The Country Music Festival is coming to it’s peak, as more people arrive for the long Australia Day weekend. The riverside campground, where I am camped, is full with the new arrivals having to search high and low for a spot. Those of us who arrived early in the week are not giving up our shady spots though ! I reckon there must be more RVs here than anywhere else in the country at the moment, from small campervans up to mammoth motorhomes. And then there are those of us in caravans and tents, and some just with their swags.
The first few days were stinking hot, then we had a cool spell, now it seems the closing weekend is going to be hot, hot, hot….luckily the beer is cold though !
My favourite act so far ? 8 Ball Aitken, easily…Most people would n’t call it country music, it’s a mix of blues, rockabilly, honky-tonk swamp, but whatever you want to call it he puts on a great show. Last night was his final show at the Courthouse Hotel, and he had the house rocking. At one point he had the bar manager and staff up and dancing on one counter while he climbed up on another bar top and showed off his guitar skills. He has got a couple more shows here at the festival, before going back on the road. He tours Australia and USA, plus elsewhere, so if he comes to a bar near you check him out ..http://www.8ballaitken.com/
I went to see Kasey Chambers do her free concert in the park the other night …good show except for the security people a bit heavy on the no photos rule. The official photographers had only 3 songs to get their shots, and then EVERYBODY at the front with a half decent camera/tele lens was told to put their camera away….never mind that people were recording the whole show on their ipads and iPhones, or taking perfectly good photos with compacts. I just sat down and took a few shots when I could anyway….
A picture is worth a thousand words, so here are a few :

Has the driver of this ute been on a pub crawl ?

The symbol of Tamworth, the Golden Guitar

Kasey Chambers

Kelly Cork, lead vocals and guitar of “The Rain”

Tonight I’m off to see Lee Kernaghan do his concert in the park if the weather stays OK, otherwise I’ll be going to see 8-Ball again. Hopefully more pics in a couple of days ?