The heat is on at the Tamworth Country Music Festival but it has not deterred fans of the music or the poetry.
More than 7,000 fans packed into the New South Wales town’s Bicentennial Park for the opening night concert last Friday, kickstarting the annual festival that will run until January 28.
Ten finalists from across Australia battled it out for the coveted Star Maker award.
Each of the hopefuls performed two songs in a bid to impress judges with Brad Cox from Jindabyne taking out the coveted title.
His incredible prize package included a car, recording contracts, and a trip to Nashville USA.
Tamworth’s CBD becomes the boulevard of dreams for hopeful musicians, from the young to the young at heart, with more than 400 buskers sharing their love of music with onlookers.
“Music makes me happy,” said fiddle-playing Tia Hannah, who travelled from Kangy Angy with her family to busk together with her cousins as she does every year.
“Set your goal in music and keep at it,” was Danny Calwyn’s advice for those listening to him busking on the main street.
Local man Lawrie Minson, the son of one of the pioneers of the festival, performs each year with his wife Shelley and says they love the family atmosphere.
“The festival is like friends coming over to your house, but your house is the city and your friends are from all over the country,” he said.
The Golden Guitar awards are the highlight of the festival and finalists like Tasmania’s Wolfe Brothers spent some of their time performing and doing the rounds of the interview circuit.
Tom and Nick Wolfe grew up on a berry farm in Tasmania and spend most of their time on the road these days.
They have several nominations under their belt and hope 2018 will bring one of the coveted awards.
For many locals and visitors the festival is all about dancing with the city hosting the Australian Line Dance Championships as part of the action this year.
Also popular is bush poetry, a staple of the festival, with just about every pub or club hosting breakfast events.
From the traditional gems of Banjo Patterson to fresh rhyming tales of life in Australia, poetry is alive and well in Tamworth.
Poet ‘Bushie’ is one regular who said he had been coming to the festival for 41 of its 46 years.
People travel from all over the world and from every state in Australia to take in the sights and sounds of Tamworth.
Dianne Ladhams from the Perth suburb of Padbury has been to the festival three times and this year brought her niece Romina Sauli.
“Aunty Di convinced me to come because it’s the happiest place you’ll ever be,” Romina said.
One group of ladies from Canberra finds the festival is the ideal venue to catch up just once a year and have made it a regular event.
First-time festival-goers, Nicole Hegney and her daughter Olivia, are visiting from Bridgetown in Western Australia.
“We’ve been going to lots of pubs, lots of events and having a great time,” they said.
“We’re from a really small country town and this is really mind-boggling.”
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