Page 37: Tamworth's 35th Country Music Festival.
Our
Second Tamworth Country Music Festival
A whole year had passed since we were
last in Tamworth but it hadn't changed much. During the week leading up
to the Festival there was plenty to do and see and once it began we were
swamped with choices - there were concerts everywhere, mostly free. Additionally,
the town centre was closed to traffic and there were buskers every few
metres. Some had loud sound systems but others had not and were drowned
out by their noisy neighbours. Many buskers were really excellent and
we had no trouble locating the best - they were the ones with the largest
crowds surrounding them. The weather was very hot all week so we were
glad to retire to the cool of Gloria Jeans for an iced coffee from time
to time, and the caravan air conditioner was a life saver.
It's hard to give you an
accurate feel for this Festival, dear Reader, because it's all about sound,
so instead I'll try and capture the atmosphere in pictures.
By the third day of the Festival most of the people were wearing cowboy
hats. We were no exception . . .
The T-shirts were bought last year. Once Pam
nearly went out wearing mine by mistake!
So there I was, leaning on a lamp-post waiting for Pam to emerge from a shop, when a gust of wind blew dust into my eyes. I had to rub the dust out and when I re-opened my eyes, blinking, there was an attractive lady standing right in front of me. "I'm here", she said, smiling brightly. I blinked some more, feeling I should know her. "Sorry?" I responded, playing for time. "I'm here", she said again, still smiling at me. Well, I could clearly see that she was there, but who the hell was she? My confusion must have shown in my face because she laughed and said (refering to my T-shirt pictured above), "You're waiting for the perfect woman. Well, I'm here." And very nice she was too. We chatted for a while until Pam returned with an 'I might have known' expression on her face.
Our good friends, recently married Greg and Bev from Sydney, came over and met up with us in Tamworth. It was great to see them again.
Congratulations to the newly married Mr and Mrs
Wetzler.
While wandering the streets we were accosted by a tall young lady who was giving away tickets to an 'erotic dance show' in one of the hotels. She approached us as I was about to photograph Pam and Bev and, being full of fun, she insisted on posing between them.
Pam and Bev either side of the tall blond. Tall?
Yes . . . .
. . . . and sexy, too.
Last year we'd developed a soft spot for a young singer called Kirsty Lee Akers. Kirsty was in Tamworth again this year and she seemed to have gained a lot more confidence. She succeeded in winning the prestigious Toyota Starmaker competition which earned her:
- A Toyota RAV4 car and fuel card
- A Maton guitar
- A Bose P.A. system
- A recording contract
- A number of major festival and event appearances
- Marketing and publicity support, and
- A professionally produced video.
Many big names in country music were given a big leg-up by winning the Starmaker competition, so well done, Kirsty. We went to watch her at the Diggers Club where she was performing all week. The picture below was taken from the back of the audience with a 200 mm lens as she sang on stage.
Kirsty Lee Akers.
Up close and personal with two stars, Kirsty and
Michelle Little. We considered
Michelle to be the best singer we heard in Tamworth, bar none. Sorry Kirsty.
It struck us that there were many more youngsters performing than last year so I'll include them in the pictures. If some were not as good as others, they were certainly all having fun.
Airborne: more enthusiasm than melody, these two
were a joy to watch.
This little lady played very well and wasn't at
all put off by the crowd watching.
Some kids tap-danced for Mum . . .
. . . others sang with
Dad.
This cheeky lad insisted on me taking his
photo because I'd photographed his brother
(behind) with his colourful head dress
Some played strange instruments, . . .
. . . some wore strange hats.
Some took a laid-back approach to transport . .
. . . . others came prepared
for anything.
Some very strange characters were to be found wandering
the streets.
The man in the pictures below stood as still as a statue with his wheelbarrow. He didn't speak, even to respond to questions. When somebody dropped a silver or gold coin into his barrow he took one step forward and froze again. His aim was to walk from one end of Peel Street to the other in that manner. Pam dropped a coin down the pipe into his barrow and his arm came slowly up and one finger beckoned to her to come closer. Then he grabbed her and kissed her.
"Hmm, he looks tasty", thinks Pam, when
suddenly . . . .
As you can see, the brazen hussy wasn't too
upset.
Australia Day in Tamworth
The Festival was timed to include the Australia
Day long weekend and that drew in the crowds like nothing else, with
the Australian flag much in evidence. We
attended a free concert sponsored by Coca Cola where we finally met Michelle
Little, a singer we had thought by far the best in the Young Guns Concert.
We had been trying to track her down ever since. We had seen many perform
already when Michelle took the stage. She brought the house down with
her rendition of We Are Australian. There wasn't a dry eye in
the place and one couple went out to the front and waved an Australian
flag as she sang.
Above: Michelle sang
to a capacity crowd and got a standing ovation.
Below: A patriotic couple held up their flag
in front of the stage.
The Big Parade
The parade was a great success and I was there on your behalf, my faithful
Reader, taking photographs of every float that passed us until my camera
glowed red hot. When I down-loaded the photographs, however, it struck
my how boring they would be to you, so I decided to spare you. In fact,
I'll spare you any further details of the festival with one little exception.
At one concert at the Diggers Club we bumped into this lady who will be
immediately recognisable to Aussies, though probably not to anyone else:
Ladies and Gents, the one and only Pauline
Hanson. From chip shop to
Parliament to prison and then . . . obscurity? Don't write her off just
yet.