Dunedin singer Kelvin Cummings has been crowned the Trans-Tasman Entertainer of the Year at a major country music festival on Norfolk Island.
The 35-year-old entertainer and high school teacher beat out nine other singers from New Zealand and Australia to win the prestigious award.
The Norfolk Island Country Music Festival is often described as the Bledisloe Cup of country music. The invite-only event brings together the winners of Australasia's top country music competitions, with Cummings getting his ticket as reigning NZ Gold Guitar champion. He also won the CCMA Male Vocalist of the Year award at the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January.
"Winning this prestigious title is an awesome feeling", he says. "It's come with a number of additional obligations, however I'm loving every second of it."
The 10 artists had to perform three songs in front of a capacity crowd in the heart of Norfolk. Cummings impressed the judges with his Gold Guitar-winning song 'Like A Cowboy'. He followed that up with a contemporary song in Keith Urban's 'Somebody Like You', finishing the set with a version of 'How Great Thou Art' to showcase his talent.
He's the second Dunedin singer to claim the sought-after award in recent years, with friend Kylie Price winning the prize in 2014.
Cummings flies back into Dunedin on Sunday night, just in time to plan classes for his students at East Otago High School in Palmerston.
Newshub.
