By Kelly Makiha, Rotorua Daily Post

Gisborne-born country music star singer Camille French (nee Te Nahu) stood on the stage at the Sir Howard Morrison Centre in Rotorua and told a line-up of performers waiting to hear competition results that dreams do come true.

From her experience, she wasn’t wrong.

Wind the clock back a couple of decades and it was a young Camille Te Nahu performing and winning titles at the same event - the New Zealand Country Music Entertainer of the Year.

Now her Nashville-based family band, The French Family Band, are household names in the American country music scene and regular performers on the Grand Old Opry – a regular show in a nostalgic Nashville theatre that features the cream of country music.

Rotorua’s Sir Howard Morrison Centre hosted the 2024 New Zealand Country Music Entertainer of the Year to a packed audience on Saturday that saw 26 finalists selected from winning affiliated competitions throughout the country competing in five categories - junior, intermediate, senior, veteran and songwriting.

The French Family Band were the guest artists at the show. Before the winners were announced, the association’s president, Lesley Niania, presented Camille French with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

French said she was speechless.

“This award means so much to me. This is where it all started for me. I’ve never forgotten where I’ve come from.”

She gave the contestants words of advice.

“Dreams do come true. Just keep practising, keep doing it if you love it and never give up.”

She moved from Gisborne to Australia in 1999 where she met and married guitarist Stuie French.

As a duo, they grew their fan base throughout Australia while having their children, Chet, Sonny and Manaia. While all three children are musical, it was Sonny who took the stage most with his parents and they became The French Family Band.

In 2019, they decided to pack up and move to Nashville in the hope of making it big.

But before they could get set up, Covid-19 struck and all gigs were cancelled.

Instead, they started live-streaming shows from their lounge on YouTube. The show brought thousands of new fans, expanding their audiences in the US and around the world. Their most popular video has more than three million views.

Pāpāmoa songwriter takes home award

Bill Bassett is usually seen sitting behind a pedal steel guitar but on Saturday night, he was taking home the top prize for winning the songwriting section at the New Zealand Country Music Entertainer of the Year.

The 72-year-old from Pāpāmoa won the category with his song, Galloping Horses - a homage to his mother’s regular expression.

“A galloping horse would never notice it. You see, she was an avid knitter who made beautiful complicated fisherman-style sweaters.

“If she realised she had dropped a stitch, she might rip it back and fix it or just let it go with the rationale that it was not a big deal. A galloping horse wouldn’t notice.

“The song uses that lesson as a teachable moment in a young boy’s life. As a young man, he passed it on to his own daughter.”

Bassett was born in California and grew up in Seattle. He lived in Nashville briefly and Arizona for about 20 years, where he met his wife, Irene.

“I met Irene in the little town of Cottonwood where she worked as a nurse practitioner. She was persuaded by a mutual friend to come hear me sing and, well, that was that.

“She had lived and worked in the States for 28 years and made it clear she was returning home to New Zealand to retire.”

That’s exactly what they did in 2019.

“We moved from the desert to the ocean shore at Pāpāmoa Beach. It’s wonderful here.”

His usual place in the country music scene is in the backing bands, having played the pedal steel guitar for several New Zealand Country Music Association Awards shows.

He’s also done 44 concerts with The New Zealand Highwaymen show, featuring Brendan Dugan, Gray Bartlett, Dennis Marsh, the late Eddie Low and Frankie Stevens.

Runner-up in the songwriting section was Amy Maynard. The junior section was won by Briar Sharp with Summer McKenzie coming second. The intermediate section was won by Maia Fletcher with The Dollys coming second, the senior section was won by Rawinia Gordon and with Destiny Pahuru-Kara in second and the veteran section was won by Shaun Ryland with Pam Findlay in second.

Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.