Gday Folks, first I would like to offer my apologies for the long time between newsletters. As you can imagine it has been a busy couple of months.

Thank you to all of you who have invested, played or voted for The Drovers Wife, which as I write this on my Easter Family break, hit No.4 on the Country Music Radio Charts and after a long time in Country Music Channels top 50 video clips, finally cracking the Top 30 at No.28. All against some pretty stiff competition and I must say that I am very humbled.

After a spell in the popular Greatest Songwriters of History Gigs last month, I am once again on the road. I have been given a huge honour and made the Ambassador of the Urban Country Music Festival, being held in Caboolture, Queensland, 4 to 7 May. You will be able to catch me with Medicine Wheel at the Village Store or performing solo at the Songwriter’s Café which is always great fun and inspiring to be part of. I’ll also be making guest appearances at heaps of other festival events, so keep an eye out for me and please pop over to say hello. For the UCMF go to www.urbancountry.com.au for all the festival info.

My blog for the Urban Facebook page was:

G’day Folks, Well it was a humbling day and it gave me great pleasure to accept the role of official Ambassador for the 2012 Urban Country Music Festival (UCMF). 
Last Thursday in the celebrated Caboolture Historical Village a collection of volunteers, media, major sponsors and politicians gathered together to launch this years festival. The optimism, pro activeness and can do attitude of this multi faceted crowd was infectious and inspiring (up until the Karaoke). Each person I met was enthusiastic and welcoming and it instilled a strong sense of belonging and community which I was honored to be a part of. 
As part of the official proceedings of the day I met up with good mates Dan Rennie at 98.9FM and Tracey & Darren, aka The Big D, at 101.5FM, playing a couple of tunes and talking up the Festival. However I always like reminding people of the integral importance these major and community radio stations play for events such as UCMF as well as to independent musicians like myself. Stations like 98.9, 101.5 and KiX FM up the road, keep Country Music thriving in SE QLD and they are the reason we have three major country music festivals in that region throughout the year. 
People hear, people like, people do, sponsors join in, things happen, festival starts, need an ambassador!

I’m really looking forward to keeping you posted as we prepare for May and my very best regards to you all, Cheers, Luke O’Shea

I have a couple of other gigs coming up in regional areas which I am excited about – on Saturday 21 April I’ll be playing at the Southern Tablelands Country Music Talent Quest and Campout being held at Windellama Hall, Oallen Ford Road, Windellama which is down in the Goulburn area with the great Wayne Ryder and crew and should be a lot of fun!

Then on Saturday 12 May I will be heading down to Mexico playing at the Harvest Music Festival at the Roy Dore Reserve, Carrum Victoria, with good mate Johnny Kendall on fiddle.

Other upcoming gigs closer to home will be with Pinball on ANZAC Day at Cronulla RSL, BUT the super biggie is back home in Cronulla at the MIGHTY Brass Monkey with Medicine Wheel on Saturday 19 May, if keen to join in please book tickets now as she is a small intimate room and sells out fairly quick.

We also have a Medicine Wheel trio back out at The Vault in Windsor on 27 May. Other gigs and times are on my “Gig Dates” on my website. Hopefully a few of you will be able to come along to help support these superb events for without bums on seats …it gets lonely!

Breaking News, we will once again be at the Hats Off to Country weekend at the AWESOME Tamworth Services Club on 6 and 7 July in Tamworth, as well as closing that weekend at the very special gig at The DAG Sheep Station on the Sunday afternoon, 8 July (www.thedag.com.au)

In closing off, I like to thank you all again for taking an interest in my music. We have something very special coming out soon with New England Skies and I do have some special memorabilia left over from Tamworth, so keep checking the website for details. Look forward to when we meet,.

Cheers,

J Luke

Together with Medicine Wheel we launched ‘The Drover’s Wife’ with bells, whistles and fire works!

Our 4th CD and my 12th Tamworth Festival it really did feel like a coming of age. MASSIVE Thanks to the mighty Tamworth Services Club who give us the space and time spot to explore and dig wayyyy deep into our own songs. It’s golden when we look up and see the packed auditorium as hypnotized as we become and for us all in Medicine Wheel, those shows are truly the highlight of our musical year.

Thank you to all the beautiful audiences and ‘investors’ of The Drovers Wife’ for you do keep the Wheel spinning and we sincerely do appreciate your efforts to see us ‘live’.

The Drovers Wife video is currently on CMC and anyone with anytime to request it online is greatly appreciated!

Stepping from one whirlwind into another, very best regards and safe travels!

Luke

Well thanks for your patience and here is the brand new website. Big thanks Brent Eaton at Sales Sauce for the smooth and professional transition. If you like the background photo it’s the beautiful Flinders Ranges taken from the drivers seat whilst experiencing yet another incredible South Oz sunset.

It started as a whisper but now  The Drovers Wife is well and truly out there. The albums official release will be in Tamworth during the Festival in January but copies are available now through this website via PayPal or through WJO distribution outlets like Sanity, regional JB Hi-Fi, iTunes and any other AWESOME independent record retailer.

The brand new video shot by the ‘way too much talent for one man’ Mr Duncan Toombs, will hopefully be hitting your Foxtel TV screens soon and I will have it up here for a sneak peak …as soon as I figure out how to do it!??

With the madness of Christmas fast approaching, I do pray you find some peace and a present in the sack that you truly like!

Best Regards and don’t forget…. there’s only one thing that God wants to know… How well Have You Loved?