Country music singer Jason Owen delighted local school students with a special visit, days before his "dream" performance at the Dubbo Show.
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Owen, along with his charity Doin It For Rural Aussie Kids, visited Dubbo South Public School where students surprised him with a memorised performance to his latest single 'Sing Australia'.
"Unbelievable... the whole school learnt it and actually performed the song with me. They made their own moves for the song, it was amazing."
He told students it was important for kids from rural areas to believe in themselves. The award-winning singer shared his experience of growing up in Albert, a town with a population less than 100, and how he was told to quit his passion.
"Doesn't matter what you want to do, doesn't matter that we live in the Central West of NSW, we can still achieve anything," Owen said. "Growing up in the Central West, I knew that not everything is at our fingertips like it is in the metropolitan areas."
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After a fire burnt some parts of the school just before Christmas last year, Owen received an invitation to come by and cheer up the children. He was on tour at that time but planned a visit before his May 28 performance at the Dubbo Show.
He said the show was a big deal for him as a kid; it would be on his list of things to do in the year. His family would drive up, stay in a motel for a few nights, and visit the show. When he was old enough to sit at the bar and enjoy musical performances, he knew it was the go-to gig in the bush.
"I remember watching artists here... it was a massive show. It was always a dream of mine to play the Dubbo Show," he said.
The singer also held his daughter's christening ceremony on Sunday, May 22, at St Brigid's Catholic Church.
People have asked him why he picked Dubbo for the event.
"I had my engagement party in the Central West, I was married at Albert, and we got Lyla christened here, because it's home... it's always going to be home," he said.