_MediaRelease | Australian National Busking Championships

MEDIA RELEASE: ANBC announces local ambassador for Gympie Muster

by Karen Forman | Oct 11, 2025 | _MediaRelease

June 27 2025

COOMA’S Australian National Busking Championships (ANBC) has announced a local emerging musician as its 2025 Ambassador.

Berridale singer/songwriter Gabi Forman, 19, will represent the ANBC at the prestigious Gympie Music Muster in Queensland in August and perform during its bonanza 2025 Cooma regional heat/national grand final weekend in Cooma on 15-16 November.

The multi-instrumentalist was selected by Gympie Country Music Muster Festival organisers to perform on the Kombi Keg Bush Bar stage on Sunday August 31 based on her result and performance in the ANBC national grand final 2024 and at various folk and other festivals including Cobargo, Illawarra, Tamworth, Canberra, Numeralla and Nimmitabel.

Gympie Music Muster program director, Bec Anderson, said Ms Forman, a music student who graduated from Snowy Mountains Grammar School last year, taking the Grandiosa Music Award for the third year in a row, was a good fit with the festival.

“With her traditional, grassroots spirit and fresh energy, we thought Gabi would be a great fit for the Gympie Music Muster,” she said.

“She’s the kind of artist that captures the true essence of what our festival is all about.”

Ms Forman, a powerful vocalist trained by Jindabyne’s Jeni Reeves who plays guitar, mandolin and harmonica (trained by Col Berneau and Berridale’s Simon Grace), was third behind Arthur Hull (first) and Abby May (second) in the Open division of the ANBC national grand final in Cooma after placing second in the Cooma regional final and second in the Braddon ACT regional final.

She has continually placed in regional heats since first entering the competition five years ago and has been a featured performer on stage at Bradden, Cooma and Bombala heats.

A graduate of the Country Music Association of Australia Junior Academy 2024, Ms Forman released her debut EP of four original songs in Jindabyne last November, re-released The Girl as a Single at a performance in Berridale to raise money for Do It For Dolly Day on 9 May and will re-release Silver Lining as a single 4 July to celebrate the arrival of winter in her Snowy Mountains Home.

The Girl, a song calling for action against bullying, has been listed as a semi-finalist in 2025 Listen Up Music The Songwriting Competition, and Ms Forman will play in one of 11 semi finals around Australia – in Canberra on 17 September, competing for $40,000 of prizes.

Two of her original songs saw her a top 10 winner in the FretFest Songwriting Competition in Tamworth in January.

Ms Forman heads to Tamworth this month to perform at Songwriters in the Round with Tamworth Songwriters Association on the three days of the Hats off To Country Festival 11-13 July and has already bookings for the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January.

Mr Spencer said he was delighted to announce Ms Forman as the ANBC Ambassador for 2025.

“Gabi told me she was very unsure about being in the Open category because she was 18 but still at school but she really impressed the judges with her originals, her enthusiasm and her mandolin which she has only been playing for a month or so,” he said.

“She has been around for a while and gets better every time we see her, is always supportive of everything the ANBC does and is a great ambassador for us as well as the Snowy Mountains.”

AMBASSADOR: Berridale musician Gabi Forman is the new ANBC Ambassador, earning a stage spot at the prestigious Gympie Music Muster.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES

Karen Forman

ANBC Media Coordinator

0425675555

Allan Spencer

ANBC President

0407384590

MEDIA RELEASE: Entries open for Cooma’s double-up 2025 Australian National Busking Championships

by Karen Forman | Sep 29, 2025 | _MediaRelease

RELEASE DATE: Sept 29 2025

ENTRIES have opened for the final heat and grand final of the Australian National Busking Championships, with an unprecedented prize pool of $14,000 cash up for grabs.

The not-for-profit ANBC is seeking musicians and performers of all abilities, ages and locations to contest the Cooma regional final on November 15 and has invited entry from winners of each category in all five 2025 regional finals for the national championship to be held for the first time the following day.

Usually, the Cooma heat is held early in the year and the national grand final in November, but ANBC founder and president Allan Spencer said a decision had been made to create one large event to attract more sponsorship and bigger crowds, to stay in the region for longer.

“Basically, we are offering three nights of live free entertainment and two days of busking competition, workshops, a street parades and markets,” he said.

“We have had a huge response from sponsors offering everything from cash prizes to accommodation for our three esteemed judges and goods.

“Now we just need busker entries and crowds to come to Cooma to support them and enjoy all that Cooma has to offer on that weekend.”

Mr Spencer said positions in the regional event were limited and encouraged buskers to secure their spot as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Categories include Primary, Secondary, Open, Masters, People’s Choice, Best Duo and Best Band. Entrants will play four, 30-minute sets at designated busking stations outside Cooma businesses on the day with announcement of winners and presentations made at the Alpine Hotel, along with winning busker performances and other live entertainment, at night.

Tamworth-based music publicist and journalist Bec Gracie, who works with many Tamworth country music stars, will sponsor a major award for the best Masters Muso (a musician over 50).

“There are so many amazing artists over 50 who are sharing their stories through music,” she said. “I want to celebrate music being made by people of all ages and I think that passion and persistence deserve to be recognised.”

Judges will include Tamworth Country Music Festival busking coordinator Kyle Kash, with Mr Spencer set to announce two more celebrity judges in the next few weeks.

“We are really excited about our judging panel this year, mostly because of their direct involvement with busking and busking competitions and also the ANBC,” he said. “More will be revealed soon.”

During its 14-year history, the ANBC has produced many musicians who have gone on to great things, including Felicity Kirchner who won the Toyota Star Maker competition at the Tamworth Country Music Festival this year. Last year’s overall winner, Arthur Hull, has been performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Berridale musician/singer/songwriter Gabi Forman, now ANBC Ambassador, guest performed at the Gympie Music Festival as a result of her performance in 2024 and has performed non-stop at various folk and other festivals.

She will perform solo and with her band during the weekend.

Further information can be found at www.busking.com.au

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