Maton would like to congratulate Tommy Emmanuel on being awarded the Queen's Member of the Order of Australia over the weekend. Tommy was awarded the honour for 'service to the music and entertainment industries as a guitarist, and to the community as a supporter of Kids Under Cover.'

"Before my mother passed away she wrote me a little note and the last line of that note was never forget that you're an Aussie,"

"It's just a great honour for an Australian to be recognised for hard work and dedication and taking Australia with me wherever I go."

Tommy Emanuel

Read more...
www.undercover.com.au
www.itsanhonour.gov.au
www.heraldsun.com.au

When you look at the long and illustrious list of Maton endorsees, not only does it read like a who’s who of the Australian and International entertainment scene, it also accounts for many generations and styles of music. From The Seekers to Josh Homme, with a sprinkling of Tommy Emmanuel and just a dash of Colin Hay, it is as eclectic and varied as a blind man’s wardrobe. The photo board here at the factory is an endless account of household names and multi award winning arteests, to quote the French…...

"Our custom Shop Luthier Andy Allen was putting a few ales back with his family at the Kinglake V's Woori Yallock Footy Final when he bumped into the PM. The two spoke about Maton Guitars and manufacturing in Australia. A month or two later we were contacted by a company (who purchases gifts on behalf of the Government) who were looking for a uniquely Australian gift..."

Read More: Crapuccino stirs storm in a teacup

Australian acoustic guitar virtuoso Michael Fix is heading with Maton to Germany to play a number of workshops in March in the lead up to Musikmesse 2010. He will play at a number of Maton's German distributors including Just Acoustic Guitars, Musik-Butik, Just Guitars & Basses and the Guitar Center. Michael's repertoire includes Jazz, Blues, Celtic, Australian Folk, Country and Classical as well as his own distinctive compositions which have made him a household name in Australia.

Maton is proud to present a re-issue of a vitage classic. Bringing old world styling into the modern era, the MS 500 50th is now a top 3 seller in the solid body range. Not bad for a guitar introduced in 2008. We love it and so did George Harrison.

Congratulations to all the Golden Guitar winners at the 2010 CMAA Country Music Awards;

Troy Cassar-Daley for winning 6 Golden Guitars including Male Artist of the Year.
Felicity Urquhart for winning Female Artist of the Year.
Victoria Baillie for winning the Maton New Talent or the Year.
Keith Urban for Album of the Year.
The McClymonts with Troy for Vocal Collaboration of the Year.

Also congratulations to Luke Austen for winning the Star Maker competition. He is now the proud owner of a new Maton Guitar as part of the prize package.

The 2010 Maton Guitars Showcase was very successful again for the 13th year. With 20 of Australia's best artists all playing Australia's favourite guitar in one show it was bound to be one of the highlights of the festival, and it didn't let us down.

Lee Kernaghan
Joe Robinson
Adam Harvey
Felicity Urquhart
Adam Brand
Travis Collins
Sam Hawksley
Dianna Corcoran
McAlister-Kemp
Amber Lawrence
Victoria Baillie
8 Ball Aitken
Brewster Brothers Trio
Harmony James
Brendan Radford
Tori Darke
The Southern Green
Kelly Brooks
Mickey Pye (Gympie 09 winner)
Luke Austen (Star maker 2010 winner)

So if you missed out on seeing the best show in Tamworth for 2010 don't miss it next year because you wont see a line up like this anywhere else.

Dear Friends and Fans of Tommy,

Tommy has been so distraught over the fate of the victims of the Haitian earthquake that he decided to raise money for UNICEF by auctioning off 3 of his favorite guitars on Ebay.  He put up for sale to the highest bidder his Maton Jumbo, his Gibson Country Gentleman and his PRS Acoustic.

While Maton does not normally like to see their customers selling their guitars, they were thrilled to hear that Tommy's favourite Maton Jumbo sold at auction on the 31st Jan for US $21,100.00!

On this Mahogany guitar equipped with Maton's famous AP5 pickup, Tommy wrote The Tall Fiddler, Lewis & Clark, The Mystery, Antonella's Birthday, and many more.

You can view Tommy's original YouTube video by visiting this link;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4o6rtxYMeM

Please give generously if you can and please forward and SPREAD THE WORD...

In December, 2009 the Memphis based Blues Foundation released the Blues Music Award nominations for 2010, and Australian Fiona Boyes, acclaimed Maton guitarist, Yellow Dog Records recording artist, and Australia’s most successful international blues performer, was named in the final five nominees for ‘Traditional Female Blues Artist of the Year’. This marks Fiona’s fourth straight nomination and the first time any artist has been nominated consecutively in four distinct categories – Contemporary Blues Album (2007), Contemporary Female Blues Artist (2008), Acoustic Blues Album (2009), and Traditional Female Artist (2010).

McCanns Music, Hobart (in conjunction with the Mona Foma Festival)
Monday 18th Jan

Red Hot Music, Devonport
Tuesday 19th Jan

Billy Hydes in-stores
27th Jan,  at Gold Coast
28th Jan,  at Brisbane
10th Feb,  at Perth  
11th Feb,  at Adelaide