The Lansdowne Valley community has congratulated musician Heath Watts for his wonderful historic folk song "Back To Lansdowne" about the village of Lansdowne, here in the Manning Valley.
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After entering "Back To Lansdowne" into the Tamworth Songwriters Association Salute Awards for 2020, excitingly it reached the semi-finals this week.
Heath is an accomplished singer/songwriter specialising in the use of 12 string guitar in his performances.
He composed this song to commemorate the opening of the new Lansdowne Hall which was built to replace the original hall, the center of activity in the village, after it was tragically destroyed by fire some years ago. All the village archives that were stored in the building were lost in the blaze.
It took years of sourcing funds to rebuild the hall and a date was scheduled for the opening of a new one. Together with two of his musician friends, Heath played his song for the first time at a packed opening of the new Lansdowne Hall, many old residents of the village being present there that day.
"Back To Lansdowne" was composed by Heath and produced by Peter Stevenson. This story, with authentic sound tracks, tells of our small village that pioneered a logging and dairying community. However, as the nearby larger town of Taree expanded, sapping the energy of the village, it recalls the many happy times and true courage of the villagers amidst extreme adversity throughout its history.
The song has been acknowleged by many who have heard it over radio and in his live performances for its genuine, historic chronicling of the history and evolution of Lansdowne Village throughout the years.
Lansdowne is on the map again. Well done, Heath!
