-
- 2008 Tamworth Festival Dates
Friday January 18th to Sunday, January 27th.
The Festival Countdown will run from Friday, January 11th to
Thursday, January 17th.
CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia, - 26th January 2008-
Information Centre - 02 6767 5300
-
- APPLICATIONS
CLOSE 28th Febuary 2007
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-
2007 Hats Off to Country Festival
5 - 8 July 2007
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- 2007 Tamworth
Country Music Festival Summary
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-
Winners!!
-
Male Vocalist
Female Vocalist
- Lee Kernaghan
Beccy Cole
-
- Best Group
-
- Winners announced
in 2007 CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia presented by Jayco
(27-Jan-07)
Lee Kernaghan, Beccy Cole and The McClymonts have shared the
honours at the 35th CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia,
presented by Jayco, held in the Tamworth Regional Entertainment
Centre last night.
Before a sell-out crowd, Kernaghan took away four and Cole accepted
three “Golden Guitars” each with The McClymonts picking up two.
Lee Kernaghan took out Album of the Year and Male Artist of the Year
for his album, The New Bush, and won the coveted Heritage
Song of the Year for Close As A Whisper (The Gift). Lee also
took out the Award for Top Selling Album of the Year bringing his
total to 24 Country Music Awards of Australia throughout his career.
Her song in response to a letter from a fan, Poster Girl (Wrong
Side Of The World), won Beccy Cole three Awards - the
prestigious APRA Song of the Year, Female Artist of the Year and
Single of the Year, taking her total number of Golden Guitar
trophies to seven.
Rising stars, The McClymonts, signalled their arrival in the
big-time with two awards. Brooke, Samantha and Mollie McClymont won
Group or Duo of the Year and Maton New Talent of the Year with their
smash hit, Something That My Heart Does. Previously, Samantha
was the only member of the trio to have won a Golden Guitar.
One of the most popular wins of the night was that of Anne
Kirkpatrick whose performance of Peppimenarti Cradle, written
by her mother, the legendary Joy McKean, took home the Award for
Bush Ballad of the Year. It was both Anne and Joy’s sixth Golden
Guitar.
Felicity Urquhart took out Video Clip of the Year for the beautiful
Big Black Cloud, which was directed by Glenn Wilson. It was
Felicity’s second Golden Guitar.
Legendary guitarist, Tommy Emmanuel, picked up Instrumental of the
Year for his Gameshow Rag/Cannonball Rag, while Vocal
Collaboration of the Year went to Allan Caswell & Drew McAlister for
A Little Bit of Country In Us All.
The Country Music Association of Australia presented a special
achievement award to Keith Urban to acknowledge his outstanding
contribution to country music.
Adam Brand took home the inaugural viewer voted CMC
Oz Artist of the Year Award.
The star-studded night featured performances by Australian
country music’s finest, with a list of presenters that included
noted musician Don Walker, actor Georgie Parker and country
superstars Gina Jeffreys, Troy Cassar-Daley and Melinda Schneider.
The CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia, presented by Jayco, will
be broadcast on the Southern Cross Network on Saturday, 3 February,
2006, at 6.30pm. Network Ten will also be airing the program in
Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth on Sunday, 4
February, 2007, at 12 noon. A further broadcast of the Awards will
be shown on CMC on Friday, 9 February, 2007 at 7.00pm [all times
EDST) and will include a Red Carpet and backstage special hosted by
Steve Forde.
All full list of winners is listed below. The 35th CMAA Country
Music Awards of Australia were presented by
"Proudly Supported by the Australian Government"
WINNERS IN THE 35th CMAA COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS OF AUSTRALIA
- ALBUM OF THE YEAR
The New Bush – Lee Kernaghan
ABC Music
Produced by Garth Porter
MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Lee Kernaghan – The New Bush
ABC Music
FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Beccy Cole – Poster Girl (Wrong Side Of The World)
ABC Music
TOP SELLING ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Lee Kernaghan – The New Bush
ABC Music
GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR
The McClymonts – Something That My Heart Does
Universal Music Australia
VOCAL COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR
Allan Caswell & Drew McAlister – A Little Bit Of Country In Us
All
Origin Music
BUSH BALLAD OF THE YEAR
Peppimenarti Cradle – Anne Kirkpatrick
Compass Bros Records
Lyrics & Music by Joy McKean
HERITAGE SONG OF THE YEAR
Close As A Whisper (The Gift) – Lee Kernaghan
ABC Music
Lyrics & Music by Lee Kernaghan, Garth Porter & Colin Buchanan
INSTRUMENTAL OF THE YEAR
Gameshow Rag/Cannonball Rag – Tommy Emmanuel
ABC Music
MATON NEW TALENT OF THE YEAR
The McClymonts – Something That My Heart Does
Universal Music Australia
VIDEO CLIP OF THE YEAR
Big Black Cloud – Felicity Urquhart
Felicity’s Entertainment
Directed by Glenn Wilson
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Poster Girl (Wrong Side Of The World) – Beccy Cole
ABC Music
APRA SONG OF THE YEAR
Poster Girl (Wrong Side Of The World) – Beccy Cole
Lyrics & Music by Beccy Cole (ABC Music Publishing)
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Keith Urban
CMC OZ ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Adam Brand
- Star Maker
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- Oh what a winner! Kirsty
Lee Akers declared Toyota Star Maker 2007
New South Wales singer songwriter
Kirsty Lee Akers has taken the crown as winner of the Toyota Star
Maker 2007 competition, Australia’s oldest and most successful music
talent search.
Twenty finalists were whittled down to a “final five” plus an
additional “wildcard entry” with many competitors already
established performers in their own right. This year, interest
reached an all-time high, largely due to the increased prize pool
and sky-rocketing interest in country music with many artists
gaining mainstream appeal.
Toyota Star Maker 2007 winner Kirsty Lee, from Kurri Kurri, said she
was excited by the prospects that lie ahead.
“It’s an amazing feeling to be awarded a prize that has started the
careers of some of the biggest names in country music. It’s a huge
opportunity and I intend to make the most of it,” she said.
Since stepping into the spotlight at age three, Kirsty has not
looked back. Her musical talents have been recognised nationally and
internationally. Winning the 2006 Telstra Road to Tamworth
Songwriter’s Encouragement Award, making it to the top 70 of
Australian Idol and being named a grand finalist in an International
Songwriting Competition are just a few of Kirsty’s achievements to
date.
Toyota Star Maker has been a major stepping stone in the careers of
country music legends including Lee Kernaghan, James Blundell, Beccy
Cole, Keith Urban and Gina Jeffreys.
Previous Toyota Star Maker winners James Blundell, Beccy Cole, Gina
Jeffreys and Brendon Walmsley appeared as guest artists during the
Grand Final last night (Sunday, January 21) together with last
year’s winner Cat Southern who is a finalist in next weekend’s
Golden Guitar Awards for New Talent of the Year.
Toyota’s Manager of Promotions and Event Management Wayne Gabriel
said the finalists were of an extremely high standard and were all
to be congratulated.
“With the announcement of this year’s prize package, competition
grew incredibly fierce, but each and every artist rose to the
challenge. The quality of the performances was excellent and all
finalists have spent an incredible amount of time fine-tuning what
they presented,” Wayne said.
“As we enter 2007, Toyota celebrates another year as Australia’s
number one car company. Now Toyota has helped find a new star who
might eventually become Australia’s number one country performer,”
he said.
General Manager of Rural Press Events Barry Harley said that the new
format which reduces the final 20 performers to five instead of 10
was appealing to both finalists and audience and increased the level
of competition.
“This is undoubtedly one of the highest quality fields we’ve seen
for many, many years – a big call for a talent search that has the
reputation of being the ultimate in its category,” Barry said.
“The judges found the task of reducing the final 20 to the final
five extremely difficult hence the wild card entry which brought it
to six. The winner is bound to have the ride of their life because
of the excellent quality we have seen tonight.”
This year’s Toyota Star Maker 2007 prize package is bigger and
better than ever and includes:
Use of the title Toyota Star Maker 2007;
A big-budget full album recording session with one of Australia’s
top producers;
A record contract with Compass Bros;
Distribution and promotion of at least two tracks from the album to
radio and other media;
50 copies of the album for personal distribution;
Production of a video clip for one track by an award-winning
director;
Media promotion including monthly exposure in Country Music Capital
News;
Guaranteed bookings at a designated list of events including country
music festivals in Tamworth, Gympie and Mildura;
A new BOSE Personalised Amplification System (PAS);
A Maton acoustic guitar;
Professional stage skills tuition from Stagecoach;
Invitations to a designated list of industry events;
A showcase performance at the Toyota Star Maker Grand Final in 2008;
A Toyota Star Maker winner’s jacket; and
Use of a fully-serviced Toyota motor vehicle and fuel card for the
12 months following the award.
For more information on Toyota’s commitment to the Tamworth Country
Music Festival and other events please visit:
http://www.toyotacountryclub.com.au
Road to Tamworth Winners Briana
Lee and Morgan Evans
CMAA
Life Memberships
The Board of the Country Music
Association of Australia has announced it will present CMAA Life
Memberships to John Minson and Max Ellis at a special CMAA
Members’ function to be held during the Tamworth Country Music
Festival this month.
Click here for more info
Legends of Country Return for Recognition
Tamworth, Thursday 25 January 2007: Whether it’s during
their 10-day annual January Festival or
during the other 355 days of the year, Tamworth is the mecca for
country music and is known as
Australia’s capital of the genre. Everywhere you look, you can
find emerging talent or tributes to those
who have assisted develop the industry in Australia.
Each year, during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, presented
by Telstra, the Tamworth Regional
Council recognises the contribution of artists that have
developed, grown and contributed to not only
the Festival but the industry as a whole.
This year, it is with great appreciation Tamworth welcomes back
the legendary Smoky Dawson and Joy
McKean who are to be inducted into the “Galaxy of Stars” located
in the forecourt at the Tamworth
Regional Entertainment Centre.
The “Galaxy of Stars” is a Hollywood Walk of Fame like tribute
with brass star plaques placed between
concrete pavers honouring those who have been instrumental in the
industry. No more fitting for the
honour is one of the original Fathers of Australian Country Music,
Smoky Dawson. For more than six
decades, Smoky Dawson has made a remarkable contribution to the
culture and life of Australia.
Smoky made his first solo recording in 1941, the
still-popular-today “I’m a Happy Go Lucky Cowhand”.
After a stint in the army, Smoky picked up where he left off and
success swept him into an incredible
life of stardom, recording and touring. He became a yodeling, whip
cracking, knife throwing, film acting,
song writing, singing, matinee idol, and a radio and television
super-star.
Smoky was the third pioneer great to be elevated to the Country
Music Roll of Renown (in 1978). As
well as this honour, he has also been inducted into the ARIA Hall
of Fame, won a number of Golden
Guitar awards, been presented with an MBE for services to country
music and an Order of Australia for
services to entertainment, Australian country music and the
community – the tribute of induction into
the “Galaxy of Stars” is well deserved and possibly long overdue.
Also being inducted into the “Galaxy of Stars” in 2007 is the
First Lady of Australian Country Music, Joy
McKean. Joy is a rare breed indeed – a classic “quiet achiever”.
Most people know her as the wife and
manager of the late Slim Dusty, and as a songwriter and member of
the pioneering duo The McKean
Sisters [with Heather].
But what many people don’t realise is just how much Joy has
contributed to Australia’s rich country
music heritage, particularly through her prolific song-writing.
Joy grew up in a musical family which nurtured her, taking her on
to touring with husband Slim Dusty
in 1954. Joy was an integral part of the Slim Dusty Show. In 1983,
with sister Heather, Joy was
elevated to the Country Music Roll of Renown as The McKean
Sisters, the eighth pioneer act to be so
honoured.
Lindsay Butler Recipient
of Country Music's Highest Honour
 
Photo: courtesy Steve Charles
Graeme Connors & Gina Press TIARA Sponsor Blue Dog Clothing Co
2007 TIARA 10th
Anniversary Awards
Category Winners
Awards Showcase and Presentation
Held at Blazes Auditorium 23 Tuesday 2007
GEOFF BROWN MEMORIAL AWARD:
GREG CHAMPION - Been There Done That
STAN COSTER MEMORIAL BUSH BALLAD AWARD:
MATT MANNING - Timeless Country
MICHAEL COWDROY SONGWRITING AWARD:
KAREN LYNNE & RICHARD PORTEOUS - Blue Mountain Rain
BARRY THORNTON MEMORIAL INSTRUMENTAL AWARD:
DAVIDSON BROTHERS - Scrub Turkey
VOCAL COLLABORATION AWARD:
CASEY WATT / BRENDAN RADFORD - If I Needed You
DUO AWARD:
CARTER & CARTER - Ride
GROUP AWARD
LUKE O'SHEA & MEDICINE WHEEL - Making Memories
FEMALE VOCAL AWARD:
SANDRA HUMPHRIES - Biggest Fool Around
MALE VOCAL AWARD:
LEE FORSTER - A Fire in the Bar
ONE STOP ENTERTAINMENT ALBUM OF THE YEAR
DAVIDSON BROTHERS - Raised On The Road
SERVICES TO THE INDUSTRY
Allan Clement
HONORARY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Peter Schroeder
TSA SONGWRITERS’ SALUTE AWARDS OF AUSTRALIA
CONTEMPORARY COUNTRY SONG OF THE YEAR
** POSTER GIRL – BECCY COLE ** WINNER
BUSH BALLAD OF THE YEAR
** WHAT COUNTRY’S ALL ABOUT – GRAHAM RODGER
** WINNER
COUNTRY BALLAD OF THE YEAR
** THE BATTLE OF LONG TAN
– ALAN McPHERSON & GRAHAM RODGER ** WINNER
GOSPEL SONG OF THE YEAR
** STRENGTH WITHIN – SHAZA LEIGH ** WINNER
CHILDREN’S SONG OF THE YEAR
** LITTLE GIRL IN ME – MELISSA BAJRIC **
WINNER
COMEDY/NOVELTY SONG OF THE YEAR
** IF THEY PUT A TAX ON THAT – ERNIE
CONSTANCE ** WINNER
COUNTRY SONG OF THE YEAR
** POSTER GIRL – BECCY COLE ** WINNER
TSA SONGMAKER AWARD
** ARTHUR BLANCH ** WINNER
TSA/CAPITAL NEWS NEW SONGWRITER AWARD
** STILL CIRCLING – SOPHIE CLABBURN **
WINNER
TSA TEX MORTON AWARD
RECIPIENT – ** NICK ERBY **
TSA NATIONAL COUNTRY SONGWRITING CONTEST
PROFESSIONAL SECTION
** WOMAN ON THE LAND – GRAHAM RODGER **
WINNER
AMATEUR SECTION
** SHE TAUGHT ME TO PRAY – JUDE RODRIGUES **
WINNER
JUNIOR SECTION - FINALISTS
** HOME – ANNA MACDONALD ** WINNER
LYRICS ONLY SECTION
** I WISH I WERE A CROCODILE – MERV WEBSTER
** WINNER
Australian Bush Laureate Awards
– 2007 winners
Winners in the 2007
Australian Bush Laureate awards were announced before a capacity
audience in the Tamworth Town Hall this afternoon.
In BOOK OF THE YEAR, ORIGINAL VERSE, for the best original
Australian work in book form, the winner was THE EXODUS AND OTHER
VERSE by Bob Magor. A sheep and cattle farmer from Myponga in
South Australia, Bob is now the author of seven top selling books
of his bush verse.
In ALBUM OF THE YEAR, the winner was I’M BETTER THAN SHE IS by
Carmel Dunn & Jennifer Haig. Both Carmel and Jennifer, from
Queensland, have built a strong reputation over a short period of
time for their work and have achieved a great deal of success with
this collaborative work.
For SINGLE RECORDED PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR, the winner was WHY?
by Carol Heuchan who also took out the inaugural BUSH POETRY
PERFORMER OF THE YEAR award which was determined by public vote.
Those aware of the prolific poetry successes of Carol Heuchan in
recent years might imagine that she has been doing it forever. Not
so! An instant top selling book in 2002 led to her first bush
poetry competition and the rest, as they say, is history with
poetry taking over her life, to the point where Carol has won more
than 30 performance competitions in just a few years including
state and Australian championships.
Winner of the JUDITH HOSIER HERITAGE AWARD, for outstanding
achievement in nurturing Australia’s heritage of verse, went to
the Carmel Randle, a tremendous worker for the cause of bush
poetry (see separate release).
The Australian Bush Laureate Awards were first staged in 1996 to
recognise excellence in published and recorded Australian bush
poetry.
The 13th Australian Bush laureate Awards will be held in Tamworth
on Tuesday 22nd January, 2008.
Carmel Randle – winner of the 2007 Judith Hosier Australian Bush
Laureate Heritage Award
Born and educated in Brisbane, CARMEL RANDLE spent most of her
life in rural Queensland. Until retirement, she taught speech and
drama, music and english, but she always found time to devote to
her other great interest, rhymed poetry.
Carmel travelled extensively throughout Australia performing
poetry and appeared at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in
Nevada, USA, in 1999 and 2000.
Although she has published three books of her own work and won
many awards for her writing, including an Australian Bush Laureate
Award for Book of the Year in 1997 and the prestigious Bronze
Swagman Award in 1996 and 1999, it is for her efforts to further
the cause of bush verse that she receives this award today.
Carmel worked hard to establish the judging rules and categories
for competitions and was a founding member of the Australian Bush
Poet’s Association.
She has edited and produced three “Co-operative Books of Verse for
Aussie Children” and her publication “Help” – a handbook for
writers and performers of rhymed verse – is the only practical
guide yet written for Australian bush poets.
Carmel also worked tirelessly to establish the Australian National
Bush Poetry titles and helped make Winton a centre of excellence
for bush verse.
Last year, this award went to the Winton Tourist Association,
partly because of Carmel’s recommendation that they were “a
marvellous bunch of people doing a great job...”
This year, it’s her turn!
Kiwis scoop the pool in the 2007 Bundaberg Rum
Jazzer Quest
More than 100 contestants took part in the Bundaberg Rum Jazzer
Quest in the Music Room at The Pub in Tamworth. Six heats were
contested daily at 4pm from Friday, January 19 until Wednesday,
January 24, followed by the wildcard heat on Thursday, culminating
in the grand final on Australia Day. Quest co-ordinator since 1995
Greg Williams has expanded the Jazzer team to include the lovely
Jacqui Gaynor, who handles the day to day running of this
important event. Standout performances were many, resulting in
high quality entertainment for the big audiences present every
day.
“The wildcard heat on the Thursday was a successful innovation a
few years back and very well received by the audience and
contestants,” Greg Williams said. “It allowed for some of those
contestants you couldn’t possibly leave out, to get another shot
at the grand final and the big prize pool.”
The junior section was won by 12-year-old New Zealander Hannah
Cosgrove, a very popular crowd choice. As well as winning $1000
from Bundaberg Rum and a fabulous Fender acoustic/electric guitar,
Hannah won Axiom Entertainment Agency’s scholarship to Tamworth
Camerata 2007 – Australia’s only recognised youth country music
school staged annually in the Country Music Capital. She also
accepted a performance spot in Young Country Stars the next day at
The Pub. Second place in the junior section was won by Melanie
Dyer from Inverell, NSW, while Daniel Cosgrove (yes, Hannah’s
brother!) took out third place. Second and third junior
placegetters received $500 and $300 from Bundaberg Rum.
The open section winner, Katie Thompson from New Zealand,
completed a Kiwi clean sweep of The Jazzer. Her winner’s package
included $2000 cash from Bundaberg Rum, and a fabulous Fender
acoustic/electric guitar, arranged by Cheapa Music, Tamworth, and
presented by Fender representative Clay Algie (pictured with Katie
and Hannah). Second place was won by Sydney’s Taryn Traustch, who
impressed the judges just ahead of Brisbane’s Lance Coassin who
secured third prize. Second and third open section placegetters
received $800 and $400 from Bundaberg Rum. All contestants had the
option of utilising the Bundaberg Rum Jazzer Quest band throughout
the quest, composed of wonderful musicians Les Scott on guitar,
Glen Skarratt on bass, and sharing drumming duties, Terry Phillpot
and Glenn Wilson. Compering duties were ably handled by Kevin
Anderson, Aleta Tulk, Jodie Crosby and Jon Wolfe. Judges for this
year’s Bundaberg Rum Jazzer Quest came from a wide cross section
of the country music industry - Allan Tomkins, Nicki Gillis, Jodie
Crosby, Errol Gray, Simon Johnson, Sam Burgess, Amber Lawrence,
Darren Colston, Lynne Carey, Aaron Bolton, Donna Boyd, Aleta Tulk,
Tubby Dyer, Victoria Baillie, Deniese Morrison, Paul Wilson and
Steve Cheers. Entry fees collected from contestants amounting to
more than $600 was directed to the Peter MacCallum Cancer
Institute in Melbourne, in memory of the quest’s namesake – the
late Jazzer Smith. This has been the custom each year as Jazzer
was treated at Peter Mac with kindness, dignity and respect,
during his 17-year battle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. The quest is
now 25 years old, an ongoing icon of the Tamworth Country Music
Festival, now firmly established in its new home at The Pub, which
was voted the CMAA’s Best Country Music Venue 2006. Strongly
supported by wonderful sponsor Bundberg Rum, this quest not only
maintains the standard, it raises it!
Photo: Katie Thompson, Clay Algie - Fender Australia, and Hannah
Cosgrove with their new Fender guitars. Photo: Jon Wolfe.
For more information, please visit The Pub website,
www.thepub.com.au –
or phone Anna Rose on (02) 6765 4875 or 0428 413 809
Does the country capital
ever sleep?
The streets of Tamworth that have been crowded and
overflowing with energy and entertainment for the Festival are now
seemingly quiet but much is bubbling under the surface. The official
celebrations concluded at 1pm Sunday 28 January 2007 with the Mayor
of Tamworth, James Treloar lowering the Festival flag. The event has
been heralded by Festival organisers as a “huge success”. The 35th
anniversary of the Festival delivered more than 2,200 events, over
700 artists in the town and an additional 550 or so buskers. The
Festival far-exceeded expectations of anticipated visitor numbers;
Mayor James Treloar stated, “history suggests that whenever the
Festival is attached to a long weekend [the Australia Day public
holiday falling on Friday], it will be a record festival every
time.”
“There have been over 30,000 visitors through the Tamworth Visitor
Information Centre over the period of the Festival,” said Ms Rebel
Thomson, General Manager of Tourism Tamworth. “To put that into some
perspective, Tourism NSW states that approximately 40 percent of all
visitors to a town enter an information centre so on that basis we
estimate there were more than 75,000 Festival-goers in the city this
year.”
“In addition, Tourism Tamworth has sold over 43,000 physical tickets
for shows scheduled during the Festival which is well-up on previous
years” Ms Thomson added.
The Tamworth Regional Council announced a new record for the number
of campsites utilised at the Riverside Sporting Facility; a total of
1,850 sites – up by 300 from the previous record. The largest of
spectator events were the two free concerts held in Bicentennial
Park; Lee Kernaghan attracted over 13,000 individuals on Thursday 25
January with his Australia Day Eve concert. This was followed on
Friday 26 January by Kasey Chambers who returned for her sixth
consecutive year of providing the free gig, and joining her was
special guest Missy Higgins who together brought in almost 20,000
fans. Although Festival 07 has wound down, it seems the Tamworth
area isn’t quite ready for a break! The region will host the 10th
FAI World Paragliding Championships (24 February – 9 March) and many
of the key organisers of the iconic Country Music Festival will now
divert their attention to this event and go into overdrive for the
final planning stages.
Continuing with world-wide recognised events, the town will then
play host to the NCHA Futurity (26 May – 3 June), which is week-long
event widely recognised within the equine sector and is known to
attract thousands into the city. As the country music capital,
Tamworth also offers a special mid-year celebration of the genre
known as “Hats off to Country”. The Festival, which will be held
Thursday 5 – Sunday 8 July 2007, is still in its infant years and
2007 will see its eighth deliverance. Tamworth stakeholders aim to
grow the event to a scale resembling the January festivities. When
the city with a population of 38,000 is finished with these other
large scale events they can finally start to plan the 2008 Tamworth
Country Music Festival. There’s no doubting it, Tamworth is a city
that doesn’t sleep!
If you would like to find out more information about the Hats Off to
Country Festival or the 2008 Tamworth Country Music Festival
presented by Telstra, or alternatively if you’re planning a trip to
Tamworth at anytime of the year to see what hidden delights are on
offer in the region, contact Tourism Tamworth on 02 6767 5300 or
visit
www.visittamworth.com
Anna Rose
The Pub Management
Representing: Felicity Urquhart, Aleyce Simmonds, The Baileys, Aaron
Bolton, Katrina Burgoyne
Does the country capital ever sleep?
Tamworth, 28 January 2007: Seen as the culmination of the
Tamworth Country Music Festival
presented by Telstra, the Country Music Awards of Australia are
the industry’s “night of nights”
and signified last night to many the wrapping of the 07
celebrations. The streets of Tamworth that
have been crowded and overflowing with energy and entertainment
for the past 10-days have
started to recede and quieten.
While buskers still play and venues are still providing live
entertainment, the official celebrations
concluded at 1pm today (Sunday 28 January 2007) with the Mayor of
Tamworth, James Treloar
lowering the Festival flag. The event has been heralded by
Festival organisers as a “huge
success”.
The 35th anniversary of the Festival delivered more than 2,200
events, over 700 artists in the
town and an additional 550 or so buskers.
The Festival far-exceeded expectations of anticipated visitor
numbers; Mayor James Treloar
stated, “history suggests that whenever the Festival is attached
to a long weekend [the Australia
Day public holiday falling on Friday], it will be a record
festival every time.”
“There have been over 30,000 visitors through the Tamworth Visitor
Information Centre over the
period of the Festival,” said Ms Rebel Thomson, General Manager of
Tourism Tamworth. “To put
that into some perspective, Tourism NSW states that approximately
40 percent of all visitors to a
town enter an information centre so on that basis we estimate
there were more than 75,000
Festival-goers in the city this year.”
“In addition, Tourism Tamworth has sold over 43,000 physical
tickets for shows scheduled during
the Festival which is well-up on previous years” Ms Thomson added.
The Tamworth Regional Council announced a new record for the
number of campsites utilised at
the Riverside Sporting Facility; a total of 1,850 sites – up by
300 from the previous record.
The largest of spectator events were the two free concerts held in
Bicentennial Park; Lee
Kernaghan attracted over 13,000 individuals on Thursday 25 January
with his Australia Day Eve
concert. This was followed on Friday 26 January by Kasey Chambers
who returned for her sixth
consecutive year of providing the free gig, and joining her was
special guest Missy Higgins who
together brought in almost 20,000 fans.
Although Festival 07 may be winding down, it seems the Tamworth
area isn’t quite ready for a
break! The region will host the 10th FAI World Paragliding
Championships (24 February – 9 March)
and many of the key organisers of the iconic Country Music
Festival will now divert their attention
to this event and go into overdrive for the final planning stages.
Continuing with world-wide recognised events, the town will then
play host to the NCHA Futurity
(26 May – 3 June), which is week-long event widely recognised
within the equine sector and is
known to attract thousands into the city.
As the country music capital, Tamworth also offers a special
mid-year celebration of the genre
known as “Hats off to Country”. The Festival, which will be held
Thursday 5 – Sunday 8 July 2007,
is still in its infant years and 2007 will see its eighth
deliverance. Tamworth stakeholders aim to
grow the event to a scale resembling the January festivities.
When the city with a population of 38,000 is finished with these
other large scale events they can
finally start to plan the 2008 Tamworth Country Music Festival.
There’s no doubting it, Tamworth
is a city that doesn’t sleep!
If you would like to find out more information about the Hats Off
to Country Festival or the 2008
Tamworth Country Music Festival presented by Telstra, or
alternatively if you’re planning a trip to
Tamworth at anytime of the year to see what hidden delights are on
offer in the region, contact
Tourism Tamworth on 02 6767 5300 or visit
www.visittamworth.com
.
2008 Tamworth Festival
Dates
Friday January 18th to Sunday, January 27th.
The Festival Countdown will run
from Friday, January 11th to Thursday, January 17th.
CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia, - 26th January 2008-
Information Centre - 02 6767
5300
|
Tamworth
Rage Page
