Multiple Golden Guitar winner Melinda Schneider brings her Great Women of Country album concert to Laurieton on Saturday night.
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She says one of her musical influence growing up was Olivia Newton-John, during her country period. But her favourite is the evergreen Dolly Parton.
"Dolly has been a huge influence in my life. She is a most prolific songwriter, and an amazing business woman." And although Dolly is her favourite, she says all the wonderful women featured on the album she and Beccy Cole released in 2014, have been big influences on her career.
Schneider is a fan of big ballads and story songs which feature on Great Women of Country - and The Songs That Made Them. Favourites include Crazy, Blue Bayou, and Angel of the Morning.
Despite Cole not accompanying her on this tour due to the release of her own solo project and a book, Schneider will present all 22 songs from the album, and says: "I'll throw in a couple of mine at the end".
Parton, Tammy Wynette, Juice Newtown, Patsy Cline, feature strongly on the song list, with Linda Rondstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Newton-John and Reba McIntyre among the others. D.I.V.O.R.C.E., Love Hurts, I Will Always Love You and 9 to 5 are among the classics the audience will hear.
"The album was my idea. We both made our own lists, and a lot of the songs on both our lists crossed over so we pretty much agreed, except for Stand by Your Man, which Beccy didn't want to include, but it's great."
Schneider is bringing four of the guys who played on the record, saying they are the "best players in the country".
With accolades such as Female Vocalist Of The Year, APRA Song Of The Year and a swag of songwriting awards and Entertainer Of The Year awards to her name, when will she putting some of her own songs on a new album?
"You've got to pay the mortgage, but I've always been true to myself, and the messages I want to put out to the world. I could never just so something for the sake of it, that's torture. But I do want to make a real bluegrass album in the next couple of years. I've always got something up my sleeve."