Each year the Tamworth Country Music Festival, the largest music festival in the southern hemisphere, pulls in about 50,000 visitors a day, as more than 700 artists feature in 2800 events across 80 venues. SUE PRESTON went along to Australia's country music capital this year to see what makes this event sing.
NOTHING signifies a country music fan more than a big hat. I'm surrounded by a forest of them.
In Melbourne, where I am from, the start of an indoor concert is always preceded by the words "Please switch off your mobile phones".
Here at the Tamworth Country Music Festival the message is: "As a courtesy to other patrons please take off your hat".
Of course, wearing a hat is de rigueur if the concert is out-of-doors.
The Melanoma Foundation here spruiking its Keep Your Hat On campaign with $2 straw hats is doing a roaring trade in the blistering heat of a January afternoon with buskers and fans competing for every piece of shade in the main street.
There are more than 600 buskers in Peel Street alone. One day they may make the transition to an air-conditioned venue but for the moment they have to be content with the hot pavement on this "boulevard of dreams" and a few coins tossed into a yawning guitar case.
For 10 days every January the population of Tamworth in the NSW New England region doubles in size as country music's biggest fans flock to meet country music's biggest stars. In the words of one fan, it's when Tamworth "goes off like an unattended hose".
The festival, now in its 44th year, gave stars like Keith Urban, Troy Cassar Daly, Kasey Chambers and Beccy Cole their start - and from the look of the multi-age crowd it seems the festival is finding new audiences with every generation.
What contributes to Tamworth's popularity is that while there are ticketed events there is also plenty of free entertainment featuring both big name stars and shining new stars of the future.
Much of the outdoor entertainment is at Toyota Park, a natural amphitheatre created by the town's levy bank. The Tamworth crowd demonstrate they're a hardy lot when a Night of Stars here descends into a night of "stars, thunder and lightning".
A festival-goer rugged up in wet-weather gear cheerfully chastises a woman who decides to call it a night when the rain descends. "I've been on the go from 8am to midnight since it (the festival) started so I think I can give myself a night off," she yells over her shoulder.
That's the thing. This festival is loved as much by the locals and performers as it is by the hundreds of thousands of visitors from Australia and overseas who come not just for the music but other events such as bush poetry, line and swing dancing classes.
The Toyota Country Music Cavalcade sees country music stars line up with local community organisations and travel in floats along Peel Street to the cheers and applause of thousands of fans. It's the sort of event that is both daggy and endearing.
To the performers, Tamworth takes the number one spot every time. Country singer Melinda Schneider says Tamworth is the place where you can always be yourself. Troy Cassar-Daly feels the same way. "Tamworth is just like a big warm hug," he says.
If you go...
TAMWORTH has a range of accommodation including tent cities which spring up around the town for the festival. A courtesy bus travels between the music venues for a small price.
A must-see is the Big Golden Guitar Tourist Centre. What began as a handful of guitars has grown to a collection of more than 20 guitars autographed by Australian and international country music icons. You'll also find The Gallery of Stars Wax Museum and The Collectors Museum featuring Sir Donald Bradman.
The Tamworth region has a packed events calendar and is also known as a food and wine hub. The emerging wine region has more than 20 cellar doors focusing on cool climate varieties. Highlight of the food calendar is the 10-day Taste Tamworth festival in April, showcasing top restaurants, produce and wine.
Eat: The Pig and Tinder Box was one of the first pubs in the New England region, setting up shop in 1848. Now, 170 years on, it's more of a "boutique bar meets classic pub" in a heritage-listed bank building in the heart of town.
Hopscotch Restaurant & Bar offers relaxed indoor and outdoor dining in the beautiful surrounds of Bicentennial Park, between the Peel River and the CBD, while Carmen's Little Taste of Italy at Stockman's Motel serves delicious Italian fare with a flourish.
Next year's Tamworth Country Music Festival will be held from January 18-27.
* Sue Preston was a guest of Destination NSW.
