Join us for our rolling coverage of Tamworth Country Music Festival
Day 1 of our rolling coverage for Tamworth has now finished. Find out how it went from our updates below.
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We'll be up and running again on Saturday from 7am.
Friday’s highlights include:
Follow us on Twitter @The_NDL and let us know what you’re doing in Tamworth today. We’ll use the best Tweets and Instagram posts in this blog.
7:15pm Goodbye and goodnight
That’s me signing off for the night. Enjoy the opening night Tamworth and we’ll see you again tomorrow for more Country Music Festival news. Enjoy the festival everyone! Amy
7:07pm And we’re off…
The Country Music Academy graduates take to the stage at the opening concert.
6.55pm All hail the festival queens!
A group of young women took to the stage, all vying to be crowned country music royalty.
6.40pm The final countdown
Spots are filling up at Bicentennial Park for tonight’s Country Music Festival opening concert. Better get in quick if you haven’t already secured a prime viewing location!
6.20pm The show must go on!
Wild weather may have taken hold of the region but tonight’s opening concert in Bicentennial Park is still going ahead. Here’s the latest in weather from the newsroom.
5.50pm Day one through your eyes
As day one of the Tamworth Country Music Festival played out, amateur photographers were gearing up for a busy day ahead. Here’s what it looked like on Instagram.
Don’t forget to tag your photos as #TCMF2017 and we’ll add them to our daily galleries!
5:12pm Sun’s out, guns out …. well almost
Already planning your time in the sun tomorrow?
Well the Country Music Festival will take a break form the tunes and flex its muscle on Saturday as the Strong Man and Strong Woman competitions take centre stage on Peel Street with three local girls pumped up to compete.
Melissa O’Connell, Kat Mackie and Madii Corey have formed a tight friendship based around lifting heavy weights, chasing PB’s and living fit and healthy lifestyles, and on Saturday they will take that training to the street.
4:38pm Rain puts hold on Fanzone perfomance
So it turns out a little rain can hurt someone – emotionally that is. Bad news for anyone wanting to catch Brooke Lambert at Fanzone, with the young singer announcing that tonight’s show had to be rescheduled due to the weather.
4:21pm The secret to a great gig is preperation…
Rain may mean no fishing for Tony Bonnici, but at least he will be well prepped for tonight’s gig with Anthony Taylor at the Legends Lounge!
3:54pm Hi everyone! Who else is ready to party?
I’m logging on just in time to see the amazing opening night. A little rain never hurt anyone anyway! Amy.
3.46pm Farewell from me but say hello to Amy
I’m logging off people but my colleague Amy is primed to take over until 7pm tonight. Have a great evening and enjoy the music! Gayle
3.43pm Tonight’s concert is on!
Tonight’s opening concert in Bicentennial Park will go ahead after the worst of the rain has passed.
Fantastic news.
3.19pm Rain puts tonight’s concert in doubt
We’ve got calls in to the council to find out what’s going on here. Check back with us to find out the latest on this. All our fingers and toes are crossed that the performance will continue this evening.
3.05pm: Still raining. Sorry folks :(
2.55pm Conditions are looking pretty rough out there
If you’re travelling to Tamworth, be careful out there. The road conditions are looking really dangerous.
2.41pm And it’s raining.
I feel a bit guilty for being sat in the office now. Hope you’re not too wet.
It’s sideways too
2.35pm: Move over the Big Golden Guitar, there’s a new fella in town.
The Big Golden Guitar has some competition after Tamworth’s second big guitar was officially launched today. The new piece of artwork in Bicentennial Park is the creative efforts of Peter Hooper.
Have you seen it yet? Share your pictures with us on Twitter at @The_NDL.
2.25pm: Casey Barnes fans, this is the moment you’ve been waiting for.
Freebie alert! Casey Barnes is giving away a free signed ‘fan pack’ Details below. Go on, you know you need this in your life.
2.15pm: Who is your favourite busker on Peel Street?
The level of talent out there on Peel Street is pretty high. We’re looking for your vote for the best.
Have a watch of our videos and support your favourite. It’s all in the name of fun.
2.07pm: AMAZING! Guy Sebastian is coming to Tamworth
Guy Sebastian, the X Factor Australia judge is coming to Tamworth for this year's Festival. He will be giving Toyota Star Maker finalists a pep talk ahead of the finals on Sunday.
We’ll bring you more information as we get it.
1.56pm: Campers warned to prepare for bad weather
The local council has sent out a warning to all campers to beware of strong winds and to secure their sites. A storm is forecast for the region and is expected to hit very soon.
Follow our weather updates for more information.
1.47pm: That storm you warned you about… it’s on it’s way
Fingers crossed it won’t ruin the festivities and everyone keeps safe. We’ll keep you informed with our weather updates.
1.39pm: We’re very excited about this one
Nat Pearson, best known for Long Time Coming, is debuting at Tamworth this year.
She’ll be playing tomorrow at 9am a Tamworth Services Club.
She told us why this is one of her most important gigs.
1.05pm: Amber Lawrence is in the area
Amber Lawrence will be playing the big opening concert in Bicentennial Park later tonight. She’s on around 8.15pm.
More details about acts involved here. It’s all kicks off at 7pm.
12.55pm: So, so much talent to be found on the streets
This is Taylor Pfeiffer, The Banjo Girl, from Adelaide with some fantastically impressive yodeling.
12.45pm: A bit of Mandolin action
A couple of very talent players here. Beautiful from The Pleasant Pluckers from Tin Can Bay, near Gympie. I didn’t want it to stop.
12.35pm: Loving her skirt
Some brilliant things to see on the street in Tamworth. This is Euroband on Peel Street.
12.26pm: She’s just nine!
Brooke Thompson is wowing the crowds in Tamworth. She’s nine and already has an amazing voice. She’ll be one to watch in the future.
12.15pm: Is that your lunch?
What are you lot having for lunch today? I’m looking for the best food posts on Twitter and Instagram.
So far I have this:
Oh, and this:
Which may end up with me feeling a bit like this:
Food needed.
11.45am: The complete gig guide for today
There’s a whole lot of scrolling in this list but we’ve compiled every gig that is happening today to make your life easier.
11.38am: How many guitars?
A shout out to everyone travelling to Tamworth today. Have a safe journey.
11.16am: Get your raincoats ready
It looks like we might get some stormy weather in the next few hours and the Australian Government Weather Bureau of Meteorology is warning people to batten down the hatches.
They’ve said: “Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce damaging winds in the warning area over the next several hours. Locations which may be affected include Wollongong, Nowra, Orange, Goulburn, Tamworth and Dubbo.”
Be careful out there folks.
11.10am: The campsites are starting to fill up
If you’re on your way to Tamworth today you’d better get here fast and pic your pitch. The campsites are starting to get full if this picture is anything to go by.
10.59am: Us in the office after watching that Hillbilly Goats vid
Yes. We know.
10.33am: Hillbilly Goats show Tamworth how it’s done
We’re very jealous of those who managed to catch the Hillbilly Goats this morning. They sound fab in our video.
10.28am: We guess Taylor Pfeiffer feels like us today
Anyone else feeling the Tamworth vibes?
Let us know what acts you are excited about today.
9.16am:
Getting a bit stylish in this morning’s news meeting!
8am:
How cool are our Country Music Festival Queens!
7.45am:
The boss is back. Dobe Newton arrived in Tamworth this week to work with the CMAA Senior Academy of Country Music graduates. It was one heck of a show at Wests Leagues Club last night!
7.30am:
There are so many must-see acts today. The first one is at 10am at The Longyard. The Hillbilly Goats are one of our favourite acts of the Festival. We’ll see you there!
7.15am:
How about that CMAA Country Music Graduation concert last night! What an incredible performance! There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when the artists came together to salute their lost teacher Karl Broadie.
7am:
What’s making headlines
The three things you need to see today:
Weather report
Did you know: In the last 20 years, today has been the least likely day to see rain at the Tamworth Country Music Festival:
What to expect today
On this day in country music …
1997: Billy Ray Cyrus, Lonestar, Trisha Yearwood and Kim Richey were among the performers at Bill Clinton's inaugural celebration. Vice president Al Gore and wife Tipper danced to the "Tennessee Waltz."
1985: Born on this day in Jefferson, Georgia, was Brantley Gilbert who scored the 2012 Country #1 hit "Country Must Be Country Wide" and his follow-up, "You Don't Know Her Like I Do", also hit #1.