Tamworth Country Music Festival

The Tamworth Country Music Festival is the largest country music festival held in Australia and usually takes place in January each year.

Held since 1973, the Tamworth Country Music Festival typically runs over two weeks and is a celebration of all things country and includes live music, gala dinners and award shows.

The festival is not gated, so you don’t need to purchase a ticket to enjoy the street festival. However, some bigger artists will have ticketed events, so check the program schedule for details. Tickets typically go on sale on 1 August each year. The festival is one of the world’s largest country music festivals and doubles Tamworth’s population yearly. One of the highlights of the festival is the Golden Guitar Awards which is the most prestigious country music award in Australia.

Hailed as country music’s ‘night of nights’, the Tamworth Country Music Festival attracts some of Australia’s biggest country music stars and is on the world stage. Just some of the artists that performed at the festival in 2023 included the most decorated Golden Guitar winner of all time, Troy Cassar-Daley, multi-award-winning artist Lee Kernaghan, ARIA Hall of Fame Inductee Kasey Chambers, country music legend John Williamson, ARIA nominated and Golden Guitar winners The Wolfe Brothers, country rocker Casey Barnes, 2022 Golden Guitar winner and ARIA nominated Adam Harvey, 2022 Roll of Renown inductee Beccy Cole, top 2022 Golden Guitar winner Shane Nicholson, the unique duo of Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningham, 2022 Female Artist of the Year and Tamworth local, Ashleigh Dallas, 2022 Toyota Star Maker winner Max Jackson and festival favourite Fanny Lumsden.

There are typically over 2000 musical acts performing at over 100 venues throughout the festival, and the main street, Peel Street, is shut down to make for pedestrian space. Here, you will find buskers, dancers and acoustic musical performances.

Toyota Park – the Festival’s largest venue – will host a series of live and free concerts across the ten days, including the multi-artist Opening Concert, Toyota Star Maker Grand Final, the very popular Back to the Bush spectacular, plus the Toyota Best of the Buskers.

The Country Music Festival will also see the return of the iconic Toyota Star Maker competition and the hugely popular Toyota Zone, FanZone Stage and Toyota Busking Championships, where the best of Peel Street’s buskers will go head-to-head. The country’s rising stars will once again battle it out in the Golden Gig, Sponsored by Macca’s talent quest.

The Toyota Country Music Festival Tamworth is considered one of the unique events in the world, with over 700 artists performing across 100-plus venues as part of 2800 scheduled events. Over 70% of these events are free, complimented by venues showcasing a variety of ticketed shows.

Accommodation sells out quickly each year, so visitors planning to attend the festival should ensure they book their accommodation early. Many people come to Tamworth and camp during the festival, with plenty of spots available at Riverside Camping Ground, North Tamworth Rugby Club, Tamworth Greyhound Club and Paceway, to name a few. Book early, as camping spots will sell out.

With so many events held during the festival, it’s impossible to feature them all here. Please refer to the official website’s event schedule for a full list of artists, set times, stages, and locations.