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Bahrain-based Australian traditional country singer and songwriter Vanessa Bourne, who was named ‘International Artist of the Year’ at the 2023 Country Music Association (CMA) of Texas awards, has thanked the island she calls home for all its inspiration.
The talented Nashville recording artist, whose musical journey began in the kingdom, received the accolade in October this year in Texas to plenty of high praise.
Meanwhile, during her time in Texas, she was also presented with another piece of good news — a Congressional Certificate ‘Superlative Achievement Recognition’ by the US House of Representatives.
“I feel truly blessed for the recognition I have received worldwide and as an artist I am thankful to every single person who has contributed towards my achievements; from radio stations, music distributors, fans, newspaper and magazines,” said the country hit maker, who lives in Juffair and has a daughter that goes to school here.
Vanessa moved to Bahrain in 2011 and has been singing and writing music for more than three years.
“Initially it was difficult for me to accept Bahrain as my second home but now I can’t stay away from my beautiful Bahrain. I have written all my songs and won all my awards while residing in Bahrain,” she said.
“Bahraini people are the kindest and I look forward to spending many more years here and am proud to call Bahrain my home!”
Vanessa, whose two albums Young at Heart and Give me a Break features world-wide chart topping songs such as Young At Heart, Hurtin Over You, Old Familiar Ways, Not Too Old To Love Again and more, was also this year’s finalist for The Josie Music Awards for Traditional Country Artist Of The Year. It was held at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.
The pandemic didn’t stop her winning ways either as she clinched the 2020 Pure Country, Female Artist of the Year from the Academy of Western Artists.
She and her band, the ‘Heart of Texas’, are now gearing up to perform at a prestigious event in Bangalore on January 4 for The Centennial Conference for the Association of Head of Anglo-Indian Schools in India.
“This is a special show for me because I am an Anglo-Indian by birth and singing for this show makes me feel proud of my roots,” said the professional singer whose grandparents are British and lived in India. Her parents, who were born in India, lived there until the family moved to Australia when she was 16. Vanessa’s husband, who runs an IT company in Bahrain, is also Anglo-Indian.
“I grew up listening to country music and it seems like it is the only kind of music that exists in my world,” she added. “As a little girl, I always dreamt of singing country music to an audience, but growing up, I didn’t pursue it because life has a funny way of getting you off track from your dreams. “Finally, years later, I started writing and singing my own songs and I realised it made people happy if only for the three minutes of my song. Today, I feel blessed that my work is worthy enough to win awards and top the country charts in Europe, Australia and the US.
“If you love classic, traditional country music and you think that country music is not what it used to be, then my music will change your mind. I would love to do a show in Bahrain for country music and let my music take you back to the days of Merle Haggard, Patsy cline, George Jones, Loretta Lynn and many more.”
Vanessa’s songs cane be found on Spotify, Apple and other music platforms.
Visit VanessaBourne.com for details or follow @vanessa_bourne_33 on Instagram.
