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Origins of the Tamworth Festival

How it was started by 2TM and when it was scheduled.

There is some debate over exactly when and how the Tamworth Country Music Festival actually began. Here are the facts.

A few say that it was as early as 1968 when the then Tamworth branch of the Modern Country Music Association started running a small talent quest on the January long weekend. It’s now the Capital Country Music Association Talent Quest.

However, most observers, including the Country Music Association of Australia, categorically state 1973 as the beginning, when Radio 2TM staged the first Country Music Awards as a part of their long term Country Music Capital promotion which had started in the late '60s. Tamworth City Council has adopted the same year.

The Country Music Festival was a deliberate part of 2TM's strategy to create a a major country music event in Tamworth to support the Awards. Thus once the Awards were stabilised, the organisers started planning and creating other events, spreading the activities back through the week before the major focus. These significant new events included activities such as the 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 and many others events. The intention was to highlight and recognise the Country Music Awards as the climax to 10 days of country music activity or "Festival".

By 1974 the January Long weekend was being referred to in the Country Music Annual published by 2TM as “a general, once a year get together for country music followers”.

In 1988 with Australia Day holiday no longer gazetted on the first Monday on or after the 26th January but left to "float on the 26, the Awards were moved to the Saturday in the last full weekend in January. There they remained with one minor exception in the mid '90s, until January 2005, when the CMAA inexplicably re-scheduled them to January 15th. This caused significant disruption for artists moteliers and other Festival players and they were forced to return them to the proper date in 2006.

But whatever the timing, there is no question the Australasian Country Music Festival (as it is officially known), now acknowledged top be one of the top 10 music festivals in the world, is unique in Australia, and probably around the globe.

Incidentally, the dictionary definition of "festival" is (1) a day or period of celebration or (2) an organised series of concerts, films, etc.

Most people's understanding of a festival is more than one event, so, again, 1973 is clearly the festival starting point "a period of celebration" began or a series (more than one) events.