TRENT Erskine lived by the mantra, "follow the sun."
Sadly the sun set for the Newcastle musician and photographer in May last year when he took his own life after a lifelong battle with mental illness.
He was 50.
But Erskine's attitude of always pursuing your dreams continues to inspire his friends and musicians Dusty Edwards and Phill Doring.
Last September they organised the boutique two-day Let's Wing It Country Music Festival at Kars Springs, west of Scone, with a line-up of mostly Hunter-based acts such as Katie Jayne, Trinity Woodhouse, Tall Stories and Good Corn Liquor.
However, for the second-edition of Let's Wing It, the festival has undergone a rapid expansion.
The festival will be held over three days from June 9 to 11 at Scone's White Park featuring Golden Guitar-winners Fanny Lumsden, Brooke McClymont & Adam Eckersley, Andrew Swift and Catherine Britt, plus The Bushwackers, The Sunny Cowgirls Melody Moko, Good Corn Liquor, Gretta Ziller, Piper Butcher, Matt Cornell, and more.
Charities like the Cancer Council, Black Dog Institute, Make-A-Wish-Foundation, Hunter Valley Tourism and Upper Hunter Shire Council have also thrown their support behind festival.
"When he [Erskine] passed we thought, let's keep chasing the sun because that's what he taught us to do," Edwards says.
"He had this saying, 'follow the sun' and that's what we're doing.
"That was the nucleus of us getting those other charities involved. There needs to be a holistic approach, it's not just a money-making venture."
Edwards and Doring have also created the Trent Erskine Trust to provide $5000 each to three emerging country artists and offer them an opportunity to perform at Let's Wing It.
"We want to put those younger artists with the superstars because we think they're ready for that," Edwards says.
"Some of our artists are getting bigger shows with these artists. It's working."
Edwards also hopes Let's Wing It can become a regular event, to fill the void in the country music scene.
Edwards believes the Tamworth Country Music Festival and the Gympie Muster have both, in recent years, steered away from being pure country music events.
"We had a really good idea of what sort of show we wanted to do, which was to be a pure country show of the highest order," he says.
"Because we think people are screaming out for this stuff. We picked the best of the best that was available at that time, as a lot of them are going to Nashville over that weekend."
Let's Wing It Country Music Festival is held at White Park, Scone from June 9 to 11. Tickets at eventbrite.com.au.
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