Media) since 2016. She primarily works at the Gloucester Advocate but also contributes to the Manning River Times.
Anne has been a journalist with the ACM (Australia Community Media) since 2016. She primarily works at the Gloucester Advocate but also contributes to the Manning River Times.
