Tamworth Country Music Festival
Encyclopedia
The Tamworth Country Music Festival is an annual music festival held in Tamworth, New South Wales
, Australia and is a celebration of Australian country music
culture and heritage. The festival lasts for two weeks during late January and during this period the city of Tamworth comes alive, with visitors from all across the country and worldwide who come to join in the festivities. The festival has many times been counted among the world's top ten music festival
s. In 2007 Forbes
rated it as number 8 of the World's Coolest Music Festivals. The enormous number of visitors during the bash doubles the city's population and brings significant economic benefits to the region. Visitor numbers for the 2007 festival were estimated at 50,000.
The mass number of visitors means that accommodation throughout the area is consistently booked out for this period up to 12 months in advance, with many visitors camping in caravans and tents by the cities riverside. The festival is the second biggest country music festival in the world. A significant degree of national media coverage is given to the festival with all television networks showing the festival in the news. The commercial television stations Channel Seven, Ten and Nine have all broadcast shows and segments from the festival.
However the Country Music Association of Australia
state the festival began in 1973, when 2TM radio hosted the first Country Music Awards Golden Guitars
(as part of their Country Music Capital promotion which had commenced in the late 1960s). The festival expanded to many other events, with events running back throughout the entire week before the Awards. These events included Bluegrass Championships, Hands of Fame, The Roll of Renown, The Rodeo, The Buttercup Open House concert, The Mr Juicy Concerts, busking in Peel Street, The Cavalcade, industry seminars among other events. These events were promoted to highlight Australian Country music and to draw attention to the climax of the ten days which was the Country Music Awards.
The Country Music Association of Australia Awards were moved to the Saturday in the last full weekend in January as the Australia day public holiday was moved to float with the 26 January date.
, Bluegrass
, Country rock
, Folk
, Urban country, Alternative country
, Cowpunk
, Twistabilly, Rockabilly
, Western swing
, Country rock'n'roll, Yodelling, Rock
, Blues
and World music
. The festival has diversified in styles of country as the genre country music itself has broadened, additionally other styles of music are played at the festival.
's awards night ceremony is called the Country Music Awards of Australia
in which winning artists are presented with Golden Guitars trophies that are miniature replicas of the Golden Guitar
statue. These awards are highly coveted in the Australian country music industry.
The Peoples Choice Awards is a rapidly growing award ceremony which has now expanded to include Best DJ and Best Radio Station. This award ceremony uses a populist voting method which allows for fan involvement. As a result, this award is rapidly becoming the preferred barometer for a bands success.
Other awards and talents quests include:
s during performances. Since January is a summer month with daytime temperatures regularly hovering around 38°C, it is during the nighttime that the city really comes to life, with people heading down town to drink, dance and generally party while numerous bands play up and down the main street.
Country Music Parade http://www.farina.com.au/aerial07.html
which has a capacity of 5100 people.
Besides the music the festival has many other attractions for visitors these include the Big Golden Guitar
, the country music wax museum and the hands of fame park of successful country music artists. Additionally fine artists, crafts, street performers and markets attract large crowds in Peel St.
The Country Music Cavalcade on the last Saturday of the festival attracts large crowds to Peel St, with many businesses and musicians participating with floats in the parade.
, Troy Cassar-Daley
, Lee Kernaghan
, John Williamson
, The Lees and Colin Buchanan. The late Slim Dusty
was also a regular. The festival is noted for being the launching platform of Keith Urban
and Kasey Chambers
' careers.
The 36th Country Music Awards winners were announced with a wonderful night of music and celebration including Troy Cassar-Daley
's spine tingling performance with the Capital Country Music Association Choir and the all star Spirit of the Bush closing number and a show-stopping duet performance between Gina Jeffreys
and Guy Sebastian
Tamworth, New South Wales
Tamworth is a city in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Peel River, Tamworth, which contains an estimated population of 47,595 people, is the major regional centre for southern New England and in the local government area of Tamworth Regional Council. The city...
, Australia and is a celebration of Australian country music
Australian country music
Australian country music is a part of the music of Australia. There is a broad range of styles, from bluegrass, to yodelling to folk to the more popular. The genre has been influenced by Celtic and English folk music, by the traditions of Australian bush balladeers, as well as by popular American...
culture and heritage. The festival lasts for two weeks during late January and during this period the city of Tamworth comes alive, with visitors from all across the country and worldwide who come to join in the festivities. The festival has many times been counted among the world's top ten music festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
s. In 2007 Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
rated it as number 8 of the World's Coolest Music Festivals. The enormous number of visitors during the bash doubles the city's population and brings significant economic benefits to the region. Visitor numbers for the 2007 festival were estimated at 50,000.
The mass number of visitors means that accommodation throughout the area is consistently booked out for this period up to 12 months in advance, with many visitors camping in caravans and tents by the cities riverside. The festival is the second biggest country music festival in the world. A significant degree of national media coverage is given to the festival with all television networks showing the festival in the news. The commercial television stations Channel Seven, Ten and Nine have all broadcast shows and segments from the festival.
History
When the Tamworth Country Music Festival commenced is often debated. In 1968 the now non-existent Tamworth branch of the Modern Country Music Association began a talent quest on the Australia Day January Long weekend. The talent quest now known as Capital Country Music Association Talent Quest was the foundation to the festival.However the Country Music Association of Australia
Country Music Association of Australia
The Country Music Association of Australia is an association formed in 1992 that promotes and represents the Australian country music industry...
state the festival began in 1973, when 2TM radio hosted the first Country Music Awards Golden Guitars
Country Music Awards of Australia
The CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, in Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They are wholly owned and staged by the Country Music...
(as part of their Country Music Capital promotion which had commenced in the late 1960s). The festival expanded to many other events, with events running back throughout the entire week before the Awards. These events included Bluegrass Championships, Hands of Fame, The Roll of Renown, The Rodeo, The Buttercup Open House concert, The Mr Juicy Concerts, busking in Peel Street, The Cavalcade, industry seminars among other events. These events were promoted to highlight Australian Country music and to draw attention to the climax of the ten days which was the Country Music Awards.
The Country Music Association of Australia Awards were moved to the Saturday in the last full weekend in January as the Australia day public holiday was moved to float with the 26 January date.
Styles
Since the festival's original commencement the following music genres have been performed: Classic countryClassic country
Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country hits from past decades.This genre generally follows one of two formats: those specializing in hits from the 1920s through the early 1970s, and focus primarily on innovators and artists from country music's Golden...
, Bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
, Country rock
Country rock
Country rock is sub-genre of popular music, formed from the fusion of rock with country. The term is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s, beginning with Bob Dylan and The Byrds; reaching its greatest...
, Folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, Urban country, Alternative country
Alternative country
Alternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...
, Cowpunk
Cowpunk
Cowpunk or Country punk is a subgenre of punk rock and New Wave that began in the UK and California in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It combines punk rock or New Wave with country music, folk music, and blues in sound, subject matter, attitude, and style...
, Twistabilly, Rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
, Western swing
Western swing
Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands...
, Country rock'n'roll, Yodelling, Rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, Blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and World music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
. The festival has diversified in styles of country as the genre country music itself has broadened, additionally other styles of music are played at the festival.
Awards and Talent Quests
The CMAACountry Music Association of Australia
The Country Music Association of Australia is an association formed in 1992 that promotes and represents the Australian country music industry...
's awards night ceremony is called the Country Music Awards of Australia
Country Music Awards of Australia
The CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, in Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They are wholly owned and staged by the Country Music...
in which winning artists are presented with Golden Guitars trophies that are miniature replicas of the Golden Guitar
Golden Guitar
The Big Golden Guitar is one of the many "big" attractions that can be found around Australia. Located in Tamworth, New South Wales, the monument is one of the best-known points of interest in New England New South Wales...
statue. These awards are highly coveted in the Australian country music industry.
The Peoples Choice Awards is a rapidly growing award ceremony which has now expanded to include Best DJ and Best Radio Station. This award ceremony uses a populist voting method which allows for fan involvement. As a result, this award is rapidly becoming the preferred barometer for a bands success.
Other awards and talents quests include:
- Telstra Road to Tamworth
- Toyota Starmaker
- Tamworth Independent Artist Recognition Awards
- No Holds Barred Fiddle Contest
- Telstra Queen of Country Music Quest
- Bundaberg Rum Jazzer Quest
- Kids Talent Quest
- Country Entertainer of the Year
Main street - Peel St
During the music festival the main shopping street (Peel Street) is restricted to pedestrians only. In this area, Buskers are required to register with the local council. There is also a competition between these registered buskers to find the festivals best busker. There has been complaint and controversy about the use of very loud PA systems against acoustic performances. Council officers are known to walk the street with decibel meterSound level meter
Sound level meters measure sound pressure level and are commonly used in noise pollution studies for the quantification of almost any noise, but especially for industrial, environmental and aircraft noise. However, the reading given by a sound level meter does not correlate well to...
s during performances. Since January is a summer month with daytime temperatures regularly hovering around 38°C, it is during the nighttime that the city really comes to life, with people heading down town to drink, dance and generally party while numerous bands play up and down the main street.
Country Music Parade http://www.farina.com.au/aerial07.html
Venues
During the festival over 2500 acts use up to 120 venues. The largest venue used is the Tamworth Regional Entertainment CentreTamworth Regional Entertainment Centre
Tamworth Regional Entertainment Centre is an Australian arena, located approximately 5 km south of the Tamworth Central Business District, in the suburb of Hillvue...
which has a capacity of 5100 people.
The Festival Countdown
The Festival countdown is the 'pre-festival' festival. During this week before the festival many country music fans come to Tamworth to set up camp and enjoy the town, while there is also concerts scheduled during this week.Attractions
Golden Guitar
The Big Golden Guitar is one of the many "big" attractions that can be found around Australia. Located in Tamworth, New South Wales, the monument is one of the best-known points of interest in New England New South Wales...
, the country music wax museum and the hands of fame park of successful country music artists. Additionally fine artists, crafts, street performers and markets attract large crowds in Peel St.
The Country Music Cavalcade on the last Saturday of the festival attracts large crowds to Peel St, with many businesses and musicians participating with floats in the parade.
Preparation
During the build up prior to the commencement of celebrations, the Tamworth Regional Council takes steps to beautify and secure the city, performing such works as:- Erecting signs to direct traffic away from hot spots, and reduce congestion.
- Pre-Festival advertising campaigns.
- Extensive road maintenance.
- Blocking traffic from four blocks of Peel Street, the central shopping district.
- Co-ordinating and tidying the expansive campingCampingCamping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
grounds. - Co-ordinating with the CMAA (Country Music Association of AustraliaCountry Music Association of AustraliaThe Country Music Association of Australia is an association formed in 1992 that promotes and represents the Australian country music industry...
) in connection with events. - Co-ordination with law enforcementLaw enforcement agencyIn North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...
and security bodies.
Artist lineups
The Tamworth Country Music Festival each year attracts many country music, bluegrass, rock and folk musicians to the city. Performers perform at various venues in the city. The festival attracts over 800 different artists which perform over 5000 shows. Artists who perform regularly at the festival include Kasey ChambersKasey Chambers
Kasey Chambers is an Australian country singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of steel guitar player Bill Chambers, and the sister of musician and producer Nash Chambers.-Solo success:...
, Troy Cassar-Daley
Troy Cassar-Daley
Troy Cassar-Daley is a multi-award-winning country musician from New South Wales, Australia.He released his first EP, "Dream Out Loud", in 1994 and was nominated for his first Golden Guitar for Best Male Vocalist the same year...
, Lee Kernaghan
Lee Kernaghan
Lee Kernaghan OAM is an Australian country music singer and songwriter. He was the 2008 Australian of the Year.-Honours:Kernaghan received the Order of Australia Medal in 2004....
, John Williamson
John Williamson
John Williamson is the name of:* Jack Williamson , American science fiction writer* John H. Williamson , American, North Carolina politician and newspaper publisher* John N. Williamson , American, U.S...
, The Lees and Colin Buchanan. The late Slim Dusty
Slim Dusty
David Gordon "Slim Dusty " Kirkpatrick AO, MBE was an Australian country music singer-songwriter and producer, with a career spanning nearly eight decades. He was known to record songs in the legacy of Australian poets Henry Lawson and Banjo Patterson that represented the Australian Bush...
was also a regular. The festival is noted for being the launching platform of Keith Urban
Keith Urban
Keith Lionel Urban is a New Zealand-born Australian, country music singer, songwriter and guitarist whose commercial success has been mainly in the United States and Australia. Urban was born in New Zealand and began his career in Australia at an early age...
and Kasey Chambers
Kasey Chambers
Kasey Chambers is an Australian country singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of steel guitar player Bill Chambers, and the sister of musician and producer Nash Chambers.-Solo success:...
' careers.
Tamworth Country Music Festival 2007
Many hundreds of musicians played at the 2007 festival at clubs, pubs and in Peel St, busking. Some of the better known artists that performed at the 2007 festival included:
|
Melinda Schneider Melinda Schneider is an Australian country music performer and the daughter of yodeler Mary Schneider. Schneider performed with her mother on the album The Magic of Yodeling at the age of eight. She studied dance as a child and made her acting debut on the popular Australian drama A Country... The Flood (band) The Flood is an Australian roots music band led by Kevin Bennett. They won the Tamworth 2006 Golden Guitar Award for Vocal Group with their song "Hello Blue Sky"... Felicity Urquhart Felicity Ann Urquhart is an Australian country music singer-songwriter, sometimes seen as Felicity . Her single "Big Black Cloud", co-written with Randy Scruggs, reached No. 1 on Country Tracks National Top 30 Singles Chart in 2007. She has won numerous awards including a Centenary Medal... Greg Champion Greg Champion is an Australian songwriter, guitarist, radio personality and athlete.Born in Benalla, Victoria, Champion is most recognised for his work as part of the Coodabeen Champions as a songwriter and guitarist. Greg often appears on the program writing songs about both Aussies rules football... The McClymonts The McClymonts are an Australian country music trio comprising sisters Brooke Maree McClymont , Samantha Kate McClymont and Mollie Therese McClymont , originally from Grafton, New South Wales... The Sunny Cowgirls The Sunny Cowgirls are an Australian country music group formed in 2005. They have released a total of four studio albums since 2005. Their debut album, Little Bit Rusty, was released in 2005. Their latest album is entitled Summer and was released early 2010.-Biography:The Sunny Cowgirls, Sophie... Gina Jeffreys Gina Jeffreys is an Australian country singer. She was born on 1 April 1968 at Toowoomba, Queensland. She has often been called Australia's "Queen of Country" and has won numerous Australian country music awards.... |
Tamworth Country Music Festival 2008
The 2008 Tamworth Country Music festival officially commenced on Friday 18 January and closed on Sunday 27 January. However the pre-festival countdown events started on Monday 14 January.The 36th Country Music Awards winners were announced with a wonderful night of music and celebration including Troy Cassar-Daley
Troy Cassar-Daley
Troy Cassar-Daley is a multi-award-winning country musician from New South Wales, Australia.He released his first EP, "Dream Out Loud", in 1994 and was nominated for his first Golden Guitar for Best Male Vocalist the same year...
's spine tingling performance with the Capital Country Music Association Choir and the all star Spirit of the Bush closing number and a show-stopping duet performance between Gina Jeffreys
Gina Jeffreys
Gina Jeffreys is an Australian country singer. She was born on 1 April 1968 at Toowoomba, Queensland. She has often been called Australia's "Queen of Country" and has won numerous Australian country music awards....
and Guy Sebastian
Guy Sebastian
Guy Theodore Sebastian is an Australian pop, R&B, and soul singer-songwriter who was the first winner of Australian Idol in 2003. He is currently a judge on the Australian version of The X Factor. Sebastian has released six top ten platinum/multi platinum albums, including a number-one and...