Devil Country Muster 2019 Talent Quest Under 16 winner Breah Guest will grace the stage again next month. 

Breah, 15, will perform the National Anthem in opening this year’s event while 2019 All Ages winner Romany Shackloth will feature as an artist on the line up. 

“It’s a beautiful family atmosphere,” Breah said of the event. 

“Everyone is welcoming and encouraging, and up for a chat backstage.” 

Breah was 14 years old at the time and though she has been singing since she was a little tacker, she had performed in public only a handful of times before the Talent Quest.

“I didn’t realise how many would be there,” she said, of what was the biggest stage she had performed on at the time. 

“I remember getting up there and freezing for a split second.” 

Singing ‘Let Her Go’ and ‘Superficial Love’ alongside Amy Spinks on guitar, Breah’s nerves eased as she let herself relax into the moment. 

Spotting her family – and a very proud father waving enthusiastically in the audience – her confidence surged. 

Judges noted her natural ability to interact with her audience and share emotion. She was invited back to the Devil Country Muster’s biggest day on Saturday to perform a second time. 

“There were a few more faces looking up at me that day,” she laughed. 

But Breah breezed through the event, charming the audience. 

“We need more of that really,” she said. 

“A chance to come up and compete, show what we can do.” 

Entries to the 2020 Talent Quest are now open. 

“It’s nerve-wracking but once you’re up there it’s an amazing experience,” she said, encouraging community members of all ages to get involved. 

As Breah moves to the All Ages category this year, her sister Shayla, 11, will compete for the first time in Under 16. 

The singing competition, which encompasses all genres of music, has seen winners in past entrants Emily Tuffnell, Tayla Dixon, Jemma Barnard, Mason Waller, Judy Bonney and Amy Pegg. 

Entrants must be amateurs and can perform a cover or an original song with an instrument or a backing track. Competitors can be accompanied by a musician, though this person will not be judged unless entered as a duo. 

Judged by Circular Head musicians, a cash prize of $200 for the All Ages winner and $150 for Under 16 is up for grabs, along with $50 for both runners up. 

Since the Talent Quest, Breah has performed at Art About Town’s Sounds Around Town for a second time, Circular Head Pony Club’s state trials, I Am Youth Project’s I Am Inspired evening, Stanley’s Festival of Small Halls and Christmas carols and most recently Twilight on the Duck on Sunday. 

She has also been expanding her musical horizons by learning guitar and her and fellow guitarist Jeff Power often entertain together at Stanley Hotel’s Brackets n Jam afternoons. 

“I like being able to tell a story in a song,” she said. 

“I love country music because of that. People relate to the story you’re telling, the words you’re singing.” 

The Devil Country Muster 2020 Talent Quest and finals will be held at Trawmanna, 73 Mella Road, Smithton on Wednesday February 12. 

To find out more or register by this Friday January 31, visit www.devilcountrymuster.com. 

Since winning the Devil Country Muster’s 2019 Under 16 Talent Quest, Breah Guest performed at events across the region. She returns to the Muster’s stage next month to open with the National Anthem.