The Central Coast sent our busking heat winners to the finals of the Australian National Busking Championships 2024 held this past weekend at Cooma. The wet weather on Saturday didn’t dampen the spirits of a host of families, locals, and holiday makers to experience the talents of the busking competitors and to make their vote in the People’s Choice section of the competition by giving their favorite busker a token, or two or more!
Rotarians from Erina went to Cooma to join in the fun and showed their support for the representatives that won their category on the Central Coast: Coral Renee (Open category), Maverick Leslie-Fitch (Secondary age), Belle Norman (Primary age).
The judges included Central Coast Heat’s 2022 Winners, The James Brothers, who were looking for how buskers personified ANBC’s message about celebrating the rich diversity of Australian Music and Street Performance Culture.
For the third year in a row a Central Coast star busker became the National Champion! Belle Norman won the Primary-aged category for a second time and took home $600 in prizes and a big trophy (see pic). We were well represented in the NSW Championships categories – Coral Renee and Maverick Leslie-Fitch were all Highly Commended and received substantial prizes.
Belle’s mother said “Belle is so excited to be a part of the competition, and to win is just the best! She will be adding the prize money from today to that she received at The Entrance, to save up to be able to attend the Country Music Academy, she’s hooked on performing now!”
The overall Winner of the ANBC 2024 was Arthur Hull from Rutherglen, a contestant on last season’s ‘The Voice’ and the People’s Choice Award went to Taylah Shae from
The Australian National Busking Championships™ (ANBC) is an Australia-wide network of busking festivals, this year heats were held in Queensland (Stanhope, and Gladstone), ACT (Cooma, and Braddon), Victoria (Kilmore and Rutherglen) and NSW at The Entrance. This annual event celebrates the rich diversity of Australian Music and Street Performance Culture. It was first held in Cooma in 2012 the national finals are in Cooma each year where the winner of the grand final is given the title of Australian National Busking Champion along with substantial prize monies.
This year the festival included a welcome show on Friday, performance program on the main stage throughout the day at the central park and culminated in a Champions show of all the winners on the Saturday evening. Sunday 1 December saw another concert at sponsor The Alpine Hotel where our very own Central Coast Primary Winner in 2022, Lil G (Gemma Egan) took top billing LilG – Guitar Boogie – YouTube. Gemma will also be heading to America representing Australia as Young Blues and Roots Guitarist World Championships in Memphis, Tennessee (3) Facebook.
The Rotary Clubs of Erina and The Entrance work together to host the Central Coast heat, held at Memorial Park.
“The theme of this year’s National Festival is to encourage, mentor, promote and develop career pathways for emerging musicians and performing artists of all ages and all music genres, and it’s apparent that all the participating buskers will make a great impact on their audiences on the day!” said an Erina Rotary Club member. “Our two Rotary Clubs with the support of Central Coast Council recognize that by hosting this Regional Heat here on the Central Coast we enrich our communities culturally and economically as part of a national network, the people of the Central Coast are very generous with their support of the buskers on the day and the closing concert, in which all the finalists perform, is a treat for everyone – including the performers who enthusiastically encourage each other, with cheers and genuine fellowship.”
ANBC 2024 Winners:
Primary – Belle Norman – https://spotify.link/aDDXYCYngDb
Secondary – Noah Robinson – Noah Robertson – YouTube
Open category – Arthur Hull – Arthur Hull Sings Rihanna’s Stay | The Knockouts | The Voice Australia – YouTube or Arthur Hull Performs Bruno Mars’ When I Was Your Man | The Blind Auditions | The Voice Australia – YouTube
People’s Choice – Taylah Shae
If you would like to assist in next year’s Central Coast Heat of the Australian National Busking Championships, being held in September 2025, at The Entrance or want to find out more about Rotary, you are welcome to attend any meeting of the club. Simply turn up at one of our meetings and introduce yourself or contact us. We are always looking to increase our membership so that we can better support the community’s needs. You will be joining a group of people who love to help the community while having fun.
Email us at erinarotaryclub@gmail.com