LIVEALITTLE

I'd waited a whole year for this event (I heard about it last year on Australia Day Jan 26) and surely I was not disappointed. The Tamworth Country Music Festival reminded me of Vegas. In Vegas, there were slot machines every where. While, in Tamworth, there was country music performers every where. The town itself is quite small, but the 30 minute walk down the main drag (Peel Street) filled your ears with country music that oozed out of cafes, restaurants, on the sidewalk and in the street itself. Oftentimes you'd be listening to three songs at once! Amazingly the great majority of the performances were quite professional (the buskers were competing as well). More amazing is the fact that even big acts like Kasey Chambers, Missy Higgins and Matt Scullion performed free to the public for their love of the music. 90% of the performances were free. It was so easy to see that all the performers loved their craft.
And I got to see my first award show! It wasn't quite the Oscars but very professionally done nonetheless. Surprisingly there were a couple of categories awarding for heritage content. I highly recommend Tamworth even for non-country fans. Its an interesting experience even if you can't quite always understand the folks with the country accent. We were approached a number of times with inquiries about our Tamworth experience and recommended performances to attend. A kind man even gave me a seat during the free Kasey Chambers concert in the park because he thought I looked uncomfortable sitting on the grass!
To quote my new favorite country artist: "It's a big world. It's a small world. It’s a weird, wild, wide-open, wonderful world!"
Pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/livealittle/sets/72157594510473323/