Grant McLennan Fellowship finalists announced

Arts Queensland, APRA AMCOS and QMusic are pleased to announce the finalists of the 2016 Grant McLennan Fellowship.

Congratulations to Leanne Tennant, Hannah Macklin (MKO Sun), Jeremy Neale and Bec Laughton (RETTA).

The $25,000 fellowship offers the recipient an opportunity to travel to New York, London or Berlin for up to 6 months and has been designed to expose the recipient to the full cultural life of one of these cities as a source of inspiration and creativity.

Grant McLennan is acknowledged as one of Australia’s greatest songwriters and one of Queensland’s first successful cultural exports. As a founding member of the Brisbane band, The Go-Betweens, Grant created an outstanding musical legacy, which has paved the way for many great artists and for the burgeoning Creative Industries sector in Queensland. His lyrics captured a unique Queensland spirit and the band was fundamental in bringing Australian music to a global audience.

The 2017 judging panel are: Sean Sennett, Sally McLennan, Ian Haug, and Adele Pickvance.

The winner will be announced at a ceremony to be held at The Triffid in Brisbane on December 2and will feature special performances from the 2016 Grant McLennan Fellowship finalists alongside Halfway, Dan Kelly, Adele Pickvance & The Stress of Leisure as part of ‘Streets Of Your Town: A Tribute to The Go-Betweens’.

Leanne Tennant has spent the last two years fiercely growing as an artist which is evident in her latest release, ‘Red Wine, Late Nights’ a truly unique, dark and untouched record which has garnered praise from The Courier-Mail, Rolling Stone and Sydney Morning Herald and received support from radio across the country. Leanne has just completed her national album tour which included sell out shows and festivals appearances at BIGSOUND, Sydney Blues & Roots and Red Deer Festival. She has shared the stage with Cold Chisel, The Basics, Emma Louise, Ash Grunwald and Katie Noonan, nominated for the 2016 Billy Thorpe Scholarship, and won the 2016 Blues & Roots award at the 2016 Queensland Music Awards with her track ‘Bearing the Crown’.

Hannah Macklin is a highly trained and experienced professional singer, songwriter, musician and teacher. In 2011, Hannah formed her band MKO Sun, for which she is the primary songwriter and frontwoman, releasing three EPs to date. She has played support slots for international acts Peaches, Cody ChesnuTT, Ibeyi and Fatima; and Australian acts Hiatus Kaiyote, Katie Noonan, Montaigne and Ecca Vandal. An immaculate vocal artist, she fluctuates between bell-like opera singer, soulful R&B crooner, 90s rapper, raspy punk princess and full diva belter; and incorporates dance and theatrics into her performance style. Winner of a 2013 Queensland Music Award for Best Electronic/Dance song, she was also commissioned to compose the theme song for the Queensland Government’s “Start Playing Stay Playing” campaign, the advertisement for which is currently playing on commercial television. Internationally, she has been invited to showcase at 2014 CMJ Music Marathon and has toured and recorded in New York City.

Jeremy Neale is the sole songwriter in his solo project, frontman and primary songwriter in 12-piece garage pop band ʻVelociraptorʼ and songwriter for melodic surf pop band ʻTeen Sensationsʼ. Jeremy’s achievements are testament to his songwriting talent, receiving high rotation on national broadcaster triple j and community radio across the country. Cynthia (Velociraptor) and Darlinʻ (solo single) were awarded #1 and #4 respectively in Brisbane 4ZZZʼs Hot 100 Countdown for 2012. Jeremy has toured extensively with his projects nationally and in the UK and Europe, including Great Escape Festival. He has won numerous Queensland Music Awards, in 2012 for ‘Best Rock Song’, 2013 for ‘Most Popular Male’ and is a former recipient of the prestigious Billy Thorpe Scholarship. With a focus now on his solo career, Jeremy has just completed a national tour supporting Regurgitator and is currently putting the finishing touches on his debut album which is due for release in 2017.

Bec Laughton is Brisbane’s firey soul/pop songstress who has quite a knack for penning a killer pop tune. After winning the Lord Mayor’s Young and Emerging Artists Fellowship in 2014, she has teamed up on new collaborations withSnarky Puppy’s Grammy Award Winning delight Cory Henry, Sam de Jong andPip Norman (Jarryd James) and also played South By Southwest. Bec has been a finalist in the International Songwriting Competition, Unsigned Only (Nashville) and the Independent Music Awards (New York) and winner of a Queensland Music Award and New Zealand’s ‘NZ on Air’ Making Tracks $10K Award. She has played countless festivals including Music4Humanity (Germany), Music Matters (Singapore), mainstage at Easterfest, Island Vibe, Woodford Folk Festival, Adelaide Fuse & Fringe Festivals, Brisbane Festival and Queensland Music Festival and featured in New Zealand’s ‘Dancing with the Stars’. On the stage Bec has supported international R&B act Zhane, Leo Sayer, James Blundell, Grace Knight and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. To date this talented songwriter has released three EPs and is currently working on her fourth due for release in 2017.