Sally-Anne Whitten & The Rumour Mill

Artist Information

Biography

Each member of the band has a long history of great things they have done- but they do extraordinary things when they all play together.
Sally-Anne's influences are widespread- Favourites include Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, Rodney Crowell, Trisha Yearwood, and Don Henley. These influences are apparent in her writing style. She has been earning her stripes as a performer on the road since she was 15, and this shows in her presentation-professional, sophisticated and dynamic. Described as "warm, classy, passionate and highly appealing"(sue Jarvis, Capital News), this groundbreaking artist takes a no-nonsense, soulful approach to her writing and performing. Achingly honest, and refreshingly real, this young woman is on the cutting edge of her genre. Not afraid to step out of the lines, her stunning blend of blues country is turning heads all around the world.
After winning awards for songwriting, and being nominated dozens of times for TIARA awards, MUSICOZ awards, APRA awards, and various songwriting awards, Sally-Anne has taken her punchy live show on the road in 2009, touring extensively throughout Australia. The new album "Blurring The Lines"is a firm favourite on Australian and European radio playlists, with the debut single "Don't know much about love"climbing steadily up the charts since it's release. The accompanying film clip sits firmly on high rotation on CMC. 2010 will see Sally-Anne's star rise even further with a tour planned of USA and Europe to promote the new album, which has such broad appeal, she is winning fans from all genres and ages everywhere. From Blues clubs to country festivals, this young lady is in demand.
This band is now widely regarded in Australia as one of the best-nobody has the same blend of brilliant musicians (including one of the greatest slide players anywhere), 4 part harmonies, and killer grooves.
Taking in Festivals in Australia (Gympie Muster, Tamworth Country Music Festival, Mildura C.M FEstival, and Galston C.M festival), and Europe (Thuit-Signol Festival, France), this band is hot property!

Instrumentation

Sally-Anne Whitten- vocals, guitar
Alwyn Aurisch-Slide, guitar, vocals
Peter Moloney- Bass, vocals
Michael Thompson- Drums, vocals

Discography

2003- "Changed & Different" EP- Included singles "How Do You Sleep At Night", and award winning "The Love He wants Most".

2007- "On The Inside"- EP. Included top 30 CMC hit- "On The Inside", and also current hit "Maybe It's You", played on high rotation on CMC.
GROUNDBREAKING NEW ALBUM JUST RELEASED-
"BLURRING THE LINES"- 2009 - FEATURING HIT SINGLE "DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT LOVE"- Played on radio all around Australia and Europe and some US stations.

Links

• Sally-Anne's Website

Audio

• Real Man
  Listen  
• Little Black Book
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• Maybe It's You
  Listen  
• On The Inside
  Listen  
• I Believe I'm In Love with you
  Listen  
• A Lover is Forever
  Listen  
• It Ain't Right
  Listen  
• Linda's On The Radio
  Listen  
• One Step Away
  Listen  
• Don't Know Much About Love
  Listen  

Lyrics

• MAYBE IT'S YOU
• On The Inside
• One Step Away
• Linda's On The Radio

Video

On The Inside

Photo Gallery

Press

• SHINING STAR FROM THIS YEARS STUNNING FESTIVAL [+ Show ]
  

  "Her musical talent, both as a singer and a guitar player, make her an outstanding and passionate mu..."Her musical talent, both as a singer and a guitar player, make her an outstanding and passionate musician." - Alan Erskine

• SALLY-ANNE WHITTEN- ON THE INSIDE [+ Show ]
  

  "Puis il ya merveilleuse interpretation du superbe blues "A Lover is forever" qui vous fait fondre d..."Puis il ya merveilleuse interpretation du superbe blues "A Lover is forever" qui vous fait fondre dans vos bottes, avec un accompagnement impeccable a la guitare acoustique (solo par le talentuex Alwyn Aurisch) Mais attention: un amant c'est pour la vie. Un CD de grande classe."
  
  
  Translation...
  
  A wonderful interpretation of the superb blues that makes you melt in your boots, with an impeccable accompaniment on the acoustic guitar (solo by the talented Alwyn Aurisch) But attention: a lover this is for life. A CD of excellent class.

• HOMEGROWN [+ Show ]
  

  By Susan Jarvis Tamworth's known internationally as Australia's country Music Capital, but it isn't...By Susan Jarvis
  Tamworth's known internationally as Australia's country Music Capital, but it isn't so widely known that the city is packed with homegrown talent....
  One of those artists is SALLY-ANNE WHITTEN. And in many
  ways, her story parallels that of her hometown. She
  was born around the time the Country Music Capital
  concept was launched, so for her whole life she’s been
  exposed to country music and a city inextricably bound
  up with the music industry.
  It’s not surprising, then, that this talented young woman has absorbed
  many musical influences, from blues, to country rock to the pure sounds of traditional country.
  It has been a while coming - with two successful EPs along the way -
  but now Sally-Anne Whitten has finally released her long-awaited debut
  album, Blurring The Lines.
  “The title is a reference to my musical style, which incorporates many
  influences into a country sound,” Sally-Anne said.
  With the influence of producer
  ALWYN AURISCH, Sally-Anne has
  captured a real energy in her music.
  “We really wanted to nail that
  live sound, the feel you create when you’re on stage. I’ve used my regular band, and made sure all the songs can be reproduced live,” she said.
  The album was launched
  — appropriately enough for a
  Tamworth girl — during this
  year’s Hats Off Festival, with
  a packed-house concert at the
  Regent Theatre.
  Blurring The Lines features a
  number of songs that Sally-Anne
  wrote herself, and they are amongst the best tracks on the album.
  They include a wonderful song
  that anyone in the music industry will relate to immediately, Linda’s On The Radio.
  “It’s about the frustrations and
  disappointments of performing
  in empty venues, to crowds more
  interested in watching the football than listening to your music,”
  Sally-Anne said.
  “I remember a breaking point
  at a particular gig, when I thought
  ‘I can’t do this anymore’. But on
  the way home I heard a LINDA
  RONSTADT song on the car radio
  and remembered why I wanted to
  sing in the fi rst place.”
  The cheeky, feisty Manwrecker
  is a big hit at Sally-Anne’s live
  shows, and that vibe comes across
  on the album as well.
  “We went for a swampy,
  CREEDENCE sort of feel for this
  song, which suited the tongue-incheek
  humour in it,” she said.
  “This is a half-serious stab at all the ex-girlfriends of the men I’ve dated. By the time they’re finished
  with these guys, they have more
  baggage than Qantas!”
  Sally also wrote the delightful
  Count Your Blessings, which was
  written following the death of a
  close friend.
  “It’s a reminder that there’s
  always someone worse off, and
  we should be grateful for what
  we have. It’s really meant as a
  refl ection on how we all tend to take things for granted,” she said.
  It Ain’t Right is a slightly
  different take on love - the concept that something really might be too good to be true.
  “This is almost an anthem.
  But it ends up realizing that just sometimes we can get lucky, and then you’ve just got to believe and go for it,” Sally-Anne said.
  Sally-Anne’s own songs sit
  comfortably with a diverse range
  of covers, including a duet with
  Blues singer GUY KACHEL on the
  KIM WILSON hit I Believe I’m In Love With You (he also plays harmonica on the track), and the rocky Real Man. Sally-Anne also does a great job on the powerful Little Black
  Book, and the first single, JOHN
  HIATT’s Don’t Know Much About
  Love, is a real highlight.
  Sally-Anne has notched up
  a number of successes over the
  years, including a Toyota Star
  Maker fi nals berth in 2002, a
  TIARA Songwriter of the Year
  award in 2004, and a berth in the Coopers Golden Saddle Awards
  in 2005. She also supported
  KEITH URBAN for his 2000
  Tamworth concert.
  With the album now available,
  Sally-Anne will do a series of
  shows in Sydney in August,
  followed by a West Australian tour
  with her band THE RUMOUR MILL.
  Then she heads down to the
  Mildura Festival for the third year in a row, to perform the songs from her album at a series of shows.
  “I’m thrilled to have the album
  out there, and also really proud
  to be performing music from
  Tamworth. We have so many
  great artists here, and it has been
  a privilege growing up in Country
  Music Capital and getting the
  chance to develop my performing
  and songwriting skills in this
  environment. When festival time
  comes around, it’s just great to be
  a local!” Sally-Anne said.
  
  AUGUST 2009 ISSUE

• Album Review [+ Show ]
  

  Sally-Anne Whitten admits she stretches the boundaries of country, but she does so with such energy ...Sally-Anne Whitten admits she stretches the boundaries of country, but she does so with such energy and attitude that it works brilliantly. She says she was aiming to recreate the vibe of a live gig, and she has definatley succeeded. Her long-awaited debut album is packed with a diverse array of songs, relfecting influences from blues to country rock to the traditional country. While Sally-Anne has included a number of well chosen songs by other writers on the album, the highlights are her own compositions. The standouts are Linda's on the Radio- a song that will connect with anyone making a living singing in pubs and clubs- and the cheeky, no-punches-pulled Manwrecker. The delightful Count Your Blessings is another great track, as isÏt Aint Right. ANother highlight is Sally-Anne's duet with Guy Kachel on I believe I'm In Love With you. This is a classy, warm, passionate and highly appealing collection of music from a determined and talented young artist, who should be congratulated on a job well done.
  --- Sue Jarvis

Setlist

We have a wide and varied repertoire from years onthe road. Sets vary depending on the gig-usually 3 x 45 mins, or 1 x 90 min for showcase/festival gigs.
Some original, some covers. We pride ourselves on keeping our cover songs familiar, but without the Brown Eyed Girl/Khe Sahn/500 miles/Copperhead Road type of overplayed material. Any covers we include are reflective of the soul/country/blues genre we represent, and usually has our own stamp all over it.

Below is part of typical set list for a festival/showcase gig in no particular order-

Count Our Blessings (original)
Something to Talk About- (Bonnie Raitt)
How Do You Sleep At Night? (original)
One Step Away- (original)
Things We Do for Love (10 CC)
On The Inside- (original)
Linda's On the Radio - (original)
Did My Ring burn your finger (Buddy Miller)
Levee Town (Sonny Landreth)
Maybe It's You (original)
Thing called Love (John Hiatt)
Wrong Side of Memphis (Trisha Yearwood)
Unnecessarily Mercenary (Jon Cleary)
Love He Wants Most- (original)
Don't know Much about Love (John Hiatt)
Two lights in the nightime (Bonnie Raitt)

Depending on the gig, we usually save the high energy songs for the beginning and end sets.

Basic Requirements

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