Alyssa Landrebe

Alyssa Landrebe is 19 years old from Dunedin, and this year she is in her second year of study at the University of Otago. Alyssa has been singing and competing in country music since she was 7 years old. Alyssa has had many different successes over the years, attending the Tamworth Country Music Festival in 2016 and 2018, being the NZCMA entertainer of the year intermediate runner-up and the New Zealand Gold Guitars intermediate runner-up in 2021. Alyssa developed her love for country music through her family, and she enjoys sharing the stories of the songs she sings while connecting with her audience.  

Molly Harrison

Molly is a 16 year old country music singer/songwriter from Ashburton. Molly started competing in country music awards when she was 12 years old and hasn’t looked back since. Last July she was lucky to be a student at the CMAA Academy of Country Music’s Junior Course in Tamworth, Australia. She is very excited to be a part of this year’s Tussock Country Music Festival.

Josh Keating

Josh Keating is a multi-award winning 19 year old musician from Christchurch. He is a two time winner at the NZCMA Entertainer of the Year Awards, has taken out multiple sections at the New Zealand Gold Guitar Awards, performed in the New Zealand Showcase in Tamworth, Australlia, and many other festivals around Aotearoa. Josh is also a Youth Ambassador for the New Zealand Country Music Association, as well as a lead guitarist in many country music backing bands, including ‘Dynamics’ at the NZ Gold Guitar Awards. Recently he performed at Coca-Cola Christmas in the park in front of what the organisers expects to be 100,000 people, and is finishing 2024 playing Mackenzie Summer Sounds, opening for the likes of Dragon, Zed and Jordan Luck.

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Maddison Connor

17 year old Maddison Connor from Nelson, is certainly no stranger to the stage, she has performed and traveled on the kiwi country circuit with her musical family since the tender age of 3. Maddison has been influenced by many strong female performers over the years, and her style can perhaps now be described as a mix of the melodic trills of Dolly Parton combined with the haunting tones of Karen Carpenter.

The young songstress was named Intermediate Overall at the 2023 NZCMA Entertainer of the year contest and placed Intermediate Overall Runner Up at the 2024 NZ Gold Guitar Awards.  She continues to develop her craft, delivering emotional performances to each captivated audience, and can't wait to perform at Tussock 2025.