Awarded their position out of heats run in venues across Sydney, the outcomes of which were determined by a combination of audience vote and judge’s decision, the contestants hailed from a diverse range of musical backgrounds. Performing original tunes only, they competed for a host of prizes, from recording time to professional photo shoots to vocal lessons.
Early ‘90s Sydney rocker turned acoustic balladeer, Bryan Farley, kicked off the contest with his powerful rock voice and rhythm guitar-driven tunes. His songs varied from the haunting anthem, ‘Father’s Day’, which addressed a father’s death, to a folky tune based on the story of bushranger Ben Hall. The judges placed him third.
Up next was Kath Cox, who has performed as far afield as Kansas and American Samoa and as close to home as the ‘Gong. One of the reasons behind Cox’s broad appeal is perhaps her capacity to capture a variety of moods, in both her vocal style and songwriting. She opened with an irreverent, humorous take on heartbreak and held the audience’s attention with a long folksong dedicated to the poet, Robert Burns, which she described, self-effacingly, as ‘the one that usually sends people to the bathroom’.
Third up was Belinda Robinson, who hit the stage to the accompaniment of her uproariously enthusiastic fans. As soon as she opened her mouth, the reasons behind her popularity became obvious as her beautifully controlled and dynamic jazzy-soul voice overpowered the room. Robinson’s songs varied from the groove-driven ‘Guess What?’ a song about maintaining self-belief and composure in the face of being put down to the gentle ballad, ‘Seasons’. Robinson’s well-loved and strong performance saw her take out first prize, through both the judges’ decision and the popular vote.
Samantha Johnson was up fourth, with her clean, rhythmic guitar playing and fiery performance style. Like Bryan Farley, Samantha Johnson has spent years in the pub-rock scene and has the strong voice and catchy song-writing to show it. She described her exes as “great fodder for songwriting” but deserving of “only one song each”, a quip that got laughs from the audience. Johnson sang about her past experiences with an uplifting, defiant spirit.
Gene Fehlberg, the fifth performer for the night, brought a blues-roots sensibility to the stage. Originally from northern New South Wales and now living in Sydney, Fehlberg sang about his experiences with authenticity, engaging lyrical images and memorable hooks. His strong rhythmic ability, captured through a combination of stomp box and agile, varied guitar playing was a big hit. The judges voted him into second place and the audience vote placed him third.
The final act was Blue Mountains based group, Shadows at Play. They rounded out the evening with an energetic folk-pop set that included well-executed vocal harmonies; catchy tunes and interesting, texturally varied arrangements. A few of the members are multi-instrumentalists, so at different times, the songs featured acoustic and electric guitars, keys, saxophone, trumpet, harmonica, bass and drums. Their performance gained them second position in the popular vote.
Jasmine Crittenden - Jasmine Crittenden (B.A.)(Hons.)(First Class) is a writer and editor specialising in music, literature and travel.
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