Clancy, Our Country Music Superstar
From hundreds of country music hopefuls, ten up and coming performers from across the country have been selected to progress to the 2020 Toyota Star Maker Grand Final. Orange’s very own Clancy Pye is one of them.
Clancy grew up surrounded by country music. At age six, she picked up the guitar and proceeded to learn every instrument in the house. With major influences being Kasey Chambers, The Dixie Chicks, Cold Chisel and Shania Twain, Clancy developed a love for music, performing and song writing. By 12, she was playing solo and with bands in Central Western venues.
Clancy has travelled widely and performed on Australian country’s biggest stages including CMC Rocks, the Gympie Muster, Tamworth Country Music Festival, Sydney Country Music Festival and Caboolture’s Urban Country Music Festival. Are you impressed yet? She has also won the 2015 Aristocrat Country Entertainer of the Year and was a grand finalist at the 2016 Gympie Muster Maton Talent Search. Her debut EP is self-written.
In her latest achievement, Clancy has been selected as a finalist out of hundreds of Australian hopefuls and will now go on to battle it out for the title of 41st Toyota Star Maker at the annual Toyota Country Music Festival, Tamworth at a grand finale concert on Sunday 19 January 2020.
Clancy explained, “I first heard of the competition in 2001. I was eight or nine years old. Kylie Sackley took out the title that year and played the support spot for a touring country artist that came through my little hometown. I’ve never forgotten that night at the mighty Oberon RSL, I sensed big things were to come for her in country music and I’ve followed her writing career with great joy ever since.”
It seemed not long after that it all clicked for Clancy; so many of her country music idols had been previous Star Maker winners, the likes of Beccy Cole, Lee Kernaghan and Keith Urban.
“Their albums were what I was listening to. I was first learning to play and sing their songs. From then a little fire inside me was lit and set me on a lifelong path of relentlessly playing music.
“Over the years that I’ve been making the annual pilgrimage to the Tamworth Country Music Festival, I’ve watched many Star Maker Finals and been incredibly inspired by many artists since then. In recent years, I’ve had the pleasure of playing behind a few previous winners and learnt a lot from them in my little world as a guitarist and backing vocalist.”
Clancy continued, “To feel worthy of pursuing this myself, I knew I needed to dedicate myself to growing as a musician, a writer and as a person. I needed to learn from Artists and Musicians who I have great respect for and play alongside of them. I needed to get a couple of hundred gigs under my belt, endure endless late night drives, travel widely and master the art of turning strangers into friends through music… at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about.”
“I’m excited and beyond grateful to the Star Maker team for the opportunity to share my own music with you in 2020. I’ll be keeping you updated along the way and I cannot wait to play in Tamworth!”
