It’s that time of year again! Tamworth is buzzing, stomping, and rocking with the sounds, sights and flavours of the 2025 Tamworth Country Music Festival.
From the Toyota Park Stage thundering throughout leafy Bicentennial Park, the city of rides and amusements on Kable Avenue, the buskers and stalls lining Peel Street, and every other pub band burning down the house, there’s something for everyone.
Well you might ask, where to start?
Holding down the fort outside the Tudor is Todd from Coffs Harbour. He’s part of the markets, and sells guitar picks with a twist.
“You actually insert them into one of these little shakers, so when you strum along on guitar you get your traditional sound plus the added shaker on top. It’s the first of its kind anywhere in the world.”
A couple of doors down, Habib from Western Sydney proudly displays his range of Rub-A-Dub Seasoning. He’s been taken aback by the generosity of locals;
“Someone came to my stall and recognised me from the previous year – they came back the next day with this insane lamb roll – who does that!”
If you’re trying to beat the heat, you might find yourself outside the Fanzone Stage on Fitzroy Street underneath the mist jets, just like Rob from Toowoomba. His is a remarkable story.
“I’m an assistant director at the National Disability Insurance Agency’s early childhood branch, and was given a week’s leave to experience the Country Music Festival. I’ve been playing again for about three months after a 20-year hiatus”
“The whole experience has just been terrific; I’ve loved every minute of it. It’s just a great time to be here.”
As the sun continues to rise and the mercury climbs, local lads Judah and Josh are keeping the crowds cool with a gelato stall. For young Judah, the stall is a way to get involved in the festival whilst also getting ahead of the curve in his own life; the young chap will be off to Uni in the not too distant future and is putting the savings away to help finance his studies.
As the afternoon turns to dusk, buskers and visitors begin to pull up stumps and head for camp or off to see bands begin to hit their straps at full tilt. Between a chorus of electric guitars soaring through the night air, for some buskers, the day’s work isn’t quite done.
Baeden from Cobar pauses for breath between songs and leans on his guitar to say G’day.
“It’s my second year. I finally made it up last year and decided to make the trip again.
“I just love the music mate. And I love playing music, writing songs. It’s just a good old time ya know? Surrounded by the right sort of people for sure.”
Artist Kate from Brisbane, better known as Midwest Molly, enjoyed her first Tamworth Country Music Festival.
“I’m still fairly new to Australia, so it’s just really exciting because I moved here from Nashville, and it’s fun to just see the differences in the festivals and see what’s different between.. I guess I would say something similar to Nashville.
“Just seeing what the differences are, and just exposing myself to the Australian country music scene has been really wonderful.”
Hank, a musician from Austin, Texas, now resides near Wollongong. Playing in his first festival here, he busks daily from 7am to 8:45pm in front of Baxter Boots and played with a countdown band on the first night.
“I like carrying strings on me to give away to buskers – that’s my tip to them!”
He has lived in Australia for 10 years, having first visited in the 1990s with the US Navy. Hank’s music influences include outlaw country artists like Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, and he also incorporates newer elements like Post Malone.
“I’m just really enjoying the vibe down here, walking around and talking to everybody.”
The festival will conclude on 26 January.
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