highlight
Grass roots
Jill Stewart muses about the magic and mayhem of the Tamworth
Country Music Festival, including bumping into famous musicians.
I've been going
From top: Taking
in the Tamworth
view; crowds enjoy
James Blundell's
performance; The
Songbirds bring
their talent to the
Tamworth stage.
to the Tamworth
Country Music Festival since I was born. As
a young child I didn't really have a choice or
know any different – it was just a part of our
summer holidays. After Christmas we went away
to the coast for a couple of weeks, came home
to Tamworth and another festival was upon us.
The tens of thousands of people who flock to
Tamworth each year will agree that it comes around
so quickly. It seems like the tents have just been
pulled down and the fold-up chairs packed away
and it's time to do it all over again.
Not only does the festival boast 10 days of
nonstop music with more than 2,200 events,
4,000 performances and gigs in 80 venues, it also
allows guests to get up close and personal with the
stars. Having a beer in one of the local pubs one
afternoon, you could turn around and there's
Lee Kernaghan asking if he can join you, or Melinda
Schneider asking if you'd like her to watch your baby
while you get up and have a dance.
Much of the entertainment in Tamworth is
free and the stars of country music themselves get
around to listen to as much of it as they can
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