Tamworth Country Music Festival - held over 10 days toward the end of January each year
Hat’s Off to Country Music Festival - held over 4 days at the beginning of July each year
A more intimate festival held since the year 2000 in the cool of winter with traditional country music appealing to older audiences. The Festival also includes activities that showcase new or emerging country music.
The Festivals held in Tamworth are unique - they are held in many different venues in and around the city and the entertainment is generally booked by the venue themselves or a promoter working on behalf of the venue. There is no official system for auditioning or presenting submissions to perform at the festival, although busking in the main street seems to have worked for many in the past. Many winners of the busking competition have returned to play fully paid gigs in Tamworth.
Tamworth Regional Council organises the busking and provides the necessary paperwork and information, usually in November. See [ here ] for infomation.
Most of the entertainment at the Festival is free so you are able to wander around without the need for day passes, wristbands etc. The larger venues have some reasonably priced ticketed shows, too. These can be bought online (or in person) at Tourism Tamworth or from the venues online (or in person). Even the well known ‘big’ acts book their own venues.
Some contact details for promoters are available [ here ]
Contact details for venues are available in our business directory [ here ]
Choose by category: pubs, clubs, retail outlets as venues etc.
When you speak to the venue let them know what ‘style’ your music is. For example The Oasis tends to book bush balladeers, The Imperial and The Central may book country rock where as The Courthouse and The Albert may prefer alternative country. This is all subject to change however, so do your research. There are also a number of talent quests and band competitions which can be a great stepping stone for new performers. See ‘Awards and Talent Quests’ on the home page navigation bar.
Most festival acts are booked either straight after the festival in January or before November. The deadline for the official printed program is at the end of November - so any late bookings unfortunately can not be included. It is wise to make your contacts and start networking early (say mid year) as Festival time is so busy and exciting that it may be difficult for venue owners to see you in January. You might also consider playing in Tamworth out of Festival time to showcase your music and make contacts.
When you have confirmed your gigs don't forget to sign up as an artist member and submit the information to our year round gig guide [ here ]. So we can all come and see you play!
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