Category: News

The Golden Guitars Awards are at the heart of the Tamworth Country Music Festival, for both artists and fans alike.

On Saturday 21 January, 3BBR broadcast the whole event as it happened from 6.00pm through to after 11pm.

The Golden Guitar Awards are the nation’s longest running music awards. They celebrate recording excellence and showcase the cream of Australian country music artists, and the songs that have left their mark on the fans throughout the past 12 months. The night is the pinnacle awards event for country music.

Listen back to 3BBR’s live broadcast via TBS (Tamworth’s 88.9FM)

0.00:00 – 1:00:00 – The red carpet lead up to the awards, chatting with stars as they arrived
1.00:00 – 1:30:00 – A preview of the major awards and the nominees
1.30:00 – 5:09:00 – The Golden Guitar Awards

It is with much sadness that we learn of the death of presenter, Board member and very active member of 3BBR John Beauchamp, known to all simply as JB.

As well as presenting his programs for many, many years, he was, from the onset of COVID, an instigator of many of the changes that the kept the radio on air, and in many ways improved the overall sound and capabilities of our station. He was presenting his programs and attending Board meetings right up to the end, and in the latter days was still as fiery and vocal as he was when he was well.

He was active in production as well as promotional work and was single minded about raising the profile and performance of 3BBR. He set very high standards, but then rolled up his sleeves and got on with whatever needed doing.

In most of his programs he made sure to insert a good helping of madcap humour, and in our conversations he was always witty and a bit of a devil.

When people pass away we often say they will be missed, but in John’s case it’s true to say “we will not see his like again” and those who worked closest with him will miss his drive, his passion for Community Radio, and our regular Thursday pizza lunches, even if he was the only one who really liked the anchovies.

No words will console his family, so let us simply say our farewell and thanks for the time we spent with John and that we will each hold a special memory of JB in our heart.
— Tom McGhee

 
You can listen back to John’s last programs…

Sam Horner is hanging up the microphone after Wed Dec 28. Sam has given strong support to the local music scene, and we hope he will return in July 2023 with his rock music show Sam’s Alternatives.

As a result, we will be slotting in the AMRAP Radio Program and Continental Drift (CRN version) to the 6pm and 7pm slots on Wednesdays.

• 6.00pm Wed: The Amrap Radio Program is a weekly wrap of what’s getting attention on community radio through the Australian Music Radio Airplay Project. Spend some time with the songs, artists and industry players that use AMRAP to reach out to Community Radio broadcasters.
• 7.00pm Wed: Continental Drift features music of the world, and is first heard in a two hour version on 3BBR on Sundays. We’ll hear the one hour version syndicated through the Community Radio Network (CRN).
• The Chill moves to Mondays 10.00pm. Corey Barnett brings you all the major chart hits from 1990 to 2020, plus a weekly AMRAP Top 5 that is all-Australian. If it’s current in the charts, or rarely on the radio anymore, it’s on The Chill.
• The fortnightly Wednesday lineup will now have;
  • Gippsland Live at 8.00pm (no change),
  • Global Village from 9.00pm, followed by
  • The Breeze at 10.00pm – contemporary, modern and trad jazz, mixing both instrumental and vocal tracks, giving a smooth sound with a touch of funk.

  These three programs will alternate with Richard Reymer’s Smooth, Cool, Rare & Spicy, 8.00pm – 11.00pm.

As always, keep an eye on our schedule calendar for full details.

 
Changes to National Radio News over the upcoming holiday period:

• Sun 25 Dec (PH) — no bulletins
• Mon 26 Dec (PH) — no 3.00pm national or 6:00pm state news
• Tue 27 Dec (PH) — no 3.00pm national or 6:00pm state news
• Wed 28 Dec — national bulletin at 6.00pm instead of state news
• Thu 29 Dec — national bulletin at 6.00pm instead of state news
• Fri 30 Dec — national bulletin at 6.00pm instead of state news
• Sat 31 Dec — normal news bulletins
• Sun 1 Jan (PH) — no bulletins
• Mon 2 Jan (PH) — no 3.00pm national or 6:00pm state news
• Tue 3 Jan — normal service resumes

 
In case you missed it…

We recently welcomed back Tom Beauchamp with Time Traveller, Monday nights from 8.00pm – 10.00pm.

We’re always looking for new presenters and program ideas that support local and Australian artists and communities, so if you’ve always wanted to be on the radio (or help in other ways), apply now. We’d love to hear your fresh idea for a program that you and friends would want to hear. Your local community radio station is for everyone, and we’re keen to diversify our volunteer mix.

As much as possible our schedule keeps live presenters apart for Covid safety, and we only have a small number of other volunteers attending the station for the purposes of maintenance and cleaning.  Every local presenter who can pre-record their show remotely will still get to air.

So no matter who you are, step up and join us!

Find out more about how to become a 3BBR Presenter.

Our normal schedule resumed on Tues Nov 1.

Baw Baw Shire is just putting the finishing touches to a major rebuild right next door in the same building as 3BBR. This was expected to be completed mid-October, but unfortunately took longer. The works meant temporary changes to our schedule. With restricted access, we had little choice but to replace some programs that would normally be live. Thanks for your understanding.

Programs returning are;

Tuesday
Graeme Marriott’s Music is My Beat  (3.00pm – 6.00pm)

Wednesday
Terri Trewin’s Time for Terri  (1.00pm – 3.00pm)
Sam Horner’s Sam’s Alternatives  (6.00pm – 8.00pm)

Friday
Graeme Marriott’s Rock Archives  (9.00am – 11.00am)
Russ Hughes’ Jokes, Jives and Jottings  (12.00pm – 2.00pm)
Peter Kessels’ Upbeat Soul  (3.00pm – 6.00pm)

Sunday
Graeme Marriott’s Sunday Night Applause  (6.00pm – 8.00pm)
Graeme Marriott’s Moments to Remember  (8.00pm – 10.00pm)

Yay!

Community Radio Plus is the new app for Apple and Android that brings together Community stations from across Australia, and 3BBR is there with you. Add us as your favourite station and take us anywhere. You can also see the latest 3BBR news.

Download the App.

Frequently asked questions about Community Radio Plus.

The technical side of keeping a radio station on air is usually well hidden.

Recently we invested in totally replacing the old battery backup system on Mt. Worth. This has not been a simple task. The work is now complete, and the batteries should keep the transmitter running for well over 10 hours if there is a mains power failure. All being well, you won’t even notice.

We apologise for a recent outage that was related to this work. Please understand that it takes time, effort and money to provide a robust and reliable backup.

Meanwhile, there will be improvements to our on-air sound in the months to come. This will require some substantial rewiring and installation at the Drouin studios. We’ll let you know more, and ask for your feedback when the time comes.

Best wishes from your technical crew at 3BBR!

3BBR now accepts credit cards online. You can renew your Membership, donate, or become a new Supporter in less than two minutes!

Your financial support not only helps us pay the bills, but helps the station invest in upgrades to our studio, transmitter and backup equipment to make our service sound better and be more reliable.

Supporting your local community radio voice is now more important than ever.

Find the big orange buttons on any page, complete the form, and get that warm feeling knowing you are helping us provide a service that’s too often taken for granted.

A belated welcome to Terri Trewin who is a recent arrival at 3BBR-FM. Terri presents “Time For Terri” on Thursdays from 4.00pm – 6.00pm. She loves playing anything ranging from the 1960s through to the 1980s, and her enthusiasm shines on air.

Terri came to 3BBR wanting to share the music she grew up with; artists such as Elvis, Abba, Cliff Richard, Olivia Newton-John, Bay City Rollers, Little River Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival and many others from that era.

She’s been through our Presenter mentoring and one-on-one training course, thanks to volunteers like Tom McGhee. We hope that Terri is an inspiration to other women who’d like to become part of our community radio station. Want to learn more? Become a Supporter/Member and get involved.

We are very pleased to have Joseph Baraké join 3BBR with his new weekly program “3BBR Concert Hall”, from 4.00pm – 6.00pm every Sunday afternoon.

Every week you’ll hear two hours of fine music showcasing Australian artists where possible. Concert Hall features composers which many listeners are familiar with, from the 16th Century through the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods to composers of today.

Discover delightful works neglected in the past, with renewed enthusiasm and excitement for these finds from the dusty Libraries of Monasteries and Castles of Europe.

You can send your requests for future programs to