Tamworth Country Music Festival
From Freepedia
| Music of Australia | |
|---|---|
| Aborigines | Country |
| English, Irish and Scottish | Other immigrants |
| Jazz | Hip hop |
| Classical | Rock (Indie · Pub · Hardcore punk) |
| Timeline and samples | |
| Organisations | ARIA |
| Awards | Australian Music Centre · ARIA Music Awards · The Deadlys |
| Charts | ARIA Charts, JJJ Hottest 100 |
| Festivals | List: Big Day Out · Livid · Homebake · Falls · Stompem Ground Tamworth (Country ) |
| Media | CAAMA, Countdown, Rage, Triple J, ABC |
| National anthem | "Advance Australia Fair" |
The Tamworth Country Music Festival is a celebration of Australia's rich country music culture and heritage. For 14 days (varies) during January the city of Tamworth, New South Wales with its 35,000 inhabitants comes alive, with visitors from all across the continent, nay the world, coming to join in the festivities. It is often mentioned that the population grows to something in excess of half a million during the bash. Naturally, this gives the city a huge economic and cultural boom.
Preparation
During the build up prior to the commencement of celebrations, the Tamworth Regional Council takes step 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 off the main street for 4 city blocks. This is where the main attraction lies.
- Co-ordinating and tidying of the expansive camping grounds.
- Co-ordinating with the CMAA (County Music Association of Australia) in connection with events.
- Co-ordination with law enforcement and security bodies.
The Main Street
As mentioned above, during the music festival the main street (Peel Street) is restricted to pedestrians only. During this time, 'busking licences' aren't required, in fact, busking is encouraged by the local authority. Thus, many bands and singers set-up their P.A. gear and seranade on lookers, with varying degrees of ability. Since January is a summer month with temperatures regularly hovering around 38°C, its the night-time 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.
The Music
Often, the grungy, rock ridden sounds of an electric guitar being thrashed, along with the piercing sound of the bag pipes will fill the air. In recent years, the festival has become not so much a celebration of country music, as music in general. This coincides with the broadening genre of country music.
The CMAA's night of nights entails an award ceremony in which winning artists are presented with a miniature 'Golden Guitar', a gesture highly coveted in the Australian country music industry.
