Community
6 November, 2026
The power of music
THE Warrnambool District Country Music Group committee is gearing up for the club’s 21st birthday celebrations and honouring how much money they’ve raised for charity over the years.
President Robyn Gleeson said the club recently donated $3000 to the Warrnambool and District Community Hospice thanks to proceeds earned from its yearly country music spectacular concert held in October.
“Three years ago, we had our first country spectacular, which we had to take to St Pius due to the size of the crowd,” she said.
“We like to donate to an organisation or someone who doesn’t receive any other funding.”
Past treasurer Pat Anscombe said the country spectacular had become the group’s biggest fundraiser.
“While we give a little bit of money away throughout the year, the country spectacular is our biggest fundraiser and we donate to who we think deserves it,” she said.
“Last year we donated to support disabled people getting into the sea with special wheelchairs.”
The year before, the committee decided to donate to Merri River School to support kids with disabilities.
“We think the hospice does a wonderful job and they don’t get any government funding,” Mrs Gleeson said.
The club started after popular country musician Slim Dusty’s passing, when Mrs Gleeson suggested to Mrs Anscombe they get together and organise a tribute concert.
They approached the Warrnambool City Memorial Bowls Club to use one of its rooms for the event - so many people wanted to attend they had to have both a day and night show.
“We had 370 for the day show and 340 for the night show,” Mrs Gleeson said.
“It was $5 entry and that’s where we made the money to start the club.”
On the third Sunday of every month, the Warrnambool District Country Music Group members meet at the bowls club for an afternoon of country music, with a featured guest artist and the opportunity for attendees to walk up to the stage and sing their own country songs.
“For our usual monthly concert, a lot of people would call it an open mic, but we call it walk-ups,” Mrs Gleeson said.
“Anyone can walk in and if they want to sing they can.
“People sing American ballads, Australian country, originals – it’s a really good mixture.
“I think people think it’s country and western but we dropped the western bit.
“We have a resident band who have been with us for the whole 21 years except for one or two people.”
Mrs Gleeson said while the club initially started to provide an activity for people in the area and to bring community members together, they have turned into a group which donates a lot of money to important causes.
“I reckon overall we’ve given $60,000 to $70,000 to charity,” she said.
“We’ve given away $9000 just in the last three years.”
Mrs Anscombe said she feared for the future of the club and its capacity to continue raising money for the organisations who needed it most.
“Unfortunately, as time goes on, it probably won’t happen because no one wants to do these sorts of things anymore,” she said.
Mrs Gleeson said both the committee and the audience were ageing.
“The young ones don’t want to do it,” she said.
“The youngest member on our committee is my daughter and she’s 53.
“We just had two more join our committee and they’d be in their 60s.
“Our audience is an ageing audience as well.
“Where do older people go for some entertainment? There’s nowhere.”
The club’s 21st birthday celebrations will be held at City Memorial Bowls Club on Sunday, October 15, with a guest artist from Tamworth making an appearance.
Mrs Gleeson said the club was also planning to host a Good Friday Appeal concert next year.
“We used to always have a Good Friday Appeal day, and then we stopped having it, but we are having it again next year,” she said.
“That will hopefully be a big day.
“We haven’t worked out who the guest artist is or anything yet but we’re looking forward to starting that back up again.”
The club currently has around 160 members, with both non-members and members welcome to attend the monthly concerts.
The entry fee allows the committee to continually support local causes and give back to the Warrnambool community.
