Wheatsheaf Hotel

George St Thebarton

Matt Ward & The Rising Sons single release + Katie Brianna (NSW)

MATT WARD

Delivering a soulful blend of traditional, Americana and Australian country music, Matt Ward has rapidly been forging his own space within the Australian music scene.
 
His 2019 debut album “Heartland” reached #1 on the ARIA Australian Country charts and each of his three singles (Annabelle, Back to the Country and Take Me Home) have been highly successful releases. Mixing personal experience with heartbreaking aberration of people and places, Rhythms Magazine described Heartland as a “strong debut”, its track Annabelle as a “world class song” and the album “testament to Ward’s ability to blend popular country and alt country elements to produce convincingly heartfelt songs”. Matt has also recently toured in America with some of the country’s best outlaw country artists and has just returned from Nashville after showcasing for Sounds Australia at Americanist.
 
But Matt’s musical journey has been different from most. Working for years across regional and outback South Australia, and more recently living and touring out of Texas, Ward has an intimate knowledge of the land and its people. Time on the road, his connection to the country, emotions experienced along the way – it is the lifeblood of country music, and Matt has it in spades.
With strong storytelling, catchy hooks and a crafty blend of Australian, traditional and outlaw country music, it’s easy to draw comparison to Paul Kelly and Corb Lund in Matt’s music whilst his journey as adult provides compelling authenticity as both an artist and person.
KATIE BRIANNA
Katie Brianna’s story goes something like this… plucked from obscurity by Paul Kelly at age 15 to appear on the ARIA Award-winning Jindabyne Soundtrack, before recording 2 critically acclaimed alt-country albums and scoring herself a couple of Golden Guitar nominations along the way.
Brianna has one of those voices that can break your heart in a matter of moments. It’s a voice so strong and distinctive that it often overshadows her brilliance as a song writer. Her last couple of albums have been nothing short of phenomenal and now Katie is preparing to release her next with producer Adam Young (ex-Daisygrinders/Big Heavy Stuff).
Katie is touring the country releasing the first single off her as-yet-untitled album, due to land in February 2020