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Country sweetheart Christie Lamb has won her first Golden Guitar, taking out the CMAA Qantaslink New Talent of the Year award at the revered Country Music Awards of Australia ceremony at Tamworth Country Music Festival this past weekend. The award wraps up an incredible 12 months for the multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter who has been carving a musical niche with her distinct style of country-rock. It is not the first accolade that the talented songstress was nominated for in 2016, she is also a finalist for the CMC Female Oz Artist of the Year and CMC Oz Artist of the Year.

 

Winning the first Golden Guitar of her career is an auspicious step for a musician who is already planning on heading into the studio this year to record her next offering. In fact, Christie was one of only two female artists to win on the night, proudly standing beside Catherine Britt, who won the Female Artist of the Year accolade.

 

As an independent artist, Christie was blown away to receive the award and proud to stand beside all the other incredible finalists. “Receiving the Golden Guitar was absolutely amazing,” she says. “I first went to Tamworth ten years before as a busker and watched all the big artists at TRECC. It was honestly surreal, looking at the artists in the front row and seeing all those same faces watching me on that stage accepting my Golden Guitar. It was honestly a night I will never forget.”

 

After forging a special music connection with Lee Kernaghan and Robby X in 2015 while touring as part of Lee’s iconic The Songs & The Stories in Concert tour, Christie says the night was all the more meaningful when they presented her the award. It gave her an opportunity to publicly thank Lee for inviting her on the tour, which visited regional and metropolitan centres during the second half of last year.

 

“To not only open the show for Lee Kernaghan, but to sing with him and be a part of his band with The Wolfe Brothers was definitely a dream come true for me,” she says. “It was a privilege to be part of such a special tour showcasing the true stories from the hugely success The Spirit of the Anzacs album.”

 

Christie also gave a nod to her fellow artists Amber Lawrence and Aleyce Simmonds for the good times they had during 2015 on The Girls of Country Tour. She thanked the CMAA, Toyota and Qantaslink for their support and made special mention of her producer Andrew Cochrane and her plans to record in 2016. Acknowledging the support of CMC and local radio, Christie also thanked those in the media for giving artists a platform to showcase their music and for supporting her career thus far.

 

Christie Lamb smashed onto the Australian country music scene with her debut self-titled EP. She was selected to tour with iconic artist Jon English on his Rock Revolution tour throughout 2012 and 2013. After multiple writing trips to Nashville, she launched her debut self-titled album in 2014, where it hit #1 on the ARIA Hit Seekers Chart (all genres) and #2 on the ARIA Australian Artist Country Chart. The album itself spurned three #1 singles and two Top 5 singles. No stranger to performing, Christie has appeared on the bill of some of the country’s biggest festivals, including Deni Ute Muster, Mud Bulls and Music Festival, Urban Country Music Festival and Sydney Country Music Festival to name a few.

 

It is certainly looking like it will be a huge year for Christie Lamb. With lots of shows in the works, it isn’t surprising to find out this hard-working musician doesn’t plan on taking a break. “This year is going to be a busy one for me, which is great,” says Christie. “Along with my own shows, I will be back on the road touring again as part of some big tours. I will also be performing at a couple of upcoming festivals with The Girls of Country with Amber Lawrence and Aleyce Simmonds, in between fitting in time to record my new album.”