Country Music Development Program

We empower emerging country artists through a comprehensive online development program designed for authentic career starts.

Start Your Journey

The First Take:
Emerging Country Artist Development Program

We provide a comprehensive development roadmap for emerging country artists. Our program bridges the gap between raw talent and professional industry standards, offering mentorship, production guidance, and strategic career planning tailored for your unique journey.

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Artist Development

Strategic Mentorship

Access to industry-leading A&R professionals and Country Music veterans who provide personalised guidance for your career trajectory.

Craft Development

The stage doesn't wait for you to be ready, so this is where you sharpen the fundamentals that actually hold up under pressure: your voice, your songs, and your sound.

Business & Brand Building

Talent gets you noticed. A following, a professional online presence, and contracts you actually understand are what keep you working. This is the unglamorous side nobody teaches you — until now.

Meet your Mentors & Coaches

We partner with industry legends and creative visionaries to guide your artistic journey.

Liam Maihi

Liam Maihi is one of Australia’s rising country music stars, known for his powerful vocals, high-energy live shows and authentic storytelling through his songwriting. A Grand Finalist on The Voice, 2025 Sunset Bash Big Break Winner and 2026 Toyota Star Maker Top 10 Finalist, Liam has quickly built a reputation as one of the country’s most exciting emerging artists. Following the success of his debut singles and national touring with artists including Hayley Jensen, Andrew Swift, The Wet Whistles and US country star Bryan Martin, Liam continues to captivate audiences with a sound that blends country, blues and rock, delivering a live show packed with heart, energy and crowd-favourite singalongs.

Katie Rynne

Katie Rynne is a Senior Booking Agent with over 13 years experience working as the Head of Wheelhouse Agency; Australia's leading Country, Folk & Americana music booking agency, representing talent such as Lane Pittman, Wade Forster, Shannon Noll, Hayley Jensen and Amy Sheppard amongst others.

She also continues her role as a Senior Booking Agent across the Select Music Agency team, representing a roster including Wafia, The Preatures, Drapht, Bad//Dreems, Mama Kin Spender and more. Previously in her role at Village Sounds Agency and Select Music, she has represented acts such as Something For Kate, Ziggy Alberts, Alex Cameron, Mo’Ju, Daily J & Sycco.

In 2024, it was announced that she would be the BIGSOUND Music Co-Programmer for 2024 – 2026, alongside Casey O'Shaughnessy, programming a lineup of Australia's best breaking talent for the country's largest industry showcase festival.

She was nominated for Booking Agent of the Year at The Industry Observer Awards in 2018, and has appeared as a speaker at a number of industry conferences including Iceland Airwaves, Folk Music Ontario, Bigsound, Face The Music, WAMCon, and VIVID Ideas.

In her years prior to being an agent, she worked in management & tour management for acts such as Lior and Passenger (UK).

Jake Davey

Jake Davey is an Australian country pop artist and producer with 15+ years of industry experience. A Top 10 Toyota Star Maker finalist, Jake has worked alongside industry heavyweights and some of Australia’s biggest festivals, while regularly travelling between Australia and Nashville. With over 2.5 million streams, music isn’t just what Jake does, it’s who he is.

Roxanne Keily

Roxanne brings over a decade of vocal coaching experience at the highest level of Australian country music. For six years, she coached at the Tamworth Country Music Academy, helping shape the technique of some of the genre's brightest emerging voices. She spent a further six years with the Telstra Road to Discovery National Program, mentoring artists through one of the country's most respected development pathways.

Her client list speaks for itself, Roxanne has worked as vocal coach to both Delta Goodrem and Rachel Fahim, bringing that same calibre of care and expertise to every artist she works with.

In her session with Country Made Artists, Roxanne works directly with the cohort on vocal technique, stage voice, and the fundamentals that hold up under pressure.

Robbie Macpherson

Coming from a background in performing with indie rock bands, managing production for venues and festival stages, and now operating his own mobile production hire business, Robbie has a holistic perspective on all things sound.

He has worked as a stagehand for major festivals, handling backline and changeovers for artists like The Kooks, MIA, and Peking Duk.

As a freelance live FOH Engineer he has mixed for artists of all shapes and sizes; from a plethora of Sydney locals at venues like The Factory Theatre, The Metro Theatre, right up to international artists such as Gary Puckett & The Union Gap (USA) and Chris Stout (UK) at the Sydney Opera House.

Over the years he has overseen in-house production for venues such as Hideaway Bar, 3 Wise Monkeys, Sneaky Possum, and the famous Marble Bar @ The Hilton Sydney.

He now operates his own AV/production business, providing fully tailored PA systems and technicians for live events all across Sydney. Some of his clients include Warner Music Australia, Sydney’s most in-demand wedding bands, and Glenorie's own Country Music Night.

Susie Crino

Susie is the founder of Country Made Artists. She continues to run the Country Music Nights in Glenorie, an event she's built up over several years, putting up-and-coming artists on stage in front of crowds of 1,000+ several times a year. Alongside organising the nights themselves, she also manages all of the program's social media - from the day-to-day content through to promoting each new cohort.

Before all of this, Susie spent 10 years working as a lawyer, a background she now brings to the program directly, helping the artists she works with understand the contracts and industry fine print that so often catch emerging talent off guard.