The Annual Tenthill Turnout is on again this year on Saturday the 24th May 7.00pm at Ma Ma Creek Hall, via Gatton Qld. It will be the 17th memorial concert to celebrate and pay tribute to Stan Coster, the music and the man.
This year’s show features the gentle giant himself, Reg Poole OAM, funnyman Terry Gordon OAM, Johnny Greenwood, Chris Pritchard, local artists John Colville and Primrose Henderson, Gordon Larkin, Pixie Jenkins, Errol Gray, Steve Newton and Stan’s daughter, Tracy.. A veritable feast of country music…
Event coordinator, Kevin Perks says “It was fantastic to see so many people come and support the night in 2013 and we are hoping for yet another record crowd this year. Stan Coster was in my opinion, the finest bush ballad songwriter this country has ever seen, and I feel very strongly that his music and heritage should be preserved. So we came up with the idea to hold a tribute concert in Stan’s honour, each May on the Saturday closest to the day he was born in 1930, May 27th.”
Stan had a real affinity with the people in the Tenthill district, so many of the folks from around the area became good friends of the Coster’s
Arnie Schulz was one of those folks, Stan first met Arnie in the late eighties and they got along really well, at the time Arnie mentioned to Stan that there was a mountain, near Ropely, that he one day hoped to buy. From that conversation, Stan wrote the song, “Shulzies’ Mountainâ€Â, for Arnie, so that song is really quite special to folks around Tenthill. Arnie has since passed away and he will be sorely missed.
The Stan Coster Show, first started playing the Tenthill Hotel, back in the eighties and the crowd swelled to the point that the pub couldn’t hold the people, so every year on their annual tour, the Costers would play at the pub on Saturday night, then the following morning Stan, Dottie, Tracy and the whole band would head up to Shulzies mountain. There they would meet up with around 100 or so locals for a barbeque and a yarn with Shulzie. From there everyone would head on back down the mountain to get spruced up for a Sunday afternoon show at the pub.
So, now every year Tracy Coster makes the pilgrimage up to Ma Ma Creek Hall to host the night that honors her Dad, “I have really fond memories of playing at the pub, and heading up the mountain, I’m not exactly what you’d call a great horsewoman, but I remember one year we all rode up the mountain and Arnie picked out this really big quiet old horse called Moby for me and I rode him up the mountain alongside my Dad. The view is amazing from up there!”
Tracy says “It’s interesting how the Tenthill Turnout came about, you see after Dad passed away, long time friend and country music enthusiast, Kevin Perks, and a few locals got together, to form the Lockyer/ Darling Downs, Stan Coster Memorial Committee, with the intent to erect two memorial plaques to honour Dad. One in the car park area of the Tenthill hotel, and one in Centenary Park at Clifton.
To raise the funds necessary to erect the memorials it was decided to have a concert just over the range at the local hall, in the little town of Nobby. This was back in 1998. Many up and coming bush balladeers offered to help out with the show, and gave of their time voluntarily. In time, the money was raised, and the plaques were erected in 2000. The show was so popular it was decided to make the Tenthill Turnout an annual tribute concert.
The Tenthill Turnout will be held at the Ma Ma Creek Hall via Gatton QLD.
on Saturday the 24th of May from 7.00pm. Tickets available at the Ma Ma Creek Store,
For bookings, phone Nola, on 07 4697 3570 or go to www.tenthillturnout.com.au
Submitted by:
Tracy Coster
