RECORD STORE DAY 2018 ANNOUNCES AMBASSADORS

RECORD STORE DAY AUSTRALIA 2018 ANNOUNCES AMBASSADORS

ANTHONY ALBANESE (AKA DJ ALBO) HANDS OVER THE BATON TO MICHAEL CHUGG : DAN SULTAN : AMBER LAWRENCE

Record Store Day are very excited to announce Michael Chugg, Dan Sultan and Amber Lawrence as their ambassadors for this 11th worldwide event that celebrates the culture of the indie record store.

This annual event reiterates the importance of the traditional music outlet as one of the major avenues for the public to discover the many genres of music releases each year.

Set for Saturday 21 April, indie music stores around Australia will throw open their doors to live music with in-store appearances, DJs spinning the vinyl, treasure hunts, parties, barbecues, coffee carts, face painting and, of course, the legendary vinyl crate digging.

Once again, the record companies are planning a series of limited edition vinyl releases for the collectors, and the vinyl resurgence continues alongside resilient sales for CDs.

The indie record store is a community hub for music lovers: a place to find new music, reconnect with old and new music from old friends, get great advice and recommendations, hear musicians live, find out what’s happening in the local music scene, and generally hang out with people who love music as much as you do.

In its first ten years, Record Store Day has grown exponentially and is now celebrated by millions of people, in thousands of independent record stores, worldwide. It has spurred the growth of at least one physical media format, inspired new stores to open their doors, and helped existing stores to grow and expand. Thousands of artists have celebrated with performances, in-store events and limited edition special releases. Unknown numbers of people have had a damn good time at their local record store.

Record Store Day are pleased to announce this year’s ambassadors and welcome their contribution to this very special day for the music industry

Michael Chugg: The legendary music manager and promoter.

A pioneer of the Australian music industry, Michael Chugg has garnered a reputation both locally and internationally as one of the country’s most prominent music promoters and is a name synonymous with some of biggest tours to have come through Australia and New Zealand over the past 50 years.

He has toured some of the biggest local and international artists in the world and has picked up numerous industry accolades along the way. He has been named as Pollstar’s International Promoter of the Year four times, has twice picked up the Best Promoter gong at the International Live Music Conference, and has a multitude of Billboard Awards, Helpmann Awards, Country Music Awards, Musexpo Awards and more under his belt. In June 1998, Michael was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of his contribution to the Australian music industry.

Five years ago, Chugg established Chugg Music, an independent label and management company handling Australian artists. The indie label has seen major success over the years via Brisbane-based band Sheppard, who are fast becoming one of the world’s best young pop bands. Responsible for global breakout anthem ‘Geronimo’, the first two singles from the band’s sophomore album Watching The Sky have achieved Gold and Platinum status respectively in Australia, with second single ‘Coming Home’ reacting in over thirty territories worldwide.

Dan Sultan: Multi award-winning musician, singer, songwriter.

Ever since Sultan delivered his debut album, Homemade Biscuits, in 2006 at the age of 22, music lovers from all walks of life have found a home in his ability to bare his longings and his wounds, his rich and soulful voice spilling all sorts of guts and glory over memorable rock, roots and blues hooks.

Following Homemade Biscuits came Sultan’s sophomore effort of 2009 Get Out While You Can featuring fan favourite ‘Old Fitzroy’. Get Out While You Can earned the artist two 2010 ARIA Awards (Best Male Artist Best, Blues & Roots Album), Best Independent Artist at the 2010 AIR Awards as well as Male Artist of the Year and Best Single Release (for ‘Letter’) at the 2010 Deadly Awards – the song also earning Sultan an APRA nomination for Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year.

2014 saw the musical return of Dan Sultan with the release of his critically acclaimed record, Blackbird. The album was recorded at Nashville’s Blackbird Studios. It debuted at #4 on the ARIA Album Charts. At the ARIA Awards that year he won an award for Best Rock Album. He also won Best Independent Blues & Roots Album at the AIR Awards as well as the National Album of the Year for Blackbird, National Song of the Year for “The Same Man”, National Cover Art of the Year for Blackbird and was named joint Artist Of The Year with Jessica Mauboy at the NIMA’s.

In July 2017 his fourth and most recent album was released, Killer. Debuting at #5 on the ARIA Album Chart, Killer earned Dan two ARIA nominations for Best Male Artist and Best Rock Album. Sultan performed with A.B Original at the 2017 ARIA Awards for their collaborative song ‘January 26’. 2017 also saw Sultan nominated for Best Album Award, Best Video for ‘Magnetic’ and Best Song for his work with A.B Original on’ January 26’ at the 2017 NIMA’s nominated.

Amber Lawrence: Multi award winning country music singer-songwriter.

Amber Lawrence is an award-winning Australian singer-songwriter who captures the nation’s attention and heart with her songs about Australia; its people and the things that matter to them.

A former Qantas Airways employee and chartered accountant, Amber risked it all in 2008 to pursue a career in music.

The risk finally paid off in 2015 when Amber was awarded the iconic and prestigious ‘Female Artist of the Year’ award for her song ‘Superhero’, at the 2015 CMAA Golden Guitar awards – the highest accolade for country music in Australia.

This was quickly followed up with the Country Music Channel 2015 ‘Female Artist of the Year’ Award. This was the first time in history that an artist has won both awards in one year.

2016 saw the engaging entertainer win Female Artist of the Year at the Country Music Channel Awards, once again, plus the people’s Choice Award for Female Artist of the Year at the Tamworth Country Music Festival. Amber was also extremely honoured to receive an Australia Day Bronze Achievement Award for her contribution to war veterans and their families, via her work with RSL DefenceCare.

In 2016, Amber released not one, but two albums – the critically acclaimed 5th studio album “Happy Ever After”, and her high selling children’s album “The Kid’s Gone Country”.

Amber just took home 3 of the most prestigious Golden Guitar awards at the 2018 CMAA Golden Guitar Awards!! APRA Song of the Year, Single of the Year and Vocal Collaboration of the year, for the song ‘Our Backyard’ a collaboration with Travis Collins.

2017 was an extremely busy year for Amber. She was asked by the American Australian Association to perform in New York to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea. Amber performed the anthemic song ‘100 Year Handshake’ in front of dignitaries and celebrities including President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Ambassador Joe Hockey, John Travolta and hundreds more.

Amber is also a mentor to young artists in the Australian music industry and has provided free entertainment and mentoring in over 300 schools Australia wide, as part of her ‘Be Your Own Superhero’ program.

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To keep up with all the exciting party details and special releases to come follow Record Store Day at:

Website: www.recordstoreday.com.au and sign up for the email newsletter to be in the running for prizes
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RecordStoreDayAustralia
Twitter: twitter.com/RSDAustralia
Instagram: www.instagram.com/RSDAustralia/

Background: About Record Store Day:

Record Store Day, the global celebration of the culture of the record store, takes place annually in April. It’s usually the third Saturday in April, unless that is Easter. This will be the eleventh Record Store Day.

Internationally, Record Store Day is managed by the Department of Record Stores and promotes independent record stores year-round with events, special releases and other fun things. Each participating country has an authorised partner.

In Australia, the Record Store Day authorised partner is the Australian Music Retailers Association (AMRA), the industry body for recorded music stores – specialist or hybrid, online or physical.

Category: News