Local musicians will display the talent found in the region as part of West Australian Music's Demos from the Wheatbelt, due for release in August.
Ten Wheatbelt artists will feature on the compilation recording which will be recorded in the Merredin's Cummins Theatre this week.
Featured artists include Northam band Refactory Road and Merredin band The Primary Collective.
Demos from the Wheatbelt is the 10th iteration of WAM’s much-loved ‘Sounds of’ and ‘Demos from’ regional recording projects, which have played a pivotal role in developing regional artists and connecting them with new peers, inspiration, audiences, and mentors.
WAM’s regional recording projects have uncovered 100 tracks and helped 147 regional musicians realise their potential and sparked successful music careers for Wheatbelt artists like Hayden Sprigg and Pete Byfield.
Byfied said the project changed his life.
“The recording experience provided by WAM through the ‘Sounds of’ project turned out to be life-changing,” he said.
“I was so encouraged by the process that I set to work and wrote a further sixteen songs once production had wrapped up.”
From a chance encounter with WAM’s 2014 recording project, Sounds of the Wheatbelt, Pete Byfield released his debut album, One, which won Best Independent Album of the Year at the 2016 WA Country Music Awards.
He also received a nomination for Male Artist of the Year in 2016 and 2017, was a finalist in WAM’s Song of the Year competition in 2015, and scored a WAMAwards nomination for Best Regional Act in 2017.
Other musicians included in the project include Georgia McAlpine (Buntine), Gracie Stancic (Gwambygine), Hayden McGlinn (Lake Grace), Kelly Gardner(Gingin), Polly Medlen (Wagin), Sue Munns (Beacon), Tim Beckingham (Wialki) and Tom Caughey (Nukarni).
Recording is taking place from March 18 to 30 at the Cummins Theatre.