Busking returns to the Granite Belt with the Stanthorpe leg of the National Busking Championships being held in the town on 4 March.
Organisers, the Apple and Grape Festival committee, is already looking for competitors for this year’s event with entries now open.
“We are thrilled to have busking in Stanthorpe back on the streets and to once again be partnering with Allan Spencer who run the Australian National Busking Championships,” festival president Russell Wantling said.
“We can’t be more proud of the Stanthorpe leg of the ANBC National Championships as it has produced some amazing talent over the years and I have no doubt that this year the bar will be raised once again.
“It is such a great event for the community of Stanthorpe and I love nothing more than seeing the CBD packed with visitors experiencing our little piece of paradise.
“We have some new judges lined-up this year, along with some special performances at the finals concert and let’s not forget we have a bigger prize pool on offer this year, in excess of $8000.”
In the past six “Busking Stanthorpe” South-East Queensland Finals, Stanthorpe has produced five different winners who’ve gone on to win significant National Awards including last year’s winner Matt “Shieldsy” Shields, a Stanthorpe police officer.
Matt took out the top prize last year in Stanthorpe and then travelled to Cooma to come second overall in the national finals.
Matt has been in the area since 2015, having worked at the Allora Station for two, moving on to the Warwick Police Station before transferring to Stanthorpe.
When asked what made him want to enter, he shared his past life of being in a rock band, ‘Devils in Heaven’ with a bunch of school mates back in the 90’s.
Turns out ‘Shieldsy’ was the bass guitarist and the band even had a top 100 hit in the 1992 with original composition, ‘Say a Prayer’. Their album ‘Rise’ has just been re-signed by an international record company.
“We had not long moved to Stanthorpe and I remember wandering up and down the main street during the 2019 SEQ Finals”, he said.
“I thought, I could do that”.
Unfortunately, he had tickets to see Queen with Adam Lambert in Brisbane on the same weekend so didn’t enter. When the 2020 competition came around, (just before all the lock downs), he jumped at the chance.
When asked what the most positive thing was about the whole experience, Matt said the appreciated and recognition he got through playing his own music impressed him the most. He said the fact the judges acknowledged his songs and performance gave him validation and made him feel like he was being taken seriously as an artist.
“Entering, performing, winning and travelling to Cooma has been a great experience and I’d just recommend any budding signer or performer to have a go”, he added.
Matt has confirmed that he will be at the 2023 competition – but as a volunteer.
For more information go to the Apple and Grape website and look up Busking; www.appleandgrape.org
