West End’s own Danny Harley (Kite String Tangle) has been named a finalist in this year’s QMusic Grant McLennan Fellowship, a $25,000 scholarship to travel to New York, London or Berlin. Alongside Danny, Spencer White (Morning Harvey), Gabriella Cohen and The Ironing Maidens (Melanie Stevens & Patricia Preece) were also named finalists.

Established in 2007 by the Queensland Government in honour of Grant McLennan’s enduring influence on contemporary music and songwriting, the fellowship is designed to expose recipients to the full cultural life of one of these cities as a source of inspiration and creativity. As a founding member of the Brisbane band The Go-Betweens, Grant created an outstanding musical legacy, which has paved the way for many great artists in Queensland. His lyrics captured a unique Queensland spirit and the band was fundamental in bringing Australian music to a global audience.

The 2018 winner will be announced at a ceremony to held in Brisbane on December 5. Having recently returned from New York, 2017 fellowship recipient Jeremy Neale, will present his legacy item at the ceremony for inclusion in the Grant McLennan Memorial Archive, a dedicated collection of contemporary music material including the legacy items from recipients of the fellowship.

The 2018 judging panel are: Sean Sennett, Sally McLennan, Danny Widdicombe, and Adele Pickvance.

Readers also enjoyed this story about the Edmund Rice Foundation’s newest African immersion program.