Announcing the 2022 APRA Best Country Music Song Award Finalists
Today, APRA AMCOS NZ proudly announce the 2022 APRA Best Country Music Song Award Finalists. A celebration of the incredible calibre of Aotearoa Country Music Songwriters, the finalists this year champion the dynamic breadth of talent right across the country.
– Jenny Mitchell, Tami Neilson, Chris Wethey, Tali Jenkinson for Trouble Finds a Girl
– Miles Calder for What We’re In
– Kaylee Bell for Silver Linings
APRA’s own Ōtautahi SongHubs 2021 offered a prime opportunity for highly accoladed alt-country powerhouse Jenny Mitchell to weave wonder with illuminating industry icon Tami Neilson, alongside Wellington’s Chris Wethey, and Papua New Guinea born Tali Ejalas Jenkinson (Vallé). Together, they see a finalist in the stirringly powerful Trouble Finds A Girl. Spacious and haunting, it carries a sense of caution, wrapped in palpable emotion; building to a dramatic and soaring swell of calls to “burn it down” – a powerful and direct response to sexual misconduct and sexual assault within the music industry.
Next up, and newly acquainted with writing and playing on both piano and electric guitar, finalist Miles Calder has found new avenues of expression beyond his previously acoustic-bound writing, represented on his 2021 album Autopilot Life. The closing track What We’re In is the self-reflective song that makes a worthy finalist list this year. Wellington-based Calder offers “effective raw ideas that come from riding the edge of your comfort zone” seamlessly moving through the swirling psychedelic of earlier works on the album, to the understated folk-rock piano melodies that guide What We’re In.
As the ‘Most Streamed Female Country Artist’ in Australasia in 2021, Kaylee Bell continues to see her incredible devotion to country music celebrated following the release of her second album Silver Linings. The title track of which fills the third finalists spot for the 2022 APRA Best Country Music Song Award. Despite having collaborated with names such as Simon Oscroft (Disney USA, Midnight Youth) and Sam Sumser (Lizzo, Keith Urban) on her album, Bell’s Silver Linings is a song of solitude and clarity – a fearless reflection of her own writing style.
“Nothing stops great music from being written. Not COVID-19, or lockdowns or cancelled concerts and lost incomes. This year’s entries into the APRA Country Song celebration are stacked with beautiful, important, brilliant songs and great stories. These three final songs showcase the remarkable resolve and talent of our songwriters here in Aotearoa New Zealand” says APRA Head of NZ Operations, Anthony Healey.
With the Tussock Country Festival being cancelled for 2022 as a result of COVID-19 restrictions, the 2022 APRA Best Country Song winners will be announced in an exclusive Winner’s Announcement on Saturday 18th June 2022, live on Radio NZ Music 101 with Charlotte Ryan.
For more information on Jenny Mitchell
visit http://www.jennymitchell.co.nz/
For more information on Tami Neilson
visit http://www.tamineilson.com/
For more information on Chris Wethey
visit https://www.instagram.com/chriswilliamwethey/?hl=en
For more information on Tali Jenkinson
visit https://www.facebook.com/TheOfficialValle
For more information on Miles Calder
visit https://www.milescalder.com/
For more information on Kaylee Bell
visit https://www.kayleebellmusic.com/
