Local music competition champions announced

23 November 2021

Local State Emergency Service representatives Tanya Mudie and Steve Taylor have been named winners of Western Downs Regional Council’s Groovin’ from the Garage local music competition for 2021.

After receiving an overwhelming response to the social media-based competition, Council has announced the winning artists who took out the top three places, taking home great prizes and the opportunity to perform at future Council events.

Spokesperson for Community and Cultural Development Councillor Kaye Maguire said the support shown to our musicians by our community throughout the competition was inspiring.

“Here in the Western Downs, it’s the people that make it and we were thrilled to bring this initiative back for a second year to support our musical arts community and showcase our talented residents that contribute to the vibrancy of our region,” Cr Maguire said.

“I would like to thank and congratulate each of our participants for their hard work and impressive performances. It was incredible to see all the support shown through the thousands of engagements they received online, including the 1900 total votes placed.

“At the end of the day, it was the community who determined the top three winners. With all artists receiving an impressive amount of votes, it was the Western Downs SES who took out first place with their original song ‘Hand of a Hero‘, followed by Philip Spies in second place with Olivia Gilmour taking out third.”

2021 Groovin’ from the Garage champion Steve Taylor said the competition was not only a great opportunity to support local artists but to also raise awareness around something close to his heart.

“This initiative provides a unique opportunity in these trying times for musicians to band together and bring enjoyment to the wider community. We look forward to having the opportunity to collaborate and perform with some of these amazing artists in the future,” Mr Taylor said.

“Because of the competition’s prestigious status in the region we were proud to get involved, not only from a musical perspective but also because it gave us a unique platform to showcase the durability and versatility of SES within Western Downs and raise awareness around how we assist our community.”

Fellow champion and singing partner Tanya Mudie said it was such an inspiring initiative to be part of and is thankful to everyone involved.

“The process was extremely heart-warming, and it was incredible to see so many local musicians from such varied backgrounds and genres get involved,” Ms Mudie said.

“We would like to thank and congratulate all participants on their fantastic submissions, it was great to see the amount of talent we have within our region. We also would like to say a massive thank you to our Western Downs volunteers for all their support as well as the wider Western Downs community, without them these initiatives could not happen.

“Finally, we would like to thank WDRC for providing this amazing opportunity and all their hard work in organising this initiative.”

All selected finalists were awarded cash prizes with the top three winners receiving gift vouchers from local businesses with the additional opportunity to perform at future Council events.

For more information contact Council on 1300 COUNCIL (1300 268 624) or visit www.wdrc.qld.gov.au/groovin. To rewatch all finalists videos, visit Western Downs Invites You.

More information:

First: Western Downs SES (Tanya Mudie & Steve Taylor) | ‘Hand of a Hero’ Second: Philip Spies | ‘Dog without a Bone’ Third: Olivia Gilmour | ‘Colours’

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