A taste of Texas

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Lechelle Earl, owner/editor




A taste of Texas

Talented Mount Gambier singer-songwriter Anne Fraser has been nominated for multiple award designations in the 2024 Texas Sounds International Country Music Awards in October.


Ms Fraser said she was shocked to receive an email notifying her of her nominations in the prestigious awards.


“I was not aware that I was being watched. What they do is watch artists around the world and it is all to do with what you are putting out on social media,” Ms Fraser said.


“It doesn’t matter how many followers you have got or anything like that, they are watching your content and the quality of your song writing.


“It is an incredible honour to be recognised and I was shocked too because I did not think people in Texas would be interested in my Australian content, but they are really loving what I am putting out and it is surreal.”


The nominations come after Ms Fraser won the Best Female Bush Ballad of the Year at the Australian Independent Country Music Brumby Awards in January.


The awards are held annually at Werris Creek near Tamworth and recognise artists that have contributed to the Australian bush ballad genre through exceptional song writing or vocals.


Ms Fraser’s award-winning song, titled ‘Coorong Sands’, stood out for its blend of songwriting, production and a narrative that captured the Coorong like a story.


“It’s a tribute to Storm Boy as well, I think it’s just that Australian topic that everyone loves the movie Storm Boy,” she said.


“I started off talking about Finger Bone Bill, who was the Indigenous man in Storm Boy and he was the man that taught Storm Boy a lot of things and took him under his wing.


“Then it speaks about Storm Boy himself, it speaks about the relationship between spirit and the ocean and Storm Boy and the chorus features on Mr Percival.”


Ms Fraser wrote the song while sitting on a beach, which inspired the song title ‘Coorong Sands’ and the chorus also speaks about Storm Boy running on the sand.


The Australian songwriter recently released her inaugural music video to Coorong Sounds produced by her son’s videography company Blake Allan Media, 12 months after the song’s initial release.


“It took Blake and I this long to put out the video because we had to find the pelicans and get the right footage,” she said.


“We wanted it to have all original footage, we did not want to purchase footage or anything like that. It is all authentic and original.”


Ms Fraser performed at the recent Penola Coonawarra Acoustic Music Gathering in March.


“I would like to credit Leigh and Anne Miller, they have been such a support for me and my music,” she said.


The country singer currently has two singles in the Top 40 Country Charts with ‘Beneath Australian Stars’ recently hitting number one and ‘She Sang the Harmony’ sitting at number 16.


Ms Fraser is keeping busy with plenty of upcoming songwriting opportunities prior to travelling to Texas in October.


She is in the process of recording a song dedicated to her uncle John Christian titled ‘Uncle John’s Guitar’ who she grew up with in Mount Gambier.


“This song is a tribute to him and what his music did for me as a teenager growing up,” she said.


“In early May, I am heading off to Carter and Carter Songwriting Retreat in Kinglake, that’s a great weekend.


“I want to do a songwriting tour in Tasmania in hopefully July so I am really looking forward that.


“I am also working with a couple of girls in Adelaide to do an all-female storytelling ticketed show so that is sort of happening in the background.”


Ms Fraser will attend Tamworth Country Music Festival in January 2025 where she will receive her Best Female Bush Ballad of the Year award and perform Coorong Sands along with two other songs.

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