Here are some of the many highlights for me this year:
January, February and March saw me doing shows in Australia plus a couple of trips to New Zealand. As I was performing in Whangarei, NZ at the same time as the annual Tamworth Country Music Festival, I broke the tradition by not being there after doing 31years in a row.
Then came the long flight to Los Angeles and then across to Branson, Missouri ready for another six month season in the USA.
The ‘International World Festival’ in April at Silver Dollar City was a success and I was proud to represent Australia, along with acts from all parts of the world. My Aussie songs were well received by the American audiences and I enjoyed telling stories about our land ‘Down Under’.
In June I spent time in Nashville, TN where I visited the Fan Fair, but also enjoyed meeting up with some of my music friends from over the years, for a farewell party.
Back in Australia the ‘Australian Entertainment ‘MO’ Awards were held in Sydney on June 15th and I was delighted to be, once again, a final nominee in the ‘Male Country Performer’ category. Winning five ‘MO’s throughout my career has been wonderful.
Recording a brand new Gospel album at Stone County Recording Studio’s at Crane, Missouri, with Greg Bailey was certainly a highlight of the USA summer season. Greg did a great job not only producing the album, but also playing so many of the instruments on my new ‘Songs Of Praise’ CD.
I also performed on a number of occasions at Bakersville, Mansfield, Missouri, (home of the world famous Heirloom Seeds) during their monthly festivals. This is a great place to visit and it continues to attract more people each year.
Performing at the MidWest Country Theater in Sandstone, Minnesota on August 8th for two live shows was certainly a highlight. The show is broadcast on RFD-TV throughout the USA to an estimated 35 million households — great exposure for me to such a huge audience.
I took part in the ‘Southern Gospel Picnic’ at Silver Dollar City in August, joined by Larry Sledge (mandolin) and Butch Gregory (acoustic bass guitar). This festival was well attended and we performed to many hundreds of people during the 10 days, on the Gazebo Stage.
I performed at the ‘National Harvest Festival’ at Silver Dollar City during September, backed by the HorseCreek Band. This was my final season at the theme park and it was sad to say goodbye to so many friends, workmates and fans.
I returned home to Sydney early in October. In November and December I will tour Tasmania, South Australia and Victoria with the Howie Bros. Band from Melbourne. This tour went so well in 2008, that we have been invited back to nearly every town and city.
Check out my touring schedule for Australia on the links provided to keep up-to-date with my travels in both Australia and New Zealand.
All the best from ‘Down Under’,
Wayne
November 1, 2009
• Where is Wayne right now? View his current touring schedules for Australia, New Zealand and the USA.
Go to OZ/NZ Schedule Page
Photo credit: Joshua Heston
• Highlights 2008
• Hodag '07 Special Section
• Highlights of 2006 & 2007
• Hodag In Rhinelander
• Nashville Memories
• Branson and The City
• Wisconsin Travels
• Silver Dollar City Moments
Note: because of the file size of some photos included in this section, performance may be reduced with some internet connections.
